Mega Q&A, including: 'Is it really necessary to warm up a modern car?' Auto Expert John Cadogan

[@guysoceanharmonics]

Change your oil on a regular basis with high quality oil and your engine will last a long, long time. There are no excuses considering that a quality synthetic oil can be purchased at 50% off every month at the usual motoring retail outlets.

[@benmmm7359]

Absolutely 💯 I don’t think there are many other singularly important items as regularly renewing your high quality engine oil and filter, along with feeding your engine with the cleanest air and fuel you can provide.

[@JL-rj9fl]

@@benmmm7359 Oh yeah, definitely. I'm a big believer in following maintenance schedules, and I wish other people would take them as serious as we do. The oldest in my "fleet" is 17 years old. What's funny, is people that I talk to that insist on dumping a car before they need to (especially the ones that freak out if their car is out of warranty). I've had a few moments where I've had to explain to these people that the cost of a repair (should you even have one), is a whole lot cheaper than being locked into more car payments for years at a time.

[@wilson2455]

as Sol used to say, " oils ain't oils ". Something in Penrite's 5W30 'fully synthetic' oil makes my engine run, and sound smoother and quieter. Penrite does have 'added zinc', so perhaps that thin film of zinc makes a difference? BTW, change my oil/filter every 6 months due to short trips, cold starts, etc.

[@MussaKZN]

My oldest Hilux turns 32 in December Genuine everything. My father bought it for my when I finished year 12, His lasting advice was when your due for a service DO THE BLOODY SERVICE NO EXCUSES. Every 5000km like OCD Old girl 525.000 km. other Hilux 213.000km And Landcruiser 124.000km OIL AND FILTERS EVERY 5000km

[@sandybarnes887]

Yup. Oil is cheap, replacing a worn out engine is rather expensive

[@raymonster55]

Thank you John for coherently putting perspective on things. You have a great gift of communication.

[@HP-bi5py]

YYYESSSSSS!! He has nuts, down there!

[@juzztime]

As a roofer I know the difference in Temperature between an off white roof sheet and a black roof sheet ! one you can pick up on a hot summers day without it burning your fingers but will give you plenty of sunburn even with sunscreen ! The other you won't get sunburnt but you will hear your fingers sizzling when you attempt to grab it. I always said all roofs should be green in colour just like our trees !

[@philv2]

Yep I'm still confused. ColorBond has a scale of solar absorptance for every color. Different ones for matt as well, and the lighter matts absorb less heat than even the reflective darks.

[@terrybagatella3898]

White will still be cooler. I guess it depends on where you live. If you live in the mountains where is cold in winter but not so hot in summer good l you'd probably be better off with a green roof but if I lived in Alice Springs I'd definitely want a white (surfmist) roof.

[@juzztime]

I have said it for years that all roofs should be some shade of Green for more reasons than one !

[@buzzie0047]

Well when it's -10 in the morning, I still warm it up. Helps get the ice and snow cleared from the windshield (wind screen for you down-under) and get the wipers un-frozen. LOL

[@shumack48]

Re warming up the car; yes I totally agree the synthetic oils are brilliant. I drive a 2018 Sub XV living in Canberra so my starting routine is very simple; start the car, wait for the all the "Christmas lights " go out, by that time I have put the seat belts I drive off. Since the XV has oil temp gauge, I drive carefully until the Blue temp light goes out and oil reaches 40C t which is about 3-5 Km.The car loves you. I also oil change every 6 mother's as well as the manufacturers schedule. In all my 56 years of driving and the myriad of cars I have owned/driven never have I had an engine overall/ major breakdown. PS I bought my Subs through you and saved $5 in the process recommended 3friends who all brought cars from you. John Grunberg

[@Low760]

Saved $5?

[@AutoExpertJC]

Yeah - warming up is a decades-old concept that's been overtaken.

[@GuitarsRockForever]

@@Low760 Must be $5k, just my guess.

[@SomeNameGoesHere]

@@AutoExpertJC My wife bought a 2021 Crosstrek/XV, and waiting for the coolant temp light to go off before putting the vehicle in gear was on the new vehicle delivery checklist here in 'Murica.

[@alrobmal]

I think you will find that blue light is a engine coolant light not oil temp light.

[@SpencerHHO]

As a fabricator this is good advice re metal working and grinding. I've worked with lots of sillica in the past. EDIT: a tip I can share is soak an old towel or big rag in a water soluble acid or rust product diluted with water. I mixed water and CLR and soaked a towel in it and placed the towel over my rusty welding table and rewet from time to time with dilute CLR or just a bit of water. After a day most of the rust was disolved and I scrubbed it with a wire brush and less dilute CLR. The same method works faster with harsher acids but need to be more careful compared to CLR. Also on the mild steel thing it is in fact used in the industry if something is "mild steel" then the spec is assumed to be minimum 250GR but most structural steel is 300GR when dealing with PFCs, U beams or U coloms. I work now with portable buildings that whilst needing to be engineered usually have massive safety factors as they are built to not deform too much in transport rather than withstand a static load. A 5M by 12M module weighs north of 12 tonnes usually, most of that steel weight so I imagine steel grades are more regulated on structure that don't inherently have the same safety factor as a side effect of other engineering requirements. In my cert 4 experience 'mild steel' is appropriate depending on the context. For the theoretical exam for the welding tickets I never followed up on specific alloy is very important however. TLDR unless you are building something to a strict engineering specification 'mild steel' and common sense construction is perfectly fine.

