It is evident that in winter, temperatures falling below zero can pose a variety of challenges for drivers, because cars usually behave a little differently at this time than in summer. True, not only do cars change in cold weather, but drivers’ behaviour should also change for their vehicles to last as long as possible. https://www.lllparts.co.uk/ experts also highlight this. They say that small changes can often ensure a car’s reliability even during the coldest winters. And you should start thinking about this even before the coldest season of the year begins.
What you should do before you start driving
The main feature of winter is cold, and most drivers would agree. Unfortunately, not everyone pays attention or knows that cold directly affects the engine, especially its most critical component: engine oil. Physics says that as temperature drops, liquids become more viscous, meaning engine oil becomes thicker in cold weather. As a result, stagnant engine oil loses its fundamental lubricating properties, increasing the wear rate of engine components. The most important habit drivers should adopt is regular engine warming before driving. Just a few minutes of regular car engine warming up can increase its durability and help prevent major problems, such as wear on engine rod bearings. When these wear out, the engine can start burning oil and cause countless other mechanical issues, some of which may require a major engine repair. So, LLLParts experts once again emphasise the importance of warming up the car engine by keeping the car idle for several minutes.
Potential gearbox problems
Aggressive driving immediately after starting the car can also cause mechanical damage to automatic transmissions. Just like in a car engine, gearboxes also contain oil that performs the same role: lubricating components to reduce friction. Cold also thickens gearbox oil, making the situation similar to that in an engine. Intensive pressing of the accelerator with cold oil in gearboxes inevitably leads to high friction between the gears, creating ideal conditions for component wear. LLLParts specialists emphasise that this is especially important for automatic gearboxes, as their operating principles differ from those of manual gearboxes. For this reason, drivers should remember that using high revs and full power as soon as the engine is started from cold can put several critical components under strain. So, at first glance, this is an effortless action, but in reality, it can help preserve the car’s longevity.
Diesel and petrol engines
By the way, drivers should remember that gasoline-powered vehicles usually warm up a little faster than diesel-powered models, so depending on the outside temperature, diesel variants may need to warm up a little longer. The exception may be powerful petrol models. At first glance, it may seem that powerful engines warm up faster, but this is not entirely true. Powerful models usually have larger engines with more cylinders and greater capacity. This means they contain more oil, and warming a larger amount of oil takes a little more time. So, 3-5 minutes should be spent on initial warming up at idle, and the engine’s full power potential can be used only when it reaches operating temperature or at least 90% of it.
However, if the lack of a habit of warming up the engine has already caused problems, you can always find a solution here: https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs
