The Cold Start Cycle | Know it All with Jason Cammisa | Ep. 05

Video Description

Ever wondered why your engine sounds the best first thing after a cold start? It's angry, it's aggressive... and then it just calms down into a regular idle? This is the Cold Start Cycle, and it's your engine management doing everything it can to waste fuel so that it can warm up more quickly. Cold-start emissions are a major challenge for automakers, so they program engines to run as inefficiently as possible so that they can light off the catalytic converters more quickly. This is because cats don't operate properly until they've reached operating temperature. Wasting fuel by changing ignition and valve timing and injecting a rich mixture sends unburned fuel and extra heat down the exhaust, which can then be burned by the catalytic converter, heating it up more quickly. The result is an angry, awesome-sounding idle — that sadly lasts only a few seconds. --- Subscribe to our YouTube