Hi,

 

I need to do many short trips in the city (10-15-20 min drives) when the outside temperature is between -5 and 0C where I live. I know it's not good for the engine, but what can I do. One reason for getting the "small" engine was the hope that it warms up faster... I have also added the insulation mat to the underside of the hood, as it was not on the car from the factory.

 

Generally what I'm trying to is to disable start-stop and turn the heating down (driving in the winter coat it's not an inconvenience), and I do what I've learnt for naturally aspirated engines: keep the RPM between 2-2.5k. (With that little shift advice indicator strongly disagreeing - if I was driving according to what it says, the RPMs would be in the 1200-1700 range).

 

What do you think ? Should I keep what I've been doing or is it OK to drive a cold 1.4TSI at such low RPMs (I don't feel it struggling, but we're talking about light city traffic on flat roads).

I remember reading that running at low RPMs when cold is VERY bad for a small displacement turbo engine in general.

 

Generally it takes 15 minutes until the oil temp reaches 50C, and after that I start driving "normally", and shift up earlier.

 

thanks,

T.

 

 

 

 

Really there is no issues.  Drive normally.

 I would not use gear changes differently to get the coolant and oil up to heat, just defrost the car and drive to the road conditions.

 

Your coolant will get up towards the 88-90*oC quite quickly and the 10 miles (16 km) or so until the indicated oil temp is at 50*oC will just have the Fuel Economy a bit worse as not at the most efficient operating temperature.

Maybe it will only go into the 80's and not get to 90*oC or so at ambient temps below freezing.

 

Be aware that lots of short trips without the oil getting heated enough can cause moisture in the oil, and a longer run will sort this out.

 

PS

Maybe consider Fixed Servicing Oil & Filter Changes & not Variable, 

so no need to use 'LONG LIFE OIL, eg VW 504 00 / 5W 30 FS Long Life.   

 

Use VW 502 00/ 5W 30 Full Synthetic oil,  change every 9,400 miles or so or annually, give the 1.4 TSI good protection.

Edited 18 December, 20169 yr by Offski

The most important thing here is to burn off all the condensation in the exhaust, ie drive it till all the condensation, steem goes from the exhaust.

I once bought a 8 month old car that was owned by an elderly gentleman who only drove it a mile or so to the local village store. Basicaly every part of the exhaust was corroded, so much when you drove it water would pour from the exhaust. Not to mention mayonnaise in the oil.

If your going to drive it short distances, service it more often and every week or so give it a good run and an Italian tune up.

Consdier an electric engine block heater or Webasto/Eberspacher to give your engine a head start before start-up.

Yep those engine block heaters are much cheaper than a webasto, and do almost as good a job.

Defa and Kenlowe make them.

Also change oil every 6 months.

In colder climates there are some things you can do to help the engine warm up quicker

- use of electric block heater (I think it is an oil heater for your engine)

- fit a winter cover for upper grill, see picture

- drive with a little higher rpm than you normally do

Keep an eye on both water and oil temperatures.

The engine block heaters generally heat the coolant.

Kind of like a kettle element. There is a plug connection for the mains electric.

- fit a winter cover for upper grill, see picture

 

I like the looks of this - Is it an official Skoda accessory or aftermarket ?

The engine block heaters generally heat the coolant.

Yes, most are. 1.4 TSI have an oil heater, my 122 hp Octy2 did anyway.

I like the looks of this - Is it an official Skoda accessory or aftermarket ?

I don't know, I found it here:

http://www.gytisautek.no/Shop/Product/Skoda-Octavia-2013-Vinterdeksel-Øvre/GASKO-VD013

(Norwegian site)

It is also sold at Superskoda.com.

Edited 18 December, 20169 yr by fatzy

higher revs - and keeping your foot on the pedal when you're stopped at lights, so keeping at 2k - seems to help. The coolant heaters are better at heating the whole block than the oil pan heater... but that's the bit you really need to be warmed. I havent' seen a part number for the coolant one for the Octy3, though I have seen the oil pan element in DEFA's paperwork. 

I would also definitively attempt to warm everything through once per week and absolutely once per month. To get rid of moisture, rust on the brakes, really warm the engine, cat and everything else.... either into a heated parking garage for a few hours and then the long way home or just the very long way home. 

 

 - Bret

Did a bit of a research on engine pre-heaters, the DEFA one for the 1.4TSI is this, it is to be bolted to the side of the engine block and heats via metal to metal contact - so it is not an oil nor a coolant heater - probably this engine has no freeze plug. Seems like an easy DIY mod.

If you turn the heater setting to cold, the 2 circuit cooling system will only only circulate coolant around the block and the external heating system will not move any coolant. This is a feature of tsi engines designed to radically improve engine warm up time.

If you have electrically heated seats, that would make that option more viable.

Turn off the a/c, not sure on your car, but on my cars, the radiator fan runs when a/c is selected which cools the engine a lot in winter.

Personally I wouldnt worry too much. Consider changing the oil more often if youre not getting the temperature up to normal regularly.

I found when driving in Poland in -20c temps that masking off the radiator grill (top section) made a lot of difference to warm up time and running temps on a 1.9tdi.

Edited 18 December, 20169 yr by xman