Cars: engine block heaters and cold starting

It's not that bad. You really aren't going to do any damage unless it's like -20 F.

And we're not really talking about damage, just reduced bearing life.

Most diesel trucks in the US come with them, but gas cars don't unless you're in Alaska.

As for aging the engine by four years, think about it... an average engine last 10-15 years, so that would mean if you start your car 4 days in a row below freezing it would fail.

I've had cold snaps where I live that lasted weeks where the temps never got above 20 F and my car is just fine.

Average engine lasts 10-15 years??

WTF? If that's true, people treat their cars like shit.

Mine is 24 yo with the original gaskets (heads, valve stems, etc.) end everything except the plugs and oil. Even the injectors work just fine. I did replace the coils just as a precaution, but they still worked so I've kept them as spares.

It's the body that rots because of all the salt on the roads.

Lived in Wisconsin and first learned of them there. Many have them there..gets pretty cold there.

VW / Audi / Skoda sell them as an extra.

Most of the time in England, the morning temp is above -3C

I keep chickens roost at my international harvester .Never cold

You probably drive fk all..I drive 50,000 km a year, give or take..10 years thats 500, 000kms which is well over what most engine warranties will cover..So yeh 10 -15 years average sounds about right

With pure synthetic oil this is not an issue at all.

Germans came up with synthetic oil for their tanks
in the Russian cold.

Good to 80F below zero

Regular oil is only good to 20F below

On cold starts

30000 km / year.

My 2002 Dodge diesel Ram 2500 comes with a block heater.

Plus no electronics and a standard transmission.

Starting fluid, either, a must for cold weather starting. Keep those engines warm, cold weather does a number on compression, oil rings, flexible belts and bearings. Oil doesn't lubricate in cold starts and metal against metal is wear, lots of wear.

Flexible components become brittle and split or rupture under load.

I live in Canada and never plug my truck in. I use synthetic oil and have a good battery. Never a problem. Hemi engine runs beautifully with great compression and no ticking or knocking. Oil use is minimal. Maybe a liters worth every couple months. Who cares.
Truck is approaching 400,000 km on the odometer. It’s a 2001.

It’s all bullshit about plugging in vehicles. Doesn’t make one bit of difference.
Also did similar with a 95 Ford Taurus. 300k on it and still running strong when I finally got rid of it from too much rust.

The engines are tight as fuck in the cold you dofus...Puckered up and grinding.

Okay now, who doesn't like a valid excuse to go buy a new vehicle?

Some of you people out there need to learn how to turn a bad situation into a positive one.

Engine internals are sized for running temps. They expand when warmed, meaning they are lose when cold. Reving cold engines before the pistons have warmed/expanded leads to the cylinders becoming oval instead of round due to uneven wear from undersized pistons. Piston rings will not allow proper compression in an ovalized cylinder. Some higher end performance engines have anti friction coated piston skirts to minimize this.

90% of engine wear happens before the engine reaches operating temperature.
Engine heaters significantly reduce engine wear....period.