[@benmcfarlane2959]

Yeah mate, im a boilermaker too and what you said pretty much is the way things are done. And like you said if it is important for engineering reasons it will be noted as such.

[@privatedata665]

Against my will, I was tasked with changing 100's of pistons for excessive wear and piston slap . This feature came standard on many GM vehicles but wasn't under standard equipment . I am a happy person when a piston fits a bore as intended . Tight and I'm grinning from ear to ear .

[@johndoutty9317]

Coal kept the lights on in Glasgow at Flop26.

[@kippen64]

My observation is that a high mileage car might appreciate some warming up. Mind you, even after 650,000 plus kilometres it still warms up much faster than my Ford Cortina ED. I just let it warm up while I get ready to drive off. I share your frustrations as regards Australia's approach to the environment. I agree with your views.

[@AutoExpertJC]

Thanks very much for watching.

[@robg6485]

I've never heard of a Ford Cortina ED. Please explain?

[@kippen64]

@@robg6485 Ford Cortina 3.3L rear wheel drive sedan. Not the greatest handling. Second last model. They brought out one more and then gave up. Meant to write TD. Bit of research tells me that it was probably a TE. It was a long time ago.

[@JL-rj9fl]

The engine warm up for me personally is about 30-45 seconds, followed by driving gently until the car reaches temp (the common sense method). In winter, where it's cold, it's usually about 2-4 minutes depending on how much frost I have to scrape off the windows, and snow I have to brush off the car (if I'm away and not leaving from my garage, that is).

[@ThomasFG]

For me it's the same, enough time for me to pair my phone up to my car, etc So roughly 30 - 45 seconds. Then i simply drive conservatively for the initial 10mins. Meanwhile my other car has a higher cold start idle, so i'm not about to drop it into drive from 1700rpm after initial cold start lol.

[@rayfordham9230]

I agree I do it mainly to get some oil round the engine before I drive off, I only do mainly short runs 4 to 5 miles each way so the engine does not have time to warm up thoroughly,

[@ThomasFG]

@@rayfordham9230 If i know i'm not travelling far, i'll intentionally drive a longer route so i know my oil gets up to temp. I also installed an oil/air seperator to keep PCV oil contaminants out of my intake. Still running a legal sealed PCV setup obviously. My intakes spotless as a result.

[@JL-rj9fl]

@@electric7487 Yeah, that's true. I notice the RPM drop as well just before I drive off.

[@JL-rj9fl]

@@ThomasFG Makes sense, one my cars has a higher cold start idle as well and I know what you mean.

[@petespike5000]

If you are running automatic you should bring the car to idling speed before engaging the transmission. I class that as a warm up, i do it for safety and pro-longer life of the gearbox.

[@AutoExpertJC]

On a modern car this would take 30-60 seconds - about as long as it takes to clip seatbelt, check mirrors, ensure kids are clipped in, determine if it's safe to move, engage 'R' (or 'D') and go.

[@noelanderson8915]

Hi John, you sure bough back memories when you were talking about warming up engines. It made me remember the "Running In Period" back in the day. I live in Cairns and I purchased a 69 VE Valiant ($2470) and flew to Brisbane to pick it up and drive it home. I had already researched "Running In" and was also told by the mechanic in Brisbane to keep the speed down below the max for periods of time for the first period of time (can't remember the actual mph). But I did as I was told and kept the speed down about 10-20 per cent, so 80-90kph instead of 100 to get the engine to top operating temp. Memories. Glad I still have them at 81. *lol* On services, back then, I changed the oil in my Valiant every 2000 miles and the car got a complete service every 5000 miles. At 93,000 miles (not kms) in 4 years, the engine was still spot on.

[@robstone4537]

I was living in Dubai for a few years. In summer when you turned the ignition on in the morning, before you even started the car, the temp gauge would jump up to about 1/4.

[@samatza]

Nice vid John, great viewing on this rainy Sunday in Sydney. When it comes to warming the car mine starts on a high idle when cold, about 1400 RPM and in a minute drops to just under 1000RPM. I just drive off gently when the revs drop, take it easy until the temp gauge is in the middle. Because I drive in a lot of stop/start traffic I change oil and filter about every 5000Km. I'm loving the fat cave, alas, I don't have one of my own but I'm working on it. Keep standing upright mate, unless Tiffany is around to take advantage of you when you're horizontal of course.

[@AlessandroGenTLe]

I use HCl (Hydrochloric acid) to remove milling scale. Then water and bicarbonate to inert it and then I leave it at air for a couple of days to get a light rust, use a tannin-based converter and finally coat with primer and paint.

[@robg6485]

Rob Stokes has been stoking the glass bbq too much lately!

[@stevelloyd5785]

Wow, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary accessibility based on frequency of usage. Certainly seems to be an option I could experiment with as opposed to my current method of leaving something where I last used it and forgetting all about it until I need to search the entire house/garage for it for longer than the intended job actually takes.

