Night before - Screen de-icer?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Yes, that's the one ! never mind the fact that your insurer is highly unlikely to pay out if your car is stolen.

Oh that's OK, I thought that you had got wind of the other illegal stuff!

Abs is right though, my cars are at the (invisible from the road) end of a 180 metre drive and behind 7 foot gates so I'd be amazed if an opportunistic car thief clambered over during the exact 10 minutes that I was running the engine unattended.

It is nice to jump into a warm car on a cold morning though.
 
We - and the other hotel guests - used to do this in Killington Vermont every morning when on a ski-ing holiday there years ago. We'd all be sat having breakfast looking out at the car park and the cars all with smoking exhausts, it would take quite a while for the heaters to defrost the windows and warm the inside of the car!
 
In Kent leaving you car with the engine running and keys in would almost certainly see it gone when you went back to it :ˆ)

Some of our locals do enjoy (I'm not making this up) an early morning drive looking for the tell tale plume of white exhaust rising up from the driveway
 
I was advised ( Dear Old Dad ) that you should drive away as soon as possible once you have started the engine up.
Things may have well changed now regarding this, but I still try and stick to his advice, even though he has been passed 35 years now.
 
In Kent leaving you car with the engine running and keys in would almost certainly see it gone when you went back to it :ˆ)

Some of our locals do enjoy (I'm not making this up) an early morning drive looking for the tell tale plume of white exhaust rising up from the driveway

Yup, agree its a bit risky. I have been tempted to start it up, leave it running, then lock it with the second remote, or even Mercedes me, but a bit nervous if it would unlock properly. Anyone tried it?
 
I was advised ( Dear Old Dad ) that you should drive away as soon as possible once you have started the engine up.
Things may have well changed now regarding this, but I still try and stick to his advice, even though he has been passed 35 years now.
I think that we will be ok a couple of times per year, in summer the cooling can be done remotely via BMW connect.
 
Oh that's OK, I thought that you had got wind of the other illegal stuff!

Abs is right though, my cars are at the (invisible from the road) end of a 180 metre drive and behind 7 foot gates so I'd be amazed if an opportunistic car thief clambered over during the exact 10 minutes that I was running the engine unattended.

It is nice to jump into a warm car on a cold morning though.
Know how you feel. We moved house in June. By the end we were so knackered we left most of the garage stuff outside. It was warm and were not concerned about rain. And not worried about an opportunist thief either up the...1188 metre lane. Even left the gates open.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 219
Know how you feel. We moved house in June. By the end we were so knackered we left most of the garage stuff outside. It was warm and were not concerned about rain. And not worried about an opportunist thief either up the...1188 metre lane. Even left the gates open.
I'm getting driveway envy
 
  • Like
Reactions: 219
This is where plug-in hybrids and full EVs score, being able to preheat/defrost the car whilst still plugged in.
 
Every morning when it's frosty I get a used milk container ( 2 or 4 Lt), fill it from the hot water tap and place it on the dash then go back in the house for my brekkie. It doesn't completely clear the windscreen but softens it up enough so you can drive away fairly quickly
 
I was advised ( Dear Old Dad ) that you should drive away as soon as possible once you have started the engine up.
Things may have well changed now regarding this, but I still try and stick to his advice, even though he has been passed 35 years now.

Was your dad speaking as a car thief?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I was advised ( Dear Old Dad ) that you should drive away as soon as possible once you have started the engine up.
Things may have well changed now regarding this, but I still try and stick to his advice, even though he has been passed 35 years now.
I think your dear old dad might have been (and still is) correct in his advice. The cars we drive are not finely tuned F1 machines that work only in a perfect envelope of temperature/pressure . Just start the mass produced thing up and drive it , obviously not going mad on a cold day. Just get on with it , the car is built for a world wide market to be sold to people who do not have a clue how an internal combustion engine works from Minsk to Mumbai , Dundee to Dubai. Warming it up for your own comfort is one thing, warming it up thinking you are doing the car a favour is quite another.
 
Most wear occurs when cold, so driving off immediately reduces wear over mileage i.e. more miles before a failure.
 
Like a lot of premium.....use the night before/prior to products, its a load of pisssh.
45 years ago I purchased a ' use the night before ' spermicide. I took the manufacturer ....'buy me and stop one ' at their word.
I am now the proud father of 37 children.
Buy me and stop one....have now ceased trading.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 219
I must say I am rather disappointed Bruce by that remark

My apologies. Poor humour aimed at the drive away as soon as comment. Not in any way at your Dad.

Please accept my apology for any offence caused. Certainly not what I would ever intend. I would hope you know this.

Bruce


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I was advised ( Dear Old Dad ) that you should drive away as soon as possible once you have started the engine up.
Things may have well changed now regarding this, but I still try and stick to his advice, even though he has been passed 35 years now.
Your dad is correct!

All you needed to do in the olden days was wait for the oil pressure needle to jump to it's normal position and of you went.

Of course cars this days no longer have an oil pressure gauge (why???), so I would stay count to three slowly then drive-off (or wait for the rpm needle to settle).

You want the engine warmed up to normal operating temperature as soon as possible, and it will take longer to get there with the engine idling than when driving (moderately).
 
I've discovered an odd thing on my car. If I start the engine and drive straight off it drives fine. If I start the engine and wait a few seconds for the revs to drop back, it drives with a little hesitancy for the first 100 yards particularly if I'm setting of up hill. It's as if the mixture has been weakened too quickly.

On the subject of warming oil quickly, there is what is perhaps a non intuitive effect in that it's revs that heats the oil more than engine load. This is due to the shearing of the oil in the bearings and has been proven through professional investigation. Note in the left hand chart with a 10Nm load, the oil heats up to 80 deg C four times quicker at 3000 RPM compared with 1000RPM. In the right hand chart there is little difference in oil heating time between engine loads of 10 Nm and 60Nm. Moral of the story is to stay out of top gear until the engine is up to temperature and even then oil temperature always lags coolant temperature.

Revs vs oil temp.png
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom