So from searching, it doesn't appear that we can have the car on and lock the doors from the ouside unless we have a second set of keys and lock it manually.

Basically, its getting cold, and no one in a 20mile radius of me will install a remote start on a manual trans...sucks that the people with zero common sense ruined it for all of us. I had the Solaris system by Clifford on my 98 5-speed cherokee but when DEI took them over they stopped making it.

In any case, has anyone else found a better way of warming their car in the morning (or anytime for that matter) and keeping it locked?

Thankx.

 

yeah, move to a safe neighborhood

 

Yeah, turn your car on inside the garage with every door closed.
Then just lay back and take a 10 minute nap.

 

Compustar makes one for a manual. You need to get it installed by them though.

 

you're better off letting it run for 30-60secs then driving it. it'll warm up best that way.. i've always heard/read idling isn't good (cat converter, etc).

 

 

 

They do but any reputable place should be able to do it though.

 

I don't know but last month I locked myself out of my car at the car wash near my house. The car was running. I was pissed. I must have locked the doors while I was cleaning the door then shut it. Are these cars supposed to let you do that?

 

That's not right. I had my car running, and armed with the second key just in case, I locked the door and closed it. It unlocked as soon as the door closed.

Next, I left the door closed with the car running and the window down, and locked it. It remained locked (of course... it's the same thing as sitting in the car and locking the door; the computer just can't tell the difference).

 

Locked myself out one day warming the car. Worst part was being so happy that i remembered that i had another key fob in the house. Ran in to get it. Back to the car.

DAMN doesn't work. That sucked. Must have lost about 15 bucks in gas before the key guy came.

From then on I don't warm it up unless I am sitting in it.

 

how were you able to lock yourself out? At least if that were the case with me i could call onstar and have them unlock my doors.

 

started the car. As I was getting out my stupid reflex of locking the door manually bit me in the ass.

Yeah onstar or a keypad on the outside would have been clutch.

 

Also be aware you can not lock the doors manually & have the alarm not arm. I wanted to do this when the hurricanes came through. Since I have a shock sensor I didn't want the high winds setting it off. I unlocked it, opened both doors, press the lock down on each door & closed them. Sure enough after 60 seconds the alarm light went on. I tested it by taping on the car & the alarm went off.

 

That's what I do as well.... 30 seconds or so... then drive, keeping the RPMs low until the car warms up. I've also read a bunch of stuff saying idling is not good for the car... so I just do the 30 sec and off thing....

 

Learned something new today. i've always had the habit of lettin the car idle for about 10 mins. and then goin, now knowing that it's bad, i think i'll cut back on the time.

Dave.

 

It's bad for the environment, because the catalytic converter is not working efficiently unless it's warmed up to its normal operating temperature. It takes a bit.

Also, a cold engine consumes more gas, so that's why they advise you to only warm up for like 30 seconds then drive off.

However, I am still not fully convinced. Yeah, I worry about the environment, but it's not detrimental if I sat there and warmed up my car for another minute.

Also, I would rather consume more gas and let it warm up more, than revving up a cold engine driving around. The bearings, cylinder rings, whatever, is not up to the operating temperature, not to mention the oil, failing to provide full protection.

If I'm in a hurry, I wait 'til the V-AFC II reads 900 RPM or below... if I'm not in a hurry, then I wait 'til the temperature gauage reaches the first mark.

This is what my dad has done with all of his cars his entire life, and not a single one of them has given us engine trouble. Good enough for me. Remember that cold starts are what kill engines. I am definitely not driving on a cold engine. Even in the summer, I let the car warm up for a few minutes so the oil has time to circulate, and that the engine is closer to its normal op. temp.

 

Warming up your car is bad, I've discussed the issue several times.

 

How is letting the car warm up for a couple of minutes bad for it?

 

Simply because oil will not reach the critical places in the engine during a cold startup. OUr cars use wet sump systems which must draw oil from the bottom of the oil pan to the top of the engine and lubricate the engine accordingly. During a cold startup, engine pressure is low resullting in not enough pressure differential to drive the oil up the pickup tube. Now increase the pressure in the engine and the oil drives up the tube with ease. How do you do this? Well, DRIVE! That means start your car and simply drive away. Warming up your engine faster will prime the pump and allow oil to flow from the bottom of the pan to the top of the engine, which is necessary especially on cold startups. Comparing this to a dry sump system which uses an external oil reservoir which pulls oil from the sump AND the engine and properly circulates the oil to the critical parts of the engine using an independent pump. The problem with dry sump systems is that they are costly to make and maintain, a broken dry sump system means a broken car. Although, with a wet sump system, you can rely on engine pressure even if the vacuum pump fails, which is only safe if you move your car and warm it up quicker than just let it sit there.

Now, you ask me if the whole process is negligible. Probably, yes. The damages are not damages that you see immediately, or even ever. The point is, why take the chance? We check our oil, PS fluid, brake fluid, etc. etc. as preventative measures even though we put faith in our vehicle that there is no leaks or holes, etc. We should put those same measures in our car engine, microscopic wear and tear because of inadequate oil to the right areas can lead to problems down the road. Everyone has their own belief system in their "religious" type operation of their cars, but some things just can't be ignored, which is the first 30 seconds of starting your engine.

Do a search, I spent several pages discussing this topic months ago.

 

i thought that its best to warm the engine up before driving

 

Here is my post from several months ago:

 

Yes, there is a moment of "dry" running at startup, but it ends in a second or two. You see just how long that is by watching the pressure guage on a car has one. After that you have oil circulating driving or sitting. Warming up does not effect that in the least.

Dry sump systems will drain down, too when the engine sits for a while.

Say what?? How do you get a vacuum pump into a dry sump system?

 

I'm not discussing this because I've done it a thousand times, all questions you ask have been answered.

 

If you live close to philly i would recommend you my friend since he drives a 97 m3 manual with remote start alarm system. PM me if your interested and i'll just give him a buzz.

 

I have always warmed up cars. I never had any problems doing so. Untill the day I do I'll keep doing it.

 

I never warm up the car more then a minute or two.
I just watch the rev’s for the first mile or so. I try to shift at about 2,500 RPM.

I have a garage at home, but it’s detached and the heat is turned off unless I’m out there working.
This morning at 6AM it was 17-Degrees outside. It was 25 inside the garage.

Started her up and idle for about 60 seconds then back out of the garage.
The car sits outside at the office.
When I leave work on a really cold day I just let the car idle a minute or two while I put on my seatbelt & fire up the stereo.
Then I take it easy for a bit.

This is what’s been working for me….

 

I know a guy in Newark NJ if you are familiar that'll do it, he's done it on all my manuals

 

Does anyone know, as a cold engine is reaching operating temps, which is worse in terms of engine wear -- RPM or load?

 

I would say both are bad if not kept under control. Defnitely don't rev the piss out of the car when cold and don't load the car either in one gear at the same RPM for long periods of time. This is hard especially if you live in a hilly region.

 

Haven't found a thousand threads from you, but did find one other one. Neither answers my questions.

 

Just get someone to put the remote start in for you and then a little magic and it will work. I don't know about this myth of remote starts and manuals, but there are no extra parts involved in the process. It takes all of 5 minutes to hook it up.

 

ehh... so... didn't look hard enough.

 

My dad literally warms up his van (with 200k miles btw) for 1/2 hr in the morning when its cold out. He gets free gas and doesnt want to sit in a cold ass van on the way to work. The engine runs fine, and like I said has 200k+ miles.

I say fuck sitting in a cold ass car, on cold ass seats, holding a cold ass steering wheel. I'm not saying I like it get 80* inside before I rive it, but I usually let it get to the 1st tick on the coolant temp guage before I drive off. I'm sure driving off immediately is ok also, as long as you dont drive it like a madman until its at operating temp.

BTW has anyone else noticed their engine running rougher at idle when they start it in a garage compared to outside? Recently mine has felt like its hesitating when I have a cold start in the garage (of course the doors open), and it smooths out like normal after a minute or two. When its parked outside it starts up normally, with no roughness.

 

i've done both short waits and long waits. Car feels better after long waits. Say what you want about idling etc., I can't drive like a turtle in morning traffic. I wait until the revs have fallen to approx 900Rpms and there is 1 tick on the temp

 

if you got navi and a manual or wutever you can jsut start it and lock the doors... when your ready call onstar and have em unlock it for ya... might at well put that thing to use.

 

Now these car starters designed for manuals, I assume there is a neutral safety switch of some sort? Any more info on them?

 

Come on, be a sport and give us a link to where you explain how vacuum pumps are used in a dry sump system......

 

Read my post again... I never said a dry sump system has a vacuum pump... a wet sump system does:

A dry sump system can circulate oil more efficiently, hmm, I wonder why race cars use this versus wet sump.

Again, read the car manual.

Typical Dry Sump, NO vacuum pump:

Wet sump /w pump:


Geezus, pick an argument carefully.

 

Only if the car is equiped with a neutral wire (like the parking brake) which it does not have. Momentary switches have been used to work around this, but they have failed and with failure, injury can occur.