I'll Never Be Cold Again (There's an App for That)
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AspDotNetDev wrote:
That'll allow me to turn my car's heater on before I leave for work in the morning
Presumably you live somewhere where it is not illegal to leave an unattended car running.
AspDotNetDev wrote:
Have any of you installed a remote starter and have pitfalls / stories to tell?
Getting a large ticket for breaking the law?
Good to know. I'm researching it and it seems the main reason is because people like to steal cars that are unattended and have the keys in them. Since I won't actually have the keys in the car and there is apparently something in the technology that prevents the car from moving, it should mean those laws don't apply in this case. I'll ask the person that will be installing it. Thanks for the info.
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Today is the day I will be dropping my car off to get a remote starter installed. That'll allow me to turn my car's heater on before I leave for work in the morning and drive to work in a comfy, warm car. One of the remotes works from a mile away, and there is an iPhone app so I can use the iPhone to start my car via satellite, which will give it virtually unlimited distance (and no need to carry around an extra remote). It also has some other nice phone features, such as texting me when my car is started and showing the location of my car in a map. It'll even help me find my car in large parking lots (I never remember where I park). I'm excited. :cool: Have any of you installed a remote starter and have pitfalls / stories to tell?
Starting the car cold and letting it warm up by idling is probably one of the worst things you can do to your engine. If you insist on doing it, make sure you change the oil every 3000 miles.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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My car has remote start built into the factory remote; I find cooling it down below death valley in the summer more useful than pre-heating it on days that I don't have a layer of frost to melt off first. If you have an attached garage, remember you can't (safely) idle your car in it no matter how cold it is.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
Dan Neely wrote:
If you have an attached garage, remember you can't (safely) idle your car in it no matter how cold it is.
Good point. Don't have one myself. If I ever get one, I'll probably just heat the garage. :)
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Starting the car cold and letting it warm up by idling is probably one of the worst things you can do to your engine. If you insist on doing it, make sure you change the oil every 3000 miles.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Interesting. Why is idling bad for the engine?
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Interesting. Why is idling bad for the engine?
Running an engine at less than peak operating temperature is very bad for it because fuel is not completely burned, and puts more pollutants into the oil. Also it can corrode the spark plugs. When you warm up the car by driving it, the engine reaches peak operating temperature very quickly. When you warm it up by idling it, the engine takes a long time to reach peak operating temperature. There are also many more reasons that are contained in this book: Drive it Forever[^] I read that book many years ago, so I can't recall all of the reasons right now, but I do recall that idling is very bad for the engine.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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Running an engine at less than peak operating temperature is very bad for it because fuel is not completely burned, and puts more pollutants into the oil. Also it can corrode the spark plugs. When you warm up the car by driving it, the engine reaches peak operating temperature very quickly. When you warm it up by idling it, the engine takes a long time to reach peak operating temperature. There are also many more reasons that are contained in this book: Drive it Forever[^] I read that book many years ago, so I can't recall all of the reasons right now, but I do recall that idling is very bad for the engine.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
I live life on the wild side. I'm gonna risk it. :rolleyes:
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I live life on the wild side. I'm gonna risk it. :rolleyes:
You'll put your eye out!
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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I wonder what the carbon foot print for all the technology used and the extra car idling would be. :)
Chris Meech I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar] In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. [Yogi Berra] posting about Crystal Reports here is like discussing gay marriage on a catholic church’s website.[Nishant Sivakumar]
I wouldn't worry about the carbon footprint. I don't know for sure about the OP, but my car doesn't walk around in the carbon and my wife makes me clean off my shoes before going in the house. Now, if you found some walking carbon, that would be almost as cool as sharks with laser beams.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E. Comport Computing Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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I wouldn't worry about the carbon footprint. I don't know for sure about the OP, but my car doesn't walk around in the carbon and my wife makes me clean off my shoes before going in the house. Now, if you found some walking carbon, that would be almost as cool as sharks with laser beams.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E. Comport Computing Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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AspDotNetDev wrote:
ou mean... like... humans?
Nah, too many impurities. We're something like 60% water by weight.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E. Comport Computing Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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Good to know. I'm researching it and it seems the main reason is because people like to steal cars that are unattended and have the keys in them. Since I won't actually have the keys in the car and there is apparently something in the technology that prevents the car from moving, it should mean those laws don't apply in this case. I'll ask the person that will be installing it. Thanks for the info.
AspDotNetDev wrote:
won't actually have the keys in the car and there is apparently something in the technology that prevents the car from moving
There's nothing that prevents the car from moving. However the instant you press the brake without having a key in the ignition, the engine is killed.
