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  #1  
Old 12-30-2004, 09:01 AM
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Bad to start the car with heater on?

This is something ive wanted to know for a while. Being that its extremley cold out and i hate freezing my ass on the cold leather seats....is it bad to start the car and turn on the heater right after? I usually start it up...go inside and come back in 10 mins after the car is up to full opp temp. I know that with the heater on it will take a little longer to warm up but i would love to get into a nice warm car
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  #2  
Old 12-30-2004, 09:04 AM
dcarrb dcarrb is offline
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If you leave the climate control on AUTO or ECON, the heater (or more accurately, the blower fan) won't operate until there's enough heat in the coolant to produce heat in the cabin.

dcb
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  #3  
Old 12-30-2004, 09:11 AM
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So then its not bad right?
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  #4  
Old 12-30-2004, 09:36 AM
dcarrb dcarrb is offline
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Nope. The beauty of the SVX climate control system is that you can just set it and forget about it.

dcb
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  #5  
Old 12-30-2004, 10:05 AM
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Awesome. Does this go for every car? It not being bad i mean.
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  #6  
Old 12-30-2004, 10:15 AM
justiceSVX
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Bad as in it'll take longer for your engine to get up to operating temperature... it's not going to harm it, but it will hurt your fuel economy quite a bit. I suggest you check out 'how to get more mpg' by Robert Sikorsky. THere's a whole chapter about the turning on the heater too early... it should be at your local library.
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  #7  
Old 12-30-2004, 10:36 AM
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ahh i dont care bout losing gas ...i allready get crappy mileage.
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  #8  
Old 12-30-2004, 10:58 AM
dcarrb dcarrb is offline
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Any detriment to fuel mileage could only be as a result of the heater drawing heat from the engine before it reaches optimal operating temperature, and once you're rolling, no matter the ambient temperature, you'll be at operating temperature within minutes. My thinking is, the overall dent in fuel economy would be immeasurable. It's worse to turn the key and drive away when it's bitterly cold.

Now, if you leave the car idling in the driveway for thirty minutes to "warm-up," that would be a big waste of gas.

Set the climate control on AUTO or ECON; it knows what to do. Let the engine warm-up for a minute or three on cold mornings, and drive.

dcb
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  #9  
Old 12-30-2004, 11:22 AM
justiceSVX
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Read the book. They have graphs of how long it takes a cars coolant to warm up with the heater on and off... and they also have the miles driven vs temp vs mpg.

Another thing I found out is that if you have two cars... say an SVX (fuel pig) and a civic (good mpg), you won't always get the best mpg int he civic. you should ALWAYS take the car that's already warm. If they'r both cold take the civic, but if the SVX was running a few minuts ago, you'll get better mpg with the car that doesn't have to warm up.

Idling is actually the worst thing you can do for your mpg... it uses quite a bit of gas, you aren't moving (hence 0 mpg) and hte low speeds of idling is VERY VERY VERY inefficient at warming up a cold engine. On top of that, even if the engine is warm, the transmission, bearings, CV joints are all still cold, so you're still going to get bad mpg for an even longer period had you just started driving the car.

Seriously, read the book.
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  #10  
Old 12-30-2004, 12:09 PM
dcarrb dcarrb is offline
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I'm sure the author is much brighter than this writer, but nothing in that book will convince me that a few moments of warming a car with the heater operating would use significantly more fuel that idling under the same conditions with the heater off. Enough to graph under controlled, laboratory conditions? No doubt. Enough to make a meaningful difference to one's wallet? No.

Yes, idling a car is indeed very wasteful, that's why you should let it run just long enough for the juices to get flowing, then get rolling. And it won't hurt a thing to have the heater on.

dcb
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  #11  
Old 12-30-2004, 02:00 PM
justiceSVX
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Quote:
Originally posted by dcarrb
I'm sure the author is much brighter than this writer, but nothing in that book will convince me that a few moments of warming a car with the heater operating would use significantly more fuel that idling under the same conditions with the heater off. Enough to graph under controlled, laboratory conditions? No doubt. Enough to make a meaningful difference to one's wallet? No.

Yes, idling a car is indeed very wasteful, that's why you should let it run just long enough for the juices to get flowing, then get rolling. And it won't hurt a thing to have the heater on.

dcb
You misunderstood. Turning on the heater will not waste gas. Causing the engine to take a while to warm up WILL.

However, you are aware that in a car's cooling system there is a thermostat right? Well this thermostat stays closed until the coolant warms up. Why? Because it tries to warm the engine up faster by recirculating the ever warming coolant. Once it reaches the right temp, it sends the coolant through the radiator.

Putting the heater on is effectively the same thing as opening the thermostat before the engine is warm. It doesn't use GAS, but it takes longer for the engine to warm up.

The longer it takes for the engine to warm up, the worse your mileage is.
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  #12  
Old 01-03-2005, 06:19 AM
dcarrb dcarrb is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by justiceSVX
Well this thermostat stays closed until the coolant warms up. Why? Because it tries to warm the engine up faster by recirculating the ever warming coolant. Once it reaches the right temp, it sends the coolant through the radiator.
...and, with the heater on, through the heater core. By design.

The original poster wondered if it's "bad" to turn-on the heater right after starting the car, and the answer's still no.

dcb
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  #13  
Old 01-03-2005, 10:11 AM
justiceSVX
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Quote:
Originally posted by dcarrb


...and, with the heater on, through the heater core. By design.

The original poster wondered if it's "bad" to turn-on the heater right after starting the car, and the answer's still no.

dcb
Look, argue all you want, but hte simple fact is if you turn your heater on right away your car will take longer to heat up. Period.

Since it's cold for a longer period of time, you will recieve less miles to a gallon.

Read the book. I have. You haven't.
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  #14  
Old 01-03-2005, 11:03 AM
dcarrb dcarrb is offline
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Geez, man... chill. It ain't worth arguing about.

dcb
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  #15  
Old 01-03-2005, 12:16 PM
maroon menace
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this has got to be one of the most ridiculous arguments I have read to date.
Start your car, leave the heat on and get warm the difference is minimal. pay a few extra cents for your comfort. and be confortable knowing that absolutely NO harm is done to your engine in any way.

lets not get into discussions on relative cooling areas of the radiator and the heater core and cabin temps vs outside ambient temps.
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