Viper Remote Start

About 2 months ago I had a Viper Remote Start installed into my 06 Tacoma. Needless to say, I LOVE it, especially because its winter here in PA and I enjoy having a nice warm truck before I drive to work.

I am a high school science teacher and today, our school's driver education teacher put an article in my mailbox. What it basically said was that "cold starts" over time are horrible for your engine. The article pointed out that an "engine or oil heater" is the best way to go. The reason is because the oil is too thick in cold weather and allowing your engine to heat up is bad because it only get about 1/3 of the oil it needs to stay lubricated.

I asked the drivers ed teacher "well I cannot avoid a cold start, because it is winter and I don't have a garage to park in." He suggested that I warm the truck up for 30 seconds and then get in and drive...

Has anyone hear ever heard that cold starts, and specifically Remote Starters, are bad for your engine?

I figured warming the truck up before I drove it would be better (although not better for gas mileage haha)

The article was written from a VW study...

Adam

 

Are you by any chance an English teacher? I hope not because the reason I ask that because you've got a lot of misspell words for a teacher...

 

He's a science teacher, and at least uses punctuation. As to the OP, I've heard cold starts are bad as well, never looked into the matter but your engine is designed to operate at certain temperatures so I'm sure warming it up first is the best thing to do. Plus having a warm vehicle when you leave is nice when it's cold out. I want the Viper alarm too, mainly for the iPhone app that can remote start it.

 

haha, no and I guess you are not a very good reader...

I clearly said that I am a science teacher!!!

Thats what spell check is for, although I didn't use it on that post!


Thanks for telling him that I am a science teacher!

I looked into the Viper with the iPhone (I also have one) but you have to pay a monthly fee to use that App...not worth it, when my Viper came with 2 remotes for my key chain!

 

I don't see how revving it up while its cold causes it less stress either??? At least while its idling it is warming up while the engine is under minimal load. Just my thought. And as you stated before unless you have an engine heater (which most people dont) how else would you avoid a cold start?

Edit: I also switched to Mobil 1 0W-30 this winter to help with cold starts.

 

haha my bad man just trying to be a dick to you for a second

BTW what kind of Viper you have because I'm planning to get a 5902 next week...

 

Its a yearly fee of $30 last time I checked, and they pay for the first year. Worth it in my opinion.

 

And so is running and using your engine while driving- hahaha
Yes having a block or oil heater would probably be better, but since we dont have plugs on every light pole like they do in upper canada, it makes no sence to have something that would need to be pluged in. so the tell the driver ed teacher untill he gets the school to budget electrical plugs in the parking lot, your remote starter will do just fine.

 

That's not a bad price. It'd be nice to be able to run it remotely when I go on trips. There's not many people I trust with my vehicles.

 

does the smart start tells you who breaks in your car or tell you the temperature of inside your car?

 

The 5902 should tell you the temperature inside the vehicle. I'm getting mine installed (finally) next week. I will be able to tell anyone more information then.

OP, how does the drivers' ed. teacher expect you to avoid a cold start without an engine heater or other device? Warming a vehicle up before driving it does not eliminate the actual cold start.

 

How much for the 5902+install? Are you getting the Smart Start module as well?

 

I bought the 5902 from Amazon. The install is gonna be probably about $300 or so. I don't have an iphone so the smart start is not necessary for me.

 

Anyone know how to lock the keypad while the remote is in your pocket? I can't find it anywhere in the manual.

 

I had an autopage alarm system installed awhile back. Anyone know how easy it would be to swap these out?

 

OP - tell your drivers ed teacher to stick to driving - He does not know what the fuck he is talking about. To start a car and drive after 30 seconds is stupid.. instead of letting your motor idle to warm up (remote start or sit and wait) he's reving out at (x) rpm with a cold motor with that same damn oil thats not warm enough to operate at idle is now fucking his motor up with more rpm

 

It really depends on the engine. With BMW's ( I know cuz my bro is a master tech and we service them at our shop) they recommend against cold start + idling their engines. If you notice, It could be 0 degrees and when you start a BMW the computer will dump a lot of fuel to start the motor and it revs to about 2500-3000 rpm before settling to their normal idle rpm in a few seconds.

Not so with our Tacomas. When it starts, the computer raises the idle to about 1,500 and gradually lowers it as the engine warms. You may run the risk of a dry start with less lubrication but nothing substantial will harm the motor. Especially with today's synthetics. Plus, when the engine warms, it also warms the trans by spinning the fluid in the torque converter and in turn the whole case. It is better to let it run than a quick get in and go

Just my $.02

 

Thanks Zizo, now thats the kind of answer I am talking about!!!

 

THIS ^^

LOL. It's a cold start whether or not remote start is used. If the drivers ED teacher is a tree hugger there might be a slight argument against remote starting in regards to emissions. But that is it. If you are concerned with cold starts run a 0W synthetic.

 

Yah. He's off the rez.

Cold starts are fine, as long as you're using decent oil and the right viscosity for the time of year.

Per the BMW comment, many higher performance vehicles are like that, particularly ones with turbos or superchargers. With those, they recommend driving them right after starting the engine and the EFI (as stated) will dump fuel for a higher temp combustion and thereby heating the engine quicker. Most modern EFI engines do this, as well.

Get the remote start. I have the 5501 is awesome. Especially here in Montana.