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Good to know. I'm researching it and it seems the main reason is because people like to steal cars that are unattended and have the keys in them. Since I won't actually have the keys in the car and there is apparently something in the technology that prevents the car from moving, it should mean those laws don't apply in this case. I'll ask the person that will be installing it. Thanks for the info.
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AspDotNetDev wrote:
won't actually have the keys in the car and there is apparently something in the technology that prevents the car from moving
There's nothing that prevents the car from moving. However the instant you press the brake without having a key in the ignition, the engine is killed.
In that case, it indirectly prevents the car from moving, right?
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In that case, it indirectly prevents the car from moving, right?
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Running an engine at less than peak operating temperature is very bad for it because fuel is not completely burned, and puts more pollutants into the oil. Also it can corrode the spark plugs. When you warm up the car by driving it, the engine reaches peak operating temperature very quickly. When you warm it up by idling it, the engine takes a long time to reach peak operating temperature. There are also many more reasons that are contained in this book: Drive it Forever[^] I read that book many years ago, so I can't recall all of the reasons right now, but I do recall that idling is very bad for the engine.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Richard Andrew x64 wrote:
Running an engine at less than peak operating temperature is very bad for it because fuel is not completely burned, and puts more pollutants into the oil.
...to the point where it becomes a problem even though you follow proper maintenance such as changing the oil every 3 months/3000 miles? The other side of that assertion (from what I'm told) is that on very cold winter days, oil gets thicker and flows like molasses until it's had time to warm up. If you rev the engine and moving parts aren't getting lubricated properly yet, that's when the premature wear takes place.
Richard Andrew x64 wrote:
idling is very bad for the engine
Taxis, cop cars etc idle for thousands of hours each year. I'm not hearing that they cost more in maintenance than any other well-maintained car.
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Indirectly, yeah. Realistically, you can't get too far on the road without touching the brakes.
I'm not in my car right now, or I'd test this, but don't you need to press the break to get out of park?
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I'm not in my car right now, or I'd test this, but don't you need to press the break to get out of park?
AspDotNetDev wrote:
I'm not in my car right now, or I'd test this, but don't you need to press the break to get out of park?
Older cars, not necessarily (although I wouldn't recommend doing that to your transmission). :) Newer cars, more likely, as it's a safety feature. Manual transmissions are another thing. If it's wired as it's supposed to, the remote start won't work unless you leave the car in neutral and with the parking brake on.
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Richard Andrew x64 wrote:
Running an engine at less than peak operating temperature is very bad for it because fuel is not completely burned, and puts more pollutants into the oil.
...to the point where it becomes a problem even though you follow proper maintenance such as changing the oil every 3 months/3000 miles? The other side of that assertion (from what I'm told) is that on very cold winter days, oil gets thicker and flows like molasses until it's had time to warm up. If you rev the engine and moving parts aren't getting lubricated properly yet, that's when the premature wear takes place.
Richard Andrew x64 wrote:
idling is very bad for the engine
Taxis, cop cars etc idle for thousands of hours each year. I'm not hearing that they cost more in maintenance than any other well-maintained car.
Daniel Desormeaux wrote:
...to the point where it becomes a problem even though you follow proper maintenance such as changing the oil every 3 months/3000 miles?
If you read my original post, you'd see that that is exactly what I recommended to him if he does do a lot of idling.
Daniel Desormeaux wrote:
on very cold winter days, oil gets thicker and flows like molasses until it's had time to warm up. If you rev the engine and moving parts aren't getting lubricated properly yet, that's when the premature wear takes place.
That is why they make multigrade oil, you know 10W-30? The first number is the weight when it's cold, so that it flows easily when it's cold. And I didn't say to "rev" the engine, only to drive it normally.
Daniel Desormeaux wrote:
Taxis, cop cars etc idle for thousands of hours each year. I'm not hearing that they cost more in maintenance than any other well-maintained car.
I don't know that what you "hear" is any kind of scientific metric.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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Daniel Desormeaux wrote:
...to the point where it becomes a problem even though you follow proper maintenance such as changing the oil every 3 months/3000 miles?
If you read my original post, you'd see that that is exactly what I recommended to him if he does do a lot of idling.
Daniel Desormeaux wrote:
on very cold winter days, oil gets thicker and flows like molasses until it's had time to warm up. If you rev the engine and moving parts aren't getting lubricated properly yet, that's when the premature wear takes place.
That is why they make multigrade oil, you know 10W-30? The first number is the weight when it's cold, so that it flows easily when it's cold. And I didn't say to "rev" the engine, only to drive it normally.
Daniel Desormeaux wrote:
Taxis, cop cars etc idle for thousands of hours each year. I'm not hearing that they cost more in maintenance than any other well-maintained car.
I don't know that what you "hear" is any kind of scientific metric.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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There's no reason to be snarky.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
