Fast warm up ideas: compilation thread
 

As we all know, a warm engine is a more efficient engine. So, a few of us with short commutes (okay, primarily Oil Pan 4) have been coming up with interesting and nifty fast warm up ideas over the past few years. I am starting this thread to compile a bunch of them for people who are interesting in increasing their warm up speed. There are some real gems that have been thrown out there, but not many are doing them. I also think we can add a bunch of these to the 65+ mods list and 100+ hypermiling tips.

In no specific order:

Tips & Techniques:

1) Turning off the car heater until engine is warm
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...mup-16044.html

2) Turn heater fan on recirculate until engine is warm

3) Park in a garage

4) Park toward the sun



Modifications:

1) Grill block

2) Block heater

3) Big / double engine block heaters
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...arm-817-7.html
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ers-34712.html
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...9-a-32503.html

4) Oil pan immersion heater
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ter-33500.html

5) Oil to coolant heat exchanger
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ger-34731.html

5) Engine insulation
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ion-16207.html
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tion-6052.html
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-em-10529.html

6) Exhaust heat exchanger
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ger-29085.html
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...very-7107.html
- http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...dea-32243.html

7) Stick on pad heaters

8) Coolant thermos (ex: Prius)

9) Warm air intake

10) Concentrate the coolant to approx. 75% glycol

11) Keep the oil at the minimum level (warning: check oil level more frequently)



I know I'm probably missing a bunch, but that is what my search found. Let me know other tips and mods to add to the list! Please include links if possible. :thumbup:

N) Concentrate the coolant to approx. 75% glycol.

N+1) Keep the oil at the minimum level.

Sorry but the oil advice is terrible. Please don't run your car a quart low on oil at any time.

It's the garage that should be explored. The cost of a fully insulated garage against buying one to two extra vehicles over a lifetime.

Hard as are "cold starts", keeping the vehicle out of the weather (especially the sun) the majority of the day (the majority of its life) will do more to enhance longevity thus reliability than all else.

Reduced transportation cost is barely one-half the cost of fuel for a given vehicle. It's the longest life with the highest reliability that leads "economy".

That a garage enables all kinds of maintenance & repairs not comparable without is what seals the decision.

This is before any advantage afforded the dwelling, which could further shorten the ROI.

.

I have a garage now that can actually fit 2 cars.
I would still use block heaters and such.
Much cheaper than heating a whole garage all night.

Relative temp & humidity control isn't expensive if designed in first. Some level of DIY maintenance and repair covers it.

And it's nothing to do with specific applications of heat. Which, with whatever benefit, are best minimized.

Coolant is a minimum. Followed by engine/trans oil. But they do nothing for greases, tires and general metal contraction.

My house came with a garage. We wanted it, but it wasn't like we had one built for us. I'm a big fan- it's storage, workspace and a place to park.

As a place to park, it's awesome. Instead of worrying about parking where I won't interfere with the plow guy too much, shoveling to get to my car, scraping the ice and then fogging up the interior or using the AC because the car is just plain too cold and having to wear a gloves and a hat for the first 20 miles, I just go downstairs, get in the car and go.

It helps the mpg too, but that's not where the real value is.

Added to the list! Those are good. Like any modification you must be aware of its consequences and thus check your oil more regularly.

Seems VW is implementing something similar.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nNendiDFzSM

Bumping for more ideas. Thanks!

Oil Pan, did I miss any of your other threads?

I ran 75% antifreeze mix in my suburban once, took me a while to figure out why it was running hot. Once I dumped out some of the antifreeze and replaced it with water it was back to normal.

Was that a nice and hot or a too hot scenario.

Hitting 230°F on a warm day not towing anything is bad.

Were you driving vertically? Attempting to escape Federales? Please tell us how you achieved this feat! :)

I don't think that you will reduce your warm up time much, if any, by using a higher concentration of antifreeze, but you WILL reduce heat transfer quite significantly, meaning that the cooling fan will have to run more and you will have to have larger cooling openings. Detonation will also be more likely with reduced heat transfer because hot spots can develop. Glycol is also much thicker than water, so your water pump will take a lot more energy to spin, further offsetting any gains from faster warmup. If your goal is to reduce heat transfer, why not use 100% Propylene glycol antifreeze, aka Prestone Lowtox or something like it? Straight PG won't freeze unlike EG and doesn't transfer heat as well as EG based coolant.

I don't think that you will reduce your warm up time much, if at all, by using a higher concentration of antifreeze, but you WILL reduce heat transfer quite significantly, meaning that the cooling fan will have to run more and you will have to have larger cooling openings. Detonation will also be more likely with reduced heat transfer because hot spots can develop. Glycol is also much thicker than water, so your water pump will take a lot more energy to spin, further offsetting any gains from faster warmup. If your goal is to reduce heat transfer, why not use 100% Propylene glycol antifreeze, aka Prestone Lowtox or something like it? Straight PG won't freeze unlike EG and doesn't transfer heat as well as EG based coolant.

Just for the record: I had my glycol at 75%, full grill block, and my engine covered in bubble wrap, and it never over heated.

I guess YMMV.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1512326544
Automotive antifreeze – viscosity table and viscosity chart
http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...6&d=1512326799
Dot know if this si for EG or PG
http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...5&d=1512326785
If you want to run strate then run E

Straight antifreeze will freeze at -15c? Interesting.

I wonder how much higher the boiling point is when considering the additional pressure in the system (regulated by the rad cap)...like the difference between boiling water at sea level and at 8000ft.

Where I am at 4400ft the boiling point is 208°F.

