[DHG-1934]

I generally avoid ever driving away right when I start my car. (Any car, not just #1934) I like to let it warm up, and thanks to our "modern" engines, I have to do that for nearly 10 minutes on cold mornings to avoid that horrible sound that most of us know and fear at 3k rpms.

I've been told, and seen mentioned here, that too much idling is a bad thing. 2 reasons I know of for this are condensation buildup in the exhaust system, and less thorough burning of the fuel resulting in working the cats harder.

I don't care too much about shortening the life of the cats, and I'm guessing that a good romp or two on the gas (or sufficient distance driven) gets all the condensation out of the exhaust system once you get going. Are there any other negative effects that are not so easily ignored?

Thanks!

Joe

 

[bobistheoilguy]

in running short runs where the oil doesn't have time to warm up, condensation does occur which causes the oil to oxidize faster. the warm up does allow the condensation to burn off which is good. now too much idleing can also cause excessive blowby gases to build up in the oil as well as build up in the cat, thus again oxidizing the oil prematurly. so find a happy medium and don't go to over board.

bob
Member STLE
Lubricant Specialist
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com