[@ivanolsen8596]

I dont know about now but back in the day we would warm up the large slow revving marine diesels between 6 to 12 hours before sailing. Another old chestnut was on a long run was to stop and "rest" your engine. I think it was a hangover from the horse and cart days. One regular run we did, about half way was a big old shady pepper corn tree which always had cars resting under it, but an interesting feature of the tree was the number of empty beer bottles around it!

[@SpencerHHO]

My mechanic instructor at TAFE basically said the same thing about warming up. He wasn't some old mechanic he'd done some level of engineering training too and said unless you're in practically arctic conditions, about 30 seconds then gentle driving is more than enough and often extended warm ups were if anything bad for the motor, especially if driven in city conditions as it can exacerbate oil dilution.

[@kevinkeenan8816]

I agree the modern engine and synthetic oils are a great improvement here in a Canadian winter the warm up helps the transmission shift properly but most important to my body it’s a warmer place to sit with clear windows 🥶🇨🇦☃️❄️ enjoy your content cheers

[@stco2426]

Might be an old thread but... My modern (DT) car has a temp gauge and in the dash can show oil temp. The coolant temp rises quickly as a number of systems are optimised to retain heat in the engine and warm the interior comparment (a bit). In just a few minutes of leisurely driving from a cold (say 0C) start the coolant is starting to climb to the close to the 'normal' temp. It takes about 3-4 miles of leisurely driving before the oil temp registers; the lowest temp it shows is 50C. Within 10 miles the coolant is at ~90C and the oil at a similar temp. After that, the coolant never goes higher and the oil might go to ~110C when the car is working hard on an incline etc. Modern cars warm quickly and even diesels have pretty thin oils (eg 5W30). Once oil pressure max is reached after starting I think it's better to drive, albeit leisurely, than allow idling. I don't think idleing helps. Most modern cars have turbos and idling doesn't build boost and this is an important source of heat for reaching optimum temp. Even old cars don't like idleing. The idle oil pressure is low and in engines that idle a lot the piston / cylinder can wear in what's called a 'piston-slop' fashion. Again, I think it's better to start an engine, allow the oil presure to build then drive sympathetically with relevant load, revs etc so that operating temperature is reached smoothly. My2p

[@Brendan.Wheatley]

A great informational video and quite entertaining at the same time. I was happy to hear your ladder was firmly positioned while transporting it home!

[@AutoExpertJC]

Me too - ladder lives matter. Thanks for watching, dude.

[@bh.boilers]

It was related to, we Boilermaking apprentices the historical reference to Mild Steel was because it was "mild" not able to be significantly hardened by heating and quenching or work hardening, usually no more than 0.23% carbon. Excellent video.

[@PrakashSubramanya]

Love your take on EV. Very pragmatic practical approach. I myself bought a plug-in hybrid as most of my driving is within the EV range and use petrol for that occasional long drives. The infrastructure is not there yet for the EV to replace ICE totally.

[@tomnewham1269]

Hi John. Don’t I know what it is like looking through boxes to find a washer or bolt etc knowing I would have one but not a clue where it is. In the end I would just go down to Bunnings as it was a lot easier and quicker. I inherited work shop stuff from my father and uncle. They knew which box to look in but I had no clue. I eventually went through every container and box and sorted every screw, bolt and odds and sods. I must admit I didn’t know how many hose clamps that I owned. But now finding say a spring washer is easy as looking on the third shelf and in the container marked ‘spring washers’. It was a mind numbing experience and time consuming but well worth it. I know most people don’t have the time to do so but I highly recommend it.

[@Herby-99]

I know motorbikes aren't quite the same thing but BMW now sets the digital red line very low until the motorbike warms up (10-15minutes) starts at 5,000rpm redline then increases slowly until 14,500 once over 85 degrees

[@--Nath--]

Anyone who rides a motorbike would be wise to consider the tyres need to warm up a bit too, so red lining anything with cold tyres is madness.

[@Herby-99]

@@--Nath-- Ofcourse but BMW do this until the oil has reached normal operating temperature to protect the engine while cold, nothing to do with tyre temp.

[@tommays56]

A current GM Silverado 1. holds a high idle for a bit and will due a nice clunk if you put it in Drive before it drops 2. The Torque Converter won’t lockup until it reaches about 180 Mercia temperature 3. In general the time to reach temperature is amazingly fast on a modern engine 4. In my case perhaps 30 seconds for the idle to drop and 1.3 miles to the highway and it’s Happy

[@paulg3336]

Black does optimise IR emissivity . The instructions for my Exergen DX501 precision IR thermometer recommends taking readings from a matt black surface for the most accurate results.

[@Chriswales]

Very good advice on engine warm up. My 1st car in the 80s was a pig to drive when cold. The automatic choke wasn't very good meaning it would often cut-out during gear changes. Had my current car 15 years and drive gently within a minute of starting the engine. The car is 18 years old and done 150,000 miles (240,000 km) so not waiting for it warm up hasn't impacted the engine's lifespan.

[@nowukkas2472]

Yep, have done same with my 20 year old Mazda. No warm up, gently drive until the temp needle is moving then drive normally. Never drive hard cold. Over 250,000m (400,000ks). Doesn’t even use oil.

