Remote Starters.
 

They just had a small clip on remote starters on the news. Apparently now that the temps are low everyone wants to get a remote starter installed. They now are programmable. So you can program the starter to start once it hit a certain temperature or to start at a certain time of the day. This all seems like a lot a gas wasting to me. What is the worse is starting the car to run the air conditioning.

Has everybody forgot about engine block heaters.

Free cars:D

free cars?

n0rt0npr0 -

If you know the access code, you can start the car, get in, and go.

Orrrrrrrr, maybe just park the car somewhere else in the parking lot to mess with the GG ( aka Gigi aka Gas Guzzler).

CarloSW2

I haven't forgotten that they're completely unavailable for my car. I've been trying to figure out how to make one work but nothing yet.

Silveredwings - why not try to find a generic coolant-circulating engine block heater? Here is the one I use on my car:

https://www.kenlowe.com/pre-heaters/cars/diy.html

It is pretty good :)

I have something like that and haven't found the right place to splice into the heater hose to defeat the heater valve and yet not defeat the normal heater operation.
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/h/d/126.png
BTW, contrary to common belief, most of those 'cidculating' types work on convection and require placement so that coolant exits the engine through the bottom, goes though the EBH and goes back in somewhere near the top of the engine.

Since we're talking about convection anyway, I'm also looking at the lower-radiator-hose type. Problem is, both hoses enter the block at the same vertical height:
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/i/g/239.png
I'm not sure convection would work.

Of course, I can't actually see any of this with my eyes, there's so much crammed in there.

Hey
 

Hey welcome back!

Clench: I get the same feeling -- everywhere I go these days, idling at the drive-thru, the neighbors idle their Expedition for 20 minutes in the morning (ARGH), you go into a shop -- cars idling.

I remember back in my Beretta days, looking at the brochures showed that an EBH was less than $50 to install new. Remote start is hard on the whole drivetrain and it doesn't always work. The EBH is good for automatics and the increasingly rare manual.

RH77

My wife and I were just talking about all the idling cars and SUVs:

"I'm sorry kids :( , you have to be drafted into the Army to go fight wars in Iran because I elected to idle my Escalade for 20 minutes every morning of your life."

or...

"I'm sorry kids :( , I can't afford to send you to college because I chose to idle my Chevy Subdivision for 20 minutes every where I went."

We all make choices. Mine aren't perfect, but sheesh...:rolleyes:

As long as you don't touch the brakes, they keep running haha.

potatos in the tail pipes...

Maybe you won't have to worry about the draft or college for the kids...

Big story in Toronto (I think) this week: mom started the van (non remotely, but still left it idling in the driveway), put junior in his car seat, then ran into the house to get one more thing. Came outside in time to see her van driving away.

Apparently, thieves prowl neighbourhoods that are full of idling cars each morning.

Thief crashed the van a couple of blocks away (it was snowy), and so jumped a Hummer that was idling in someone else's driveway to continue on his way.

Junior was unhurt. (But he may yet be drafted.)

boss alert...
 

This all sounds like it's the American way...

see this animation https://www.grassrootsev.com/images/lootingcart2.jpg. :D

Silveredwings -

Mark Fiore is so utterly dead-on, it's amazing.

CarloSW2

Yep. Our tax dollars at work.