How cold is too cold?
03-15-2018, 10:55 AM
#16
Rennlist Member
I would not want to start my 996 if it were -30F outside, even with 0-40 oil. That’s just me though. I started it up at -10F one day and wasn’t really worried.
The 2 things to remeber are:
1.) Your oil viscosity at extreme low temps must be able to flow immediately and without too much resistance. Some oils start to have trouble below -30F
2.) I wouldn’t rev the engine past 3,000 RPMs during warmup, and I would use very lite throttle during warmup
How often are temps in the -10F to -30F range where you live? If you are really worried about it, just drive a different car or heat up the garage if you can on those days.
The 2 things to remeber are:
1.) Your oil viscosity at extreme low temps must be able to flow immediately and without too much resistance. Some oils start to have trouble below -30F
2.) I wouldn’t rev the engine past 3,000 RPMs during warmup, and I would use very lite throttle during warmup
How often are temps in the -10F to -30F range where you live? If you are really worried about it, just drive a different car or heat up the garage if you can on those days.
03-15-2018, 12:36 PM
#17
I would not want to start my 996 if it were -30F outside, even with 0-40 oil. That’s just me though. I started it up at -10F one day and wasn’t really worried.
The 2 things to remeber are:
1.) Your oil viscosity at extreme low temps must be able to flow immediately and without too much resistance. Some oils start to have trouble below -30F
2.) I wouldn’t rev the engine past 3,000 RPMs during warmup, and I would use very lite throttle during warmup
How often are temps in the -10F to -30F range where you live? If you are really worried about it, just drive a different car or heat up the garage if you can on those days.
The 2 things to remeber are:
1.) Your oil viscosity at extreme low temps must be able to flow immediately and without too much resistance. Some oils start to have trouble below -30F
2.) I wouldn’t rev the engine past 3,000 RPMs during warmup, and I would use very lite throttle during warmup
How often are temps in the -10F to -30F range where you live? If you are really worried about it, just drive a different car or heat up the garage if you can on those days.
03-17-2018, 07:49 AM
#19
I park my car outside now under a factory car cover and connected to a battery tender. I won’t even start the car if the temperature is below 42 degrees. I realize the short blocks are now cheap, but $10,000 out-the-door is still $10,000. If changing the oil a lot and not starting the car below 30 degree saves me $10,000, why not ??
03-17-2018, 11:10 AM
#20
Rennlist Member
03-17-2018, 01:22 PM
#21
Rennlist Member
I park my car outside now under a factory car cover and connected to a battery tender. I won’t even start the car if the temperature is below 42 degrees. I realize the short blocks are now cheap, but $10,000 out-the-door is still $10,000. If changing the oil a lot and not starting the car below 30 degree saves me $10,000, why not ??
03-17-2018, 01:55 PM
#22
Rennlist Member
Honestly, 42 is nothing. Same with 30 degrees. If you read deep into any high end engine builder or researcher, they always mention that folks should not be putting the hammer down when the engine is too cold, to take it easy. That’s the biggest issue - don’t let the piston get too hot too fast when the rest of the engine is too cold. If you start your car and take it easy at 42 or 30 and let it warm up by driving carefully, I really don’t think you should ever worry about it. If you end up having an issue, it’s a design flaw that will get you sooner or later.
And these German cars spend a lot of time in cold climates and survive fine.
Cold engines should be started, run for MAYBE 30-90 seconds to allow fluid to circulate, especially automatics, then driven gently until warned. Avoid hard acceleration until warmed.
Also, engines warm up faster and evenly when driven than when idling.
Enough talk, I'm going to take my car for a drive. It hasn't been out in weeks due to snow.
03-18-2018, 11:37 AM
#23
Honestly, 42 is nothing. Same with 30 degrees. If you read deep into any high end engine builder or researcher, they always mention that folks should not be putting the hammer down when the engine is too cold, to take it easy. That’s the biggest issue - don’t let the piston get too hot too fast when the rest of the engine is too cold. If you start your car and take it easy at 42 or 30 and let it warm up by driving carefully, I really don’t think you should ever worry about it. If you end up having an issue, it’s a design flaw that will get you sooner or later.
The 996 I don’t drive below 42 degrees because of bore scoring and the other 20 modes of engine failure
The Mini Cooper I don’t start below 32 degrees because the timing chain can snap at any minute
The Land Rover Disco II I don’t drive when it snows because it will rust, fail state inspection and slip a sleeve
The Ferrari California I don’t drive when it rains because the car has never seen rain and I don’t want to crash it & end up on YouTube. Plus the DCT can go any second without warning and cost anywhere from $7,000 to $40,000.
The only two cars I own I would drive in all weather conditions are the $300 Toyota Echo I inherited from my Dad and my Infiniti QX30. The Toyota Echo sounds like total crap over just 2,000 RPM but will go over 210,000 miles if you don’t maintain it and 300,000 miles if you do. The Infiniti is the best of both worlds. German engineering on the inside and Japanese reliability & dealer service on the outside.
03-18-2018, 11:48 AM
#24
Rennlist Member
lol. Funny post.
I like the details on how far the Echo will go with and without maintenance. In the spirit of sharing, my brother-in-law successfully completed a test earlier this month that I can share: If you want to know how far a Mazda Cx-6 can go without EVER changing OR adding oil, that figure is exactly 95,600 miles OR 8 DAYS BEFORE THE LEASE IS UP!
I like the details on how far the Echo will go with and without maintenance. In the spirit of sharing, my brother-in-law successfully completed a test earlier this month that I can share: If you want to know how far a Mazda Cx-6 can go without EVER changing OR adding oil, that figure is exactly 95,600 miles OR 8 DAYS BEFORE THE LEASE IS UP!
03-18-2018, 12:09 PM
#25
I am absolutely amazed by the irrational fears this website and these posts generate. The quality and engineering of Porsches is absolutely amazing, there is no other car company in the world that spends as much time and money on this. My 99 C2 after almost 20 years is in better condition than cars half its age and I've been using it as a daily driver in MN year round for the past 3 years. Routine maintenance and common sense is all that's needed. When it's really cold I take it easy just like I would with any other car until the engine gets up to temp... it's not rocket science.
03-18-2018, 04:22 PM
#26
Rennlist Member
lol. Funny post.
I like the details on how far the Echo will go with and without maintenance. In the spirit of sharing, my brother-in-law successfully completed a test earlier this month that I can share: If you want to know how far a Mazda Cx-6 can go without EVER changing OR adding oil, that figure is exactly 95,600 miles OR 8 DAYS BEFORE THE LEASE IS UP!
I like the details on how far the Echo will go with and without maintenance. In the spirit of sharing, my brother-in-law successfully completed a test earlier this month that I can share: If you want to know how far a Mazda Cx-6 can go without EVER changing OR adding oil, that figure is exactly 95,600 miles OR 8 DAYS BEFORE THE LEASE IS UP!
03-18-2018, 04:25 PM
#27
Rennlist Member