[@Babayaga-pf5dt]

Great stuff as usual John. Here’s a tip that may be useful. When you have millscale on a piece of steel that’s too big for any container to soak in vinegar, try this. Prop the piece nice and level and run a bead of silicone about 5 mill high around the perimeter. When it’s dry, pour in your vinegar and leave overnight. When it’s done it’s thing, cut off the silicone. Now you only have to grind the very edge. Works goodly 😎

[@1gerard47]

What shit are you on about?

[@tonyg9511]

Absolutely agree with you about setting up a workshop, in my latest iteration I have no cupboards few drawers and many open shelves and wall hangings. Even so I seem to spend an extraordinary amount of time looking for things.

[@basaltplainscreationsaustr1194]

I do my first kilometre quite sedately, first 300m at around 8kmh, that gets me to the gate, then 700 to 800m at 25kmh, that gets me past the roos to the end of my road.

[@TheNanoNinja]

P/B Pigment/Binder ratios for plastics is an issue to maintain physical properties in polymers. White plastics, paints etc has a high pigment loading and subsequent lower binder (resin) loading. Black (carbon black pigment) uses lower pigment loading, higher resin loading. I would suggest that this is more of an issue for pipes than the colour as such. Solar reflectivity between Black and white roves on houses is different. TSR Total solar reflectivity and NIRR Near Infra Red Reluctance is a thing. Black and white makes a difference on housing to insulate against incoming radiation. Colour doesn't make any substantial difference to conductive or convection insulation. Paint your car any colour with Clear over Base. Paint your house roofing white.

[@pablorages1241]

Thanks for the answer on the black paint myth ... I've seen so many vids where they suggest painting heaters, radiators, cars etc white or black ... always thought it sounded suspect !

[@aceroadholder2185]

The thing to organize a work shop is a hand held label maker. Unless your memory skills rival that of Sherlock Holmes you will soon forget where stuff is in the shop. Label drawers, storage boxes, storage bins, and cases for specialty tools. You will be amazed at how much time you will save looking for stuff. You can also quickly determine if you don't have something on hand. Another benefit is that when new items show up you know where to put them. Get the cheap refills for the label maker. They don't stick very well which is good. Put the label on and cover with clear tape. Then when you need to change the label you can easily peel it all off. As to the blue bins in the Fat Cave... ditch the ladder and get stilts! Cheers from NC/USA a.k.a. 'Merica

[@MoraFermi]

A point about painting pipes in a heater box: You should absolutely paint it for UV protection! Most plastics are vulnerable to UV-induced decomposition and will slowly fall apart under the sun. Manufacturers usually add *some* UV-reflecting or UV-absorbing pigments into the resin but that can only slow the process down.

[@TaylerMade]

i fully agree with your sentiments on accessibility in the workshop. i run a full furniture workshop in little more than a long single garage. good thing about it is that it stops me becoming a tool hoarder.

[@stephenmoxley3004]

Great video, John. I appreciate your calling out the incompetent politicians in your country. I say that, because I live in California, where we have the most idiotic governor that the state has ever seen (Newsom). It seems like all of our politicians are complete buffoons. Keep up the great work.

[@garysheppard4028]

Good advice on the organisational front. Primary, secondary, tertiary. And the following might sounds a tad OCD - but with a memory like mine it comes in handy: Take some time (OK, maybe a fair bit of time) and go thru everything in your Fat Cave, down to the last packet of screws and bolts. Make a list of everything and where it is stored. E.g. M10 35mm bolts: Yellow toolbox, 2nd level. Transfer it all to a .txt or .rtf file on your computer and then every time you think "Fk. I know I have one of those doodads but were the hell is it?" instead of losing time searching, you can just do a "find" on your file and it will tell you exactly were it is. It takes a while to set up but when you have a shitload of bits and pieces it saves a lot more time in the long run.

[@AutoExpertJC]

On the detail: I just prefer to put them all in logical places...

[@dougstubbs9637]

I won’t show a photo of my FATCAVE. Let me say, however, during that time of month, my fat cave generally has a man hole cover on it.

[@garysheppard4028]

@@AutoExpertJC Depends on the "lay of the land". If all you've got is nooks and crannies, you do the best you can.

[@WOODZY_]

Coal mines rock🤘🏻

[@scialyticsteve]

I'm wondering about warming up a modern car when it's really cold - ie. below -20c. I'm in Western Canada, and it gets cold here! I usually plug my car in (block heater) when it's below -20, but find that if I don't, my car will still start at -30c, probably because of the synthetic oil. I understand that it doesn't get this cold in Australia, but could these extreme Canadian cold temperatures possibly warrant some warm-up time?

[@michaelwebber4033]

Cold rolling kicks it off, I remember all the scale under the cold mill at the steel mill I used to work at

[@govshill4557]

Thanks for the answer on the blue boxes, Dude. :-) Glad I wasn't alone in asking.

[@gunit6815]

what's your opinion on warming up modern vehicles during the winter? It can get as cold as -55C here in Canada, and the power steering pump is pissed off in those temperatures, as well as the engine. My daily driver is a 2019 VW Jetta 1.4L gas job. Sometimes on occasion if there is extreme winter weather and slippery road conditions I will drive my 2001 Ford F150 5.4L V8. I know these temperatures probably NEVER happen in Australia but are quite common here for 6-8 months of the year at random. I usually warm them up 15-20 minutes, also to unthaw the frost/ice on the windshield/windscreen.

