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Old 02-08-2011, 06:45 PM   #3 (permalink)
Ryland
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Western Wisconsin
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honda cb125 - '74 Honda CB 125 S1
90 day: 79.71 mpg (US)

green wedge - '81 Commuter Vehicles Inc. Commuti-Car

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Yes, your car will warm up much quicker with the heat fan turned off, but is it safe to drive your car like this? are you getting enough defrost to see out the windows?
Most of the winter I never turn my heater fan past the first or second setting because I can see my temp gauge needle drop if it's cold enough, but it's hard to scrape the ice off the inside of the windshield and drive at the same time so I use the fan for defrost.
When I can I plan to install a block heater so I can start out with a warm engine right from the start, from research and testing done it would appear that for most cars it uses less energy to use a proper block heater to preheat the engine then it does to drive with a cold engine and both of those use way less energy then it takes to idle a cold engine to warm it.
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