Use the "LEAST TIME" rule. Idle the engine the least amount of time necessary to enable the car to move off smoothly, safely and without stalling.

If the engine has been tuned correctly, and the fuel injection system is functioning normally, you should be able to move away in 2 - 3 minutes without any problems. This is also applicable for carburettor vehicles with correct choke settings.

Never leave it running on high idle 10 or 15 minutes while you are getting ready inside the house. You are getting no pay-back from the gas you are actually wasting.

Why, you may ask, is it bad to idle the car?

Cold idling is the least productive and the slowest way to warm the engine! The engine has now become a breeding ground for contaminants, coughing up quantities of unburned fuel, producing varnishes, condensation and a variety of metal eating acids. This in turn is dirtying the oil sooner.

When the car is moving it is getting something for the gas it is burning. It's moving down the road and warming up much faster than if it were sitting. Everything else is also warming up - the transmission, the rear axle or transaxles, tires and bearings.

The heater starts performing sooner; everything becomes warm, efficient and wear resistant. Please do not RACE or GUN the engine when cold. Move off slowly and drive less than 70 kms (45 m.p.h.) for the first 2 to 3 miles, then gradually increase your speed.

To help your engine have less wear and load on cold mornings, try fitting a block heater. This will take away some of the heavy load from your starter motor and battery draw. There is also a heated dipstick which will warm your oil, and an electric blanket for your battery.

All of these things will greatly cut down the wear on all moving parts and add longer life to them. The car reacts exactly like your body. If you were to walk two blocks on a cold morning you would still feel the same, but if you ran two blocks, your whole body would be really warm.

There are, of course, some bitterly cold and frosty mornings, where you need to scrape the ice from the outside, and de-mist the inside windows, so a few more minutes may be needed on occasions.

You can overcome this completely by putting an accessory interior floor heater in the car, which has a timer fitted. This will plug into a hydro source (same as the block heater), timed to turn on one hour before you are ready to head to work.

The interior's warm, no misted windows and no frost or snow to clean off. Make sure it is a fail-safe unit for obvious safety reasons.

For further information about Winter preparedness check here

I hope you benefit in some way by practising some or all of these tips. I am sure your car will thank you for many years to come in the form of being more reliable. Safe driving!