Reply to post: Re: Tech where you need an engine block heater? Are you kidding me?

Let’s check in with that 30,000-job $10bn Trump-Foxconn Wisconsin plant. Wow, way worse than we'd imagined

My other car WAS an IAV Stryker

Re: Tech where you need an engine block heater? Are you kidding me?

Electronic hardware enjoys lower temperatures, sure.

But engines involve combustion (chemical ignition) and moving parts like bearings. Although they create heat during operation and that heat must be removed (yay, cold!), too cold -- especially at startup trying to achieve rotation and ignition -- can be a problem.

And then there's the unavoidable thermal stress of "hot on the inside, cold on the outside". The further apart the two temperatures are, the more strain on the materials.

(Regarding the other point: my old Buick LeSabre was fun on neighborhood corners. Left unplowed to thaw-and-freeze, it all ended up as ice. Smaller/lighter cars like Chevy Cruze and SUVs like Traverse with beefier suspensions can't duplicate it -- instead of slippage I feel I'm going to break something.)

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