[@stutournay3173]

Years ago I bought a solar camp shower. One side of the water bag was black and the other clear. The instructions were wrong and said to face the black side on top. The water hardly warmed at all until i figured out to put the black side on the bottom then the water got quite hot. Interesting.

[@alexgallacher5720]

Have you encountered the recent report by Volvo that compared the pollution generated by the 2 versions - EV and ICE of identical models they produce? In essence the total pollution (mainly the whole process of mining transporting and refining the Lithium and Cobalt for the batteries) was 70% higher for the EV version than the ICE counterpart. The Wall Street.Journal published a similar comparison between a Tesla Model S and a Toyota RAV 4 - the result was 65% higher for the Tesla.

[@ranimbill9331]

Thank you John, another great video

[@hoyks1]

I don't miss chokes, in particular the automatic choke hooked up to the carb that relied on a bimetalic strip and engine coolant temperature to work... but never did reliably.

[@darylnd]

I let the engine RPM drop from fast idle just to avoid the slamming sensation when shifting into gear. Love the Chicago (my home town) Bulls cap. BTW, if you turn the logo upside down, it looks like a robot violating a crab. You can't unsee it...

[@12jazion]

I take it that Australia does not have winter because if it did he would have a different opinion about warming up an engine. Start a car and try to drive at -36f, -38c for you Aussies and they just don't work right until they warm up for 15-20 minutes. The oil at that temp is thick as mud and all sorts of stuff breaks if pushed at all at those temps and transmissions don't shift right not to mention its very cold and the windows freeze over so you can't even see where you are going until the engine is up to temp and warms the cabin and some engines just don't make enough heat to get to operating temp when it's that cold so you bundle up and think warm thoughts. Sometimes the paint will break and flake off if you slam the door too hard and vinyl seat upholstery shatters if you sit on it too hard when they are cold.

[@wilson2455]

9:20 - recent hail storm in Adelaide wreaked havoc. Major Kia dealership was devastated by damage to every car not under cover. Approx. 30 new/used Kia's now awaiting repairs or simply written off.

[@Equiluxe1]

Cool down before shutting off is more important these days due to turbos, best way to cook the turbo is shut the engine off after a long hard drive without a minute of idling first.

[@nearlyretired7005]

Not nessecary on some cars! After the engine is turned off,their electric water pump keeps cooling the turbo ie. BMW

[@Equiluxe1]

@@nearlyretired7005 The Turbo bearings are cooled by oil, if you just shut off the engine after a hard run the oil in the bearings cooks off and gums up the bearing. I have seen auxiliary electric oil pumps on large plant engines which kick in before starting and on shut down but not on cars.

[@daveinthephillipines7055]

Yea years ago getting a valve grind was common the bbn oil bbnn pump is the CBC heart off the engine bmpingvoil to all moveing parts cars only did i0 0k and needed a rebuild The reason they can last longer is OILS

[@wilson2455]

as Sol used to say, " oils ain't oils ". Something in Penrite's 5W30 'fully synthetic' oil makes my engine run and sound smoother and quieter (cold, warm or hot). Penrite does have 'added zinc', so perhaps that thin film of zinc makes a difference? BTW, change my oil/filter every 6 months due to short trips, cold starts, etc.

[@partymanau]

Been a fan of Penrite oils for years. Definitely makes engines quieter and smoother.

[@maxspruit8370]

I agree with al, except the colour difference thing. Sure the greenhouse effect of the car glass heating the interior is much stronger and therefore makes colour negligable on cars interior temperature. For other things heating in the sun however. 40 percent of the daylight energy is carried in the visual spectrum. There colour does make. adifference.

[@toddsonic]

The only reason to "warm up" your vehicle is to have enough heat to keep your windows clear. Even here in Saskatchewan at -10c or warmer it's not required. At -40 C or F though it is.

[@graemeottey]

Regarding the aluminium painting/coating, how does anodising affect the heat transfer? My thoughts as a lowly mechanic is that it is still a coating, although microscopic compared to paint, and would still adversely affect cooling.

[@WesternAustraliaNowAndThen]

The trouble with using watt hours to compare batteries is that most 4x4 and caravan use will be 12v and just about every manufacturer lists the battery capacity in Amp hours.

[@AutoExpertJC]

If you're only comparing 12V batteries it doesn't matter.

[@andrewm2016]

I have a v8 with a pretty hefty camshaft and it likes to warm up for a couple of minutes before driving or it stalls and yes its tuned properly.

[@tonydoggett7627]

Hospital emergency generators have an electric coolant heater keeping the engines warm until they are needed. When the grid supply fails they are highly loaded within 10 seconds.

[@AutoExpertJC]

That's to ensure they start rapidly.

[@tonydoggett7627]

@@AutoExpertJC I looked after the generators at a hospital for 18 years. Yes, mainly for a rapid start, no glow plugs on them.

[@MoraFermi]

"The waveform collapses and there, suddenly you're standing in Copenhagen." -- Nice one John! :D

[@robking7503]

If I dont let the revs drop after a minute or so get the big clunk from the trans when going to reverse.

