Your engine uses up very little gas when idling. I let my car warm up for a few minutes before I leave in the morning, if it's really cold. It just depends on what the weather is, if it's very cold I let it warm up for a few min, if it's pretty warm then I'll let it run for a few seconds then take off (not erratically though). Warming up the engine helps the oil circulate around. If it's too cold out and the engine hasn't gotten everything together, and right after you turn the key you put it in drive or reverse, and the oil hasn't gotten a chance to move around; maybe it would seize your engine.

 

you also gotta think about the tranny fluid. that probaly takes longer to circulate than engine oil

 

I've lived all over the country and for the most part I start I go. 5w oils make all the difference starting in cold weather as well as protecting the engine. The only exception to this is when I lived in Minneapolis MN. I parked outside. When it was colder than -20 the engine would fire right up, albeit not running on all cylinders. On those days I waited until I she was firing on all cylinders before driving.

Basically drive slow for the first mile or two and you won't do any harm. Besides, you're wasting gas with those warmups.

 

That's not my experience with Canadian winters I know that when I use my remote starter and let er warm up so that the cab is nice and warm, the old fuel tank seems to empty much quicker than when I just get in and go.

I do agree with zapster's comment though. I usually do take it easy on the throttle and everything until the truck has had a chance to "wake up" a bit, especially when it's really cold out. It's amazing how much different everything feels at -30 or -40.

 

That's not my experience with Canadian winters I know that when I use my remote starter and let er warm up so that the cab is nice and warm, the old fuel tank seems to empty much quicker than when I just get in and go.

I do agree with zapster's comment though. I usually do take it easy on the throttle and everything until the truck has had a chance to "wake up" a bit, especially when it's really cold out. It's amazing how much different everything feels at -30 or -40.

 

This might be accurate for carburated engines, but with fuel injected engines and specifically the F-150's, the injector sprays fuel directly into the intake port of the head, gas never hits the intake.

 

I start mine and when the idle drops from ~1200 to ~900 I go. This takes less than a minute, no time to warm anything really.
Warm ups are not needed on todays engines. It just wastes gas.

 

You drive a mile and a half? You is a LAZY BASTARD ain't ya!? LOL. Let's see, 3 miles a day = 780 miles a year X 50 years = 39,000 miles . I don't expect you'd have too many problems putting all those miles on your truck.

SL

 

yep... but it does need air... and the colder the air, the denser the mixture... gas and air need to be mixed in order to create combustion.... so when the air comes down into the intake port, and eventually hits the port where the injector is, its better for it to be warm for proper misting into the cylinders..... just because its EFI, doesnt mean the gas comes out any more air soluble than with a carburator... only difference is a carb gives the air/fuel more time to combine... making that a much better system if you ask me while carbs are finicky, and you can never get the right mixture for idle, and WOT at the same time like you can with EFI, i will have to say that carbs are more productive and offer better throttle response.... just my $0.02... some EFI cars you can actually count the time between when you hit the gas, and the idle goes up.... in a carb? instantaneous...

 

Some of you Idle-***** should join this idle free zone here . hehehe


JUST SAY NO TO IDLE!!!

 

Fuel injection is much better than carbs ever were. The early TB systems that injected gasoline at the throttle body were not much better than carbs but they were. The response times for FI engines has been cut down with the use of faster processors. The reason Port injection is being used is the fact that it is injected closer to the valve and helps keep the atomized gasoline from forming drops before it enters the combustion chamber. One of the reasons that EFI cars may rev slower is the engine design. Put the same cam in a carbed engine and see for yourself. They are designed for fuel efficiency. Why don’t Formula 1 cars use carbs??? I’ll take Fi over carbs any day.

JMC

 

I never said they were any worse, they are better... like i said, carbs have the dis advantage that you can only tune the fuel/air mixture for 1 setting... either minimal gas at idle, or good gas at WOT... not both... if you set it to have ample flow at WOT then your idle is going to eat the hell out of you at the pump... as for EFI making things rev slower? it does actually.... i had a 72 Nova with a 96 LT1 in it... switched to carburation... and i also had a 95 Z28.... while the Z28 was more powerful, the nova sounded better, and had better off the line throttle response than the Z28 did.... i felt like i had more control with my nova... which is why i miss it so much EFI has its advantages... definately... but only with hard tuned processors... and you wanna talk about F1 cars? do you know how expensive those motors are? they use separate throttle bodies for each cylinder! trust me... ive actually witnessed one in action so you cant use the F1 cars as an example of EFI being better than carb... especially on a vehicle that doesnt use pump gas.... just like the top fuel dragsters... you cant compare that to a honda civic, or a ford truck... but for what its worth, EFI is better than carburation for many things, just not throttle response

 

The fact that carburetors inject fuel at the entrance of the intake manifold is one of the reasons FI is more efficient. The longer the distance an air fuel mix must travel the more time it has for the fuel to form droplets. FI systems inject fuel closer to the combustion chamber so the air fuel mix has less time to brake down. FI allows more precise control over the amount of fuel that is injected into the cylinders and it has a better atomization of the fuel. Throttle response... It all boils down to the intended use of the engine. If you want better throttle response you will need to modify the basic FI engine. Most engines are designed for fuel efficiency not throttle response. Although you should try some of the imports. The Viper or Cobra comes to mind too.
Take a close look at the power from the old carbureted 351W . You get the same from a 5.4 and much better milage.

 

Then why do carb spacers and high rise intakes provide better mixture and thus, higher horsepower?

 

I saw some show on Speed Channel and they were talking to some NASCAR Crew Chiefs and when asked if they would ever go to fuel injection, they all said they would love to.... They did admit, it would cost a lot of $$ for the change, but they would be much happier working on FI instead of the carbs.... I think the only reason they said NASCAR would not go to them is because it would speed the cars up all over again and it would be harder to control what was done to them to try to keep everyone on a level playing field.

Found that interesting is all.....