.http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1512355899

I think reason why higher concentrate of antifreeze is offered here as faster warmup tip is because of specific heat capaciti is lower when antifreeze concentration is higher (Not because of poorer heat transfer).

Specific Heat Capacity of Water-Antifreeze Solutions

What is normal concentration? I dont know but lets take it is 50%

Specific Heat Capacity unit here is (J / g / ° C)
50% antifreeze mix at 4C: 3.33
65% antifreeze mix (dont have 70% on that table) at 4C: 3.02

So it should warm up about 10% faster

One more thing to add to the list:Glow plug based coolant heater

I installed one almost 2 years ago and use it year round to top off the coolant temp, after using the 230V AC block heater + oil pan heating pad. More important, speeds up engine warming when you have a cold start with nowhere to plug in the block heater:thumbup:
I also use it when engine braking, getting some extra heat for free.

Background: did too many short city trips, engine took some time to warm itself up.

Problem: too much driving when cold wears engine out, burns too much fuel, and runs the engine pretty noisy and rattly - hydraulic tappets and hydraulic timing chain tensioners need oil at the correct temperature to run properly.

Car: Seat Leon Mk 1 with 1.8 20VT engine. Same mechanical parts as VW Golf Mk 4 GTI / Golf 337 / VW Beetle Turbo / Audi TT Mk 1.

Cooling system construction:

- pump draws directly from spherical Coolant Recovery/Overflow Tank before it pumps into the block;
- no flow to or from the radiator before themostat opens;
- oil cooled and heated by coolant/oil heat exchanger;
- turbo cooled by coolant and oil.

Found out how the Prius thermally-insulated coolant tank worked. 1.8Ts can't be fitted with something similar, unless very complex and costly mods are performed (auxiliary coolant pump, separate "thermos" tank, valves, piping, wiring, dashboard controls etc).

The design is made as such because the 1.8T timing belt also runs the coolant pump. So, when changing the timing belt and coolant pump, the coolant in the pump housing and recovery tank has to be drained away and when the tank is filled again, the coolant flows directly to fill the pump housing. (Otherwise the pump would run dry and destroy itself when starting the engine).

Were the tanks thermally insulated, the warm coolant would be drawn into the cooling system while the thermostat was still closed, and the warmup would be quicker, with less engine wear, quicker heating of the cabin heater, and a slight improvement in fuel economy. It takes energy to heat the engine, energy which otherwise goes wasted when cooling down.

Insulated the Coolant Recovery/Overflow Tank thoroughly with Eurobatex pipe insulator (similar to neoprene mattressese), every inch, all pieces glued together lip to lip. Doubled the insulator thickness on the lower half of the tank, where there is more space, and also where most coolant stays. Glued also thin foamy insulator on the inner side of the fender, just below and behind the tank, insulated full innner fender and suspension turret. Return pipe from the A/C radiator in front of the car, which ran below the tank, had also been insulated previously with a foamy pipe insulator. Carefully left out the plastic catches for the wires and a small "overflow tube" on the side of the tank. Removed the metal plate that holds dipstick and N249 valve and insulated also the hose from the bottom of the tank to coolant ingress in the lower block.

Warmup time reduced itself to half as before. If the car is parked outside in the cold, the block and tank could keep the coolant warm for many hours. In summer temperatures, the engine heats as fast as a Prius, even below 2 minutes from a stop to 90°C

Also:

- took the pains to keep the engine bay as insulated from the outside as possible (lower plastic shield, all plastic covers and sheetmetal in the engine bay insulated with spongy material, the factory "blanket" on the underside of the hood, the factory rubber seal at the hood front lip);

- improved radiator aerodynamics by sealing all gaps which led to other places than radiator and leaving it in a "funnel" to channel outside air through it;

- insulated the intercooler from the engine bay and channelled the air to exhaust into the wheel arch.

From this moment, all air flowing into the bumper must flow either through radiator or through intercooler, because it has no other place to go.

^^
@Nautilus - Do you have a thread for your mods?
We need pictures!
We need more info!
More more more!!!

I don't think that it would warm up 10% faster though because it won't absorb heat from the engine as quickly. Just a thought.

Yup, it needs water to activate it.

The insulated Coolant Recovery Tank:

https://perfectionistul.files.wordpr...0146.jpg?w=663

Also visible:

- reflective-insulative material on bulkhead;
- insulative material on inner fender beneath Coolant Recovery Tank.

(Strut tower has also been insulated after the picture was taken. Also coolant hoses and gasoline hoses which appear unwrapped in the photo.)

Note: it only works on an engine where coolant pump draws directly from the coolant tank when engine starts. VAG 1.8T, 1.9TDI, 2.0TFSI engines are made such. Older, 1960s to 1980s engine designs where coolant overflow tank took the overflow from the radiator can't do this.

Beneath the car. First the factory lip splitter had been added. Then undertrays were covered with insulative material and smoothened. The visible hole under the oil pan has also been covered by an undertray. So the car has a continuous smooth bottom from front lip to beneath front axle and subframe.

https://perfectionistul.files.wordpr...ison.jpg?w=663

Outline of the radiator and intercooler openings after unnecessary holes have been plugged:

https://perfectionistul.files.wordpr...eals.jpg?w=663

I ran a oil pan heater on my old Cadillac CTS-V. It had an oil temp sensor. I had a 175w Kats heater on there and on a 20 degree day could start out with 80 degree oil. It did help with warm up and that aluminum pan and transferred heat upwards to the aluminum block.

I just ordered a 300w pan heater to put on my Yukon.