[@hksjoshua]

You warm up if you plan to keep the vehicle for life, if you get a different vehicle every couple of years just drive the damn thing.

[@philldodds1482]

My newish car restricts motor speed to 6k until the motor reaches 75 deg C then it will run to its 9k red line.

[@jdalvarec]

Hi John, It's being a while since you put this video up. Very informative and good to know about the matter about warming up the vehicle before a cold start. However, in the same sense, I wonder whether or not it is necessary to wait a little while before switching off a diesel vehicle. I hope you can talk about this. Many thanks.

[@Mambey]

Got to love predictive text. Makes for interesting reading.

[@walterrwrush]

The black city roof confusion is probably that citys store a lot of solar heat and leck heat from energy use So are warmer that the land around them at night

[@darylcheshire1618]

I used to have a ‘71 Kingswood. When cold was a bastard. I’d pull out the choke and push it in graduly as the engine warmed up. You can’t push it in too early. Is an automatic so had to hold it at the lights and the engine will be running rich and jumping around. The previous car was a ‘64 Valliant manual but it had an automatic choke which did the same thing I was doing in the Kingswood graduly pushing in the choke as the engine warmed up. With the 2017 Subaru, cold starts are a thing of the past.

[@rais1953]

The first car I owned was air cooled. Pull the choke to start but push it in as soon as it started. With no water jacket to heat up it warmed up almost instantly.

[@rsch0812]

John if you soak your Zirc wheel in vinegar, would that clean it up and make it usable again? R

[@gregsaunders9472]

I’m one of those people who have been brought up to be a wows-a and I have personally held to those conversations. But! I love your work. Now I have to endure the penalty of guilt. Thanks for the good info

[@AutoExpertJC]

Thanks for watching, Greg.

[@mikepayne5277]

I must agree...Put my money down on a F-150 Lighting and got a lot of looks from my car friends. Cancelled my order, just could not wait for a replacement to my F-250.

[@AutoExpertJC]

It does tend to be a virtue-signalling knee-jerk...

[@janstafford1490]

John, if i may or Mr Cadogan if i may knott, i feel engineering should start at 9 years and a must for any body in advisory position like terra watt poliy ticks your videos, classic entertainment and informative despite your odd personal axe to grind cheers much joy had and yet to have.

[@earthsteward9]

I drive gently at first when a cold engine is started and I live in Canada

[@rodgratton8699]

Good call

[@timothysmith5453]

Re warming the engine, I have a Outlander PHEV and when the computer decides to engage the motor there is a period of about 1 minute where the motor is started and running and it revs up and is helping the vehicle drive. I deduce from this Mitsubishi believe the motor requires some warming up.

[@AutoExpertJC]

It might just be topping up the cranking battery - that's more likely.

[@timothysmith5453]

@@AutoExpertJC it does it every time the motor starts though incl when the traction battery is full (as on my model it runs the engine for cabin heating as wells as if I plant the foot)

[@AutoExpertJC]

Talking about re-charging the cranking battery, dude.

[@timothysmith5453]

@@AutoExpertJC some say the motor is started by the generator (and seems to be right as there isn’t any starter motor type sound when the motor starts) so I figure that is powered by the main traction battery. It does have another small battery in the boot and that too I figure was to power the electronics. All of this I could be wrong though.

[@berttrombetta4953]

It's heating up the cat

[@-DC-]

Start up drive away immediately is in virtually every owners manual produced in the past 20 years, amazing people think sitting at idle for minutes is actually doing something bar wasting fuel.

[@bofty]

301000 km on an 11 year old Subaru, I start it and just drive everytime, no issues at all. Don’t warm a new car up by sitting there, just drive it, it’s better for them

[@bruceparr1678]

I remember from my toolmaking days that "starmould" was a wonderful steel.

[@Michael-vx3ow]

Just laughing so much that you have to explain about the blue boxes, it is good to have a laugh, thank you so much

[@StaitlyNatters]

Bit disappointed I missed this live. You spoke about the warmup of modern vehicles, I drive diesels, what about the cool-downs of these vehicles. My regular is a 2012 Subaru while the other is a 2001 jackaroo td. The jack is strictly off road use while the Subaru on road. What are your thoughts on the cool-down process of diesels.

[@AutoExpertJC]

If you've been running a turbo engine hard, two minutes of idling makes good sense, to keep the oil flowing through the hot turbo until it cools.

[@user-th6se5xw1v]

What is the best general strategy money wise if I want to get into a new car every 3-5 years? Assume I have the capital to buy a car outright, and sell privately when its time to change up, is that the best way? Or lease/finance?

[@bushmagpie3312]

Hi John, looking at purchasing a DualCab PHEV, but don’t see much on the facts about towing caravans/trailers or even EV towing. Manufactures claim them to have more Torque but can the torque be sustained or will it be damaged? EV & PHEV what sort of economy are we going to get. We currently have a diesel and it’s fuel economy towing is about double usage when towing. Is this same for PHEV? Be great to get some honest facts.

[@SuperJacobe]

If car manufacturers/government tell you not to warm the car up do the opposite,you should let oil circulate around the engine and into the turbo a one minute before you drive off I ask you this question if your car got to a 100,000 miles it was serviced regularly never lost oil?where does engine wear come from? It Doesn’t come from when engine was hot??

