Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

[witchcraftz]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

Easy enough to fab your own, go buy some black vinyl "leather" look, measure, cut, done.

[100%VAGitarian]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

use synthetic, warm up for a minute and drive away as you will. an engine is nothing but friction. it gets warm pretty quickly, and flows right away. if it didn't, not a single car on the road today would have a working engine in it lol

[Kane]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

My tdi has a inline coolant heater which works pretty good, if it's plugged in for like 2hrs the snow and ice is melted off the hood. I have a webasto sitting in my garage, trying to find time to install that so then i'll never have to plug the car in. I just need to buy a timer so then my baby is pre-heated every morning on its own fuel.

[mk2dumped]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

wow you guys seem to all have bad experiences with car starters.........thats unfortunate.....i have been installing car starters for 15 years......in those 15 years i have had maybe 4-6 cars come back for either product failure or user error usually it's the latter. I honestly cannot remember someone coming back to me because of an installation error. That being said ther are bad installers out there.......I saw someone mention something about the immobilizer in newer cars.......there isnt a problem bypassing that as long as there is a valet key. It is totally 100% reversible if the customer doesn't like it.

But like it was mentioned before, to each his own.

[Benjamin]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

Problem with the valet key and imobilizers is that you have to leave the key in the car. I understand the signal is only sent to the ignition switch when the remote starter is activated. My issue is you are still leaving a working key in the car, and typically if a thief is going for an immobilized car they know what to look for.

[BaggedGLI]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

wow you guys seem to all have bad experiences with car starters.........thats unfortunate.....i have been installing car starters for 15 years......in those 15 years i have had maybe 4-6 cars come back for either product failure or user error usually it's the latter. I honestly cannot remember someone coming back to me because of an installation error. That being said ther are bad installers out there.......I saw someone mention something about the immobilizer in newer cars.......there isnt a problem bypassing that as long as there is a valet key. It is totally 100% reversible if the customer doesn't like it.

But like it was mentioned before, to each his own.

Your car turns up "stolen" with the valet key in the ignition you think your insurance company is going to be on your side, no they aren't. You get a special rate because Vw's have immobilizers and there are less thefts, if you are defeating that you should be telling them. But again, you should be telling them your car is modified.

[mk2dumped]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

Once again a shitty installer wont take the time or spend the money for a proper transponder box for the key nor will he put that box in a spot that isnt easily accessible. Once again it all comes down to the quality of the installer.

In all reality there are many ways around the chipped keys and theives know this. So it really isnt that big of a deal to have an extra key hidden in a sealed box under the dash of an Audi or VW that would require a theif to either rip the lower dash pad off or unscrew it. Either way if it takes more than 30-45 seconds for a car theif to even get to the wiring to to be able to hotwire the car they usually walk away.....

[PRY4SNO]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

Your car turns up "stolen" with the valet key in the ignition you think your insurance company is going to be on your side, no they aren't.

Depends. My a4 was stolen from my place downtown when I last lived in cgy, I'd left the valet key in the armrest. Oops. Ended up getting a clutch and full detail for my trouble.

[YKallroad]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

In Yellowknife, -30 and -40 are the norm for December and January. Full synthetic oil and a battery pad is a must, and I run an oil pan heater on the Audi and a block heater on the Subaru. As much as it's wasteful to warm up a car for 10 minutes for a 10 minute drive, it necessary up here. (In fact, many people walk or take the bus when it's really cold to avoid the wear and tear on their car.) Many people also use burlap on the front of their cars to retain heat in the engine bay (I do it and it does make a noticeable difference on the temp gauge.)

The real limiting factor here is the power steering. You see lots of red splotches in parking lots where someone's PS hose has let go. Full synthetic PS fluid helps, and will still flow at -40, but it needs some residual heat from the engine to flow normally and not rupture a hose. OEM hoses can be expensive, and there's no real after market support for them (at least that was the case with the Subaru.) If you know someone who works at a hydraulic shop, at least they can cobble something together for you in a pinch.

[dwvw]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

I destroy the key when I use them to bypass transponder. Been installing remote starts for almost twenty years and never had a real problem. Did a Push to Start Q5 today. Have one in my 87 BMW E30, couldn't live without one now.

[All_Euro]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

Get a Wabasto or a Espar, coolant heaters, oil field companies run them and they all have timers and are self sufficient , ultimate solution but $$.


http://www.genuinewebasto.com

http://www.espar.com

Those looks pretty sweet... local suppliers/installers? Remote starters aren't cheep either - what's the price range of these?

[mk2dumped]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

I destroy the key when I use them to bypass transponder. Been installing remote starts for almost twenty years and never had a real problem. Did a Push to Start Q5 today. Have one in my 87 BMW E30, couldn't live without one now.

Exactly what i was getting at: a quality installer knows the ins and outs of transponder chips in the keys. After 15 years in the industry its good to know there are a few out there that still know what they are talking about and that put forth an effort to do the job right. Good luck on your cold winter endeavors.

[Red90]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

You can get a Webasto now for $850. http://www.maximinc.com/part-232873-...sl17-web923369 Plus install.

[MechEngg]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

You can get a Webasto now for $850. http://www.maximinc.com/part-232873-...sl17-web923369 Plus install.

Probably cheaper in the long run than running diesel trucks 24/7 during the winters up north on oil and gas sites...Unless this breaks those regulations. They typically have auto starts when it gets to below -10C or so, the car with turn on to keep it from freezing up

[Kane]

Re: Winter Warm-up Discussion: Heaters, Starters, etc

We sell webasto's and install kits for $730 at the dealership i work at. Another $230 if you want the timer.

I believe they make a smaller one though for little diesels also the in tank fuel draw is different. I'd have to do some looking around.