New record for cold start temperature (Good Lord) - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

TBayToyotaBoy · 01-14-2009, 01:23 PM

Well, this winter has turned-out to be more "Arctic-y" than any other I've ever seen. My trusty old V6 still hasn't let me down yet, despite my inability to perform most maintenance (t-stat and flex pipe need replacement, but it's just too cold to get any work done).

This morning, I went out to start my Camry and my fianceé's 2009 Elantra. Both were plugged in (block heaters). I fired her car up first, and it complained bitterly. None of the radio displays came on, as the LCD was frozen solid.

I fired-up the Cam-ster, and the starter acted-up in its normal way. The transmission was almost literally frozen solid (when I let the clutch out, the car almost stalled as the crank worked against the torque converter-like frozen tranny oil). BUT...it fired up on the first try and has run all day without problems. Why post this anecdote, you may ask?

It was -38 degrees Celcius this morning, -46 degrees with wind chill. For my amigos south of the 49th parallel, that equates to -36.4 degrees Farenheit. So I began to wonder: can anyone beat that? I'll bow down to you if you can.

TBayToyotaBoy · 01-14-2009, 01:49 PM

...And these are the lengths I have to go to just to replace my t-stat today. I feel like an Inuit.

That's a canvas Skidoo suit on (with insulated pants) and Skidoo gloves. I'm not actually fat, I'm just wearing 15 pounds of gear...time to move to Cali.

zppeacock · 01-14-2009, 05:23 PM

Is that with the wind chill or just the temp?

white90dx · 01-14-2009, 06:13 PM

It was sunny and in the mid 80's F today... what is this freezing thing you keep talking about??? LOL...

I was quite worried when I parked my WRX for a few days at a ski resort (Mammoth Mountain in California) and it got down to around -15*F a few nights in a row. Wow, what a belch of nastiness came out when I started it up at around 0*F a few days later. The whole car was shaking for about 20 seconds until the ECU figured out what was going on. I was worried I had cracked the engine or something since I normally only run about 30% anti-freeze/coolant in it for better summer cooling. I don't know how you guys do it.

-Charlie

TBayToyotaBoy · 01-14-2009, 11:17 PM

To answer your question, zppeacock, it was straight temp, no wind chill...I believe it was another 8 or 10 degrees F below freezing with the wind accounted for.

And Charlie, I don't know how we do it either. At this point there is truly no reason why my Camry should still be running so well. All of the gaskets (head, intake, exhaust, and every other little seal on the block) should have cracked long ago, with the wild fluctuations in temp here. Summer daytime highs can reach 95 and 100 degrees F, with winter lows being, well...I've already explained that.

If your WRX was parked for two days in -15F temps, you're insanely lucky that the 30% coolant mix didn't freeze. Even 50/50 mix gets sluggish in those temps...

coolien35 · 02-01-2009, 02:01 AM

I can beat that. I live in Ottawa and we have had freezing temperatures as of late. A few weeks ago my car had been sitting outside for two days without running, exposed to the snow and wind. When I started it, it sounded like it just woke up from hibernation, reaaaaally slow cranking but it starting first try! It was so cold that my gas pedal was seized haha. I think it was around -45 with windshied.

TBayToyotaBoy · 02-01-2009, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolien35

I can beat that. I live in Ottawa and we have had freezing temperatures as of late. A few weeks ago my car had been sitting outside for two days without running, exposed to the snow and wind. When I started it, it sounded like it just woke up from hibernation, reaaaaally slow cranking but it starting first try! It was so cold that my gas pedal was seized haha. I think it was around -45 with windshied.

Okay, now what was the temperature without the windchill? That only matters to us humans, as the wind dissipates heat faster from our skin. Your car isn't affected by windchill, only by straight temperature. Do you remember what it was that day? I know it's been cold in southern Ontario this year, but the chances are you've been warmer than the north...

Last week I woke up to find my block heater post (the electrical outlet on a post by the driveway) had reset itself, so my car wasn't plugged-in. It was -36 degrees Celcius again, much colder with wind. Again, the car started. Not happily, but it started.

***toyomoho*** · 02-01-2009, 12:03 PM

You should do cold temp testing for Toyota!

Just curious, how thick is the oil?

coolien35 · 02-01-2009, 10:11 PM

It was around -35, give or take a few degrees (dont remember the exact number) without windsheild.. it was a record beaking day. Trust me we get very cold days in Ottawa, the worlds coldest capital! My oil is 5w30.

TBayToyotaBoy · 02-01-2009, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toyomoho

You should do cold temp testing for Toyota!

Just curious, how thick is the oil?

Haha, maybe I'll send Toyota Canada a business proposalto start doing their winter testing!

As for me, I too use 5W30 from November through the end of March.

TVISMR2 · 02-01-2009, 11:59 PM

Maybe I should stop complaining about having to scrape ice off my 1g's windshield in the 32* mornings we've been having here in Northern California lately. Although I'd have to say it's been much more pleasant these past couple of weeks since my MR2 is in the shop being painted... again, so the 1G gets the garage

TBayToyotaBoy · 02-02-2009, 05:13 PM

Wow, I've been dreaming lately about near-freezing temps. It got up to around the freezing mark several days ago, and I almost wore a t-shirt out of the house. I'm actually not even kidding...