[@johnwyatt2316]

Silicosis it's a real killer. Strange everyone knows about asbestosis and how harmful that is. Many years in the construction trade cutting masonry glad we got to water suppression and full PPE. Great video as always 👍👍

[@swfswf50]

A cup wheel on a 9" Grinder is good for the removal of millscale. Not suitable for the backyarder though.

[@clee40]

TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:44 “Is it a good idea to let the engine run for a few minutes after a cold start before driving?” 5:24 “oh man you'll be a fossil in 5 years time, 5 years ago Tesla had one production factory, now they have 5 and more rolling out across the world, good luck with your combustion engines.” 9:03 “Most of this car shortage hype is so manufacturers can create FOMO and gouge more money from you. Don't believe it in most cases. If you go in and they pull this start walking out and you may find a car magically appear! Lol” 11:32 “Please tell me why I need to get rid of the mill scale on my rolled steel” 15:33 “I'm a blacksmith/farrier and we end up with a ton of scale on a horseshoe. At farrier competitions we are forced to be luddites and use a hot rasp, but in the field we’ll use either a linisher or an angle grinder. We generally use Zirc, but going to have a bit of a play with some of the others.” 20:53 “As an engineer I’d imagine you’d know that there’s no such grade as “mild steel”. A cert 4 teacher I once had advised our class never to use that term in an exam because it’s not listed in any standards and you’ll lose marks if you do. I’m guessing you use the term to describe low carbon steel?” 24:18 “If colour makes no difference why do they always tell you to paint the inside of rolled plastic pipe water heaters black?” 28:55 “You've gotta send this video to Rob Stokes the NSW Planning Minister. He and his boffins have decided to ban dark coloured roofs in Sydney as they state they contribute to heating up the planet and contribute to climate change. I kid you not. Seriously, who advises these people?” 30:51 “I didn't catch the IP rating of this thing (if you mentioned it?), and how would it stand up strapped in the back of the ute on the way to Dingo Piss Creek with Tiffany? Keep up the good work.” 34:39 “Mr. Synacism” 35:12 “Made to run hot to beat omission laws.” 35:33 “Dose Schrodinger's Cat still shit out microchips for the Automobile Industry in the profit kitty litter box.” 36:10 “How the hell do you reach the blue sorting boxes? Bugged me the entire video :)” 36:27 “How do you get to those blue storage bins on the wall?” 39:40 Outro

[@clee40]

add these to your description!

[@rosiehawtrey]

Sigh. 28:55. If you live in the bumhole of Norway a black roof is a good idea. Its black body radiation. In cold weather black good because it heats up the material which helps heat up the building. Building is cold because polar bear is freezing his nuts off outside... Inbredistan or Koalastan not so good, because the weather isn't colder than a whales nuts. Its bloody hot and its hot inside the building so... Everyone puts on the air con and there's your global warming donation. A whitewashed roof can reduce point temperature from 25-30% and that's heat that isn't loading the air con. I have personal experience. Touch the ivory paint areas on my Wolseley - pleasantly warm - touch the dark green - extreme pain..

[@RupertReynolds1962]

Agreed about warming up--just drive it (a bit gently) soon after starting and it will usually warm up faster than idling. Unless you parked near the poles, that is! Those guys have different rules. Do they still light a bonfire under big diesels before trying to start them? :-) This won't be much of a thing for your Strine viewers I guess, but I've had to clear ice off the windows a few times already this year in UK, as we head toward winter. It's wrong to drive when I can't see, so either I've got to run the engine a bit and set the heater right, or use a scraper, or a watering can of warm water to clear the ice. Many more days I've had condensation inside the windows, if it was raining or I forgot to put the fan on, last time I drove. Again, I have to clear windows before I drive, because I'm old fashioned about seeing. And so are the police.

[@AutoExpertJC]

Sure, if it's minus 60 deg, metallurgy becomes a thing...

[@RupertReynolds1962]

@@AutoExpertJC Years ago, the oil would be too solid to move, even in parts of Russia. I guess that's less of a problem these days :-)

[@AutoExpertJC]

Still important to match the fuel and oils to the environment.

[@westaussie9497]

Sorry John. I fell to sleep. At the Beer Garden lecture. I will have to repeat this lesson.

[@barrettwbenton]

In the last five minutes of this, I found myself saying "yes, I *do* envy the Fatcave", given that my only possible space (basement) is, shall I say, height-challenged…I'm 5'8", and I'm lucky to be able to walk bolt-upright everywhere except the back-fifth Down There). As a result, my primary/secondary/tertiary organization gets rather tricky. So, yeah, I do envy your Fatcave.

[@laurence2192]

‘The Climate Emergency’ For an engineer who loves bagging religion he’s a devout follower of the latest one.

[@ardy7729]

Where did you get your T-shirt?

[@warrenjohnknight.9831]

John Cadogan for prime minister, may the force be with you John, 😎.

[@richardgraham65]

If you use the Bluetti to charge your Olight torch, it gives the torch an additional 5000 lumens.

[@christopherbenetatos5123]

Inspirational Fat Cave design advice!

[@scroungasworkshop4663]

Hi John, great video and yes the blue boxes were bugging me as well😂. I’m trying to understand something about Toyota engineering. Up until the 100 series all Land Cruisers ever made had six stud wheels but when the 100 series came out Toyota changed to five stud wheels even though the lighter Prado retained six studs. Now the 300 series Land Cruiser has changed back to six stud wheels even though the 300 series is lighter than the 200 series. I would be interested to hear your opinion about why from an engineering point of view as four extra wheel studs, nuts and associated machining per vehicle must be a cost that the engineers had to justify to the bean counters. Thanks, Stuart.

[@alc7505]

The 5 stud toyota use M14 studs in comparison to M12 on the 6 stud. So the 5 stud actually has a higher shear strength and is supposed to be stronger. Is the marginal difference worth it? Probaly not.....

[@scroungasworkshop4663]

@@alc7505 Thanks ALC, your the only person to ever offer a reason. I didn’t realise the studs were bigger on the five stud. Of course the question now is why did Toyota change back? Cheers Stuart.

[@alc7505]

@@scroungasworkshop4663 Good question. The only reason I can think of is to make the wheel options more universal. But Toyota, and the other major brands make strange and frustrating decisions from a consumers perspective on a regualar basis, so who really knows.....

[@scroungasworkshop4663]

@@alc7505 Agreed👍👍👍

[@shaddolf6662]

John I am in the position to buy a new car sometimes in the next couple of years. I was initially thinking it makes zero sense to buy now given the high prices / lack of discounting on new cars. Then of course I realised that the resale of my old car is also at a peak now. Would I be right, to an extent, that it logically makes little difference when I buy in the next 2 years (from a financial perspective) as by the time a dealer is willing to drop $3k off a sale price, the resale of my car would likely drop by a similar amount, netting me no better off? This thought has made me think I probably should order one sooner rather than later, BUT then I came to the realisation that you lock in the new car price when you sign, but you don't get the resale price for your old car til later...so if it takes 6-12 months to deliver my car, I'll be paying full RRP and possibly a reduced value of my old car. Is it possible to lock in a price for a trade in when you sign the contract? Or would no dealer (understandably) do this, given that they cannot be sure what condition the car would be in 6-12 months time?

[@--Nath--]

Well, you could order a tesla model 3 online with 6-8 weeks delivery time - and then when it turns up, sell your other one at the current inflated price.. And then never have to visit a petrol station again, unless you want one of those deliciously incubated-at-perfect-food-poisoning-levels sausage rolls. The idea of waiting a year for an ICE vehicle at this stage in the climate crisis - seems like signing up for a new VHS tape player and CRT TV after the new tech is out there already..?

[@DazzaJay]

Unfortunately we have to warm up our '93 Celica before going out, even though it shouldn't be needed. Because it's an automatic the car REFUSES to shift into top gear until the engine is above the cold marker on the gauge. As we live on a 100km/h road, if we don't let it warm up first and just drive it, the car screams it's guts out in 2nd gear at 5,000rpm, until it gets hot enough to change gears. - if it was manual this wouldn't be an issue, but it's an auto and it does stupid things. (No, there's nothing wrong with the gearbox or fluids, this was just a quirk of this particular model.)

[@AutoExpertJC]

I did say 'modern' car. As opposed to 30yo car...

[@DazzaJay]

@@AutoExpertJC yeah, I know that, but you did mention 80's a lot. And this 90's car has a fairly modern engine, EFI, all that crap, and it's the same basic 5S-FE engine that Toyota used all the way up to 2007. (Obviously with minor changes over the years)

[@AutoExpertJC]

Minor changes - like complete digital control...

[@tonybennett638]

Re up your engine's ...

[@DazzaJay]

@@AutoExpertJC Still, pretty sure it's a gearbox related issue, rather than engine. Why in the hell would it be set to not go into top gear if the engine is cold anyway.

[@NoChannelChannel]

Can you review horse carts, were all going to be driving these soon

[@richardagent1924]

When I was at tech I was told an easy way to remember what a newton is think of the force an apple exerts. Of course English apples could have been larger than Aussie ones, |-)

[@terrybagatella3898]

Hi John, I love your stuff mate but I'll have to disagree with your comments relating to the colour of cars not making a difference to the temperature. A very good, engineer of sorts, friend of mine one did an experiment with an infra-red thermometer in a car park where he worked at the time. Two cars sitting in the sun for the same amount of time, one black, one white. Surface temperature of the black one 66deg C. The white one 44deg C. I've also experienced this in a practical sense a number of times. My first recollection was some 30 odd years ago when my white XW Fairmont was parked next to a friend's 180b with a black vinyl roof. Both cars with equal exposure to the direct sunlight. We sat in both cars in quick succession and my white car was warm but tolerable whereas his car was uncomfortably hot. I've also, on many occasion, taken the opportunity to test this effect in car parks where, on a very hot day, walk up to a white car and, very gently so as not to scratch the surface, place my hand flat down on the surface. On a white car you will be able to hold your hand there but on a black car you almost certainly won't. Same goes with the roof of houses. A house with a white roof will be much easier to keep cool than one with a dark roof due to the thermal stress on the roof cavity. It makes a big difference.. I would suggest that 66deg to 44deg feels about right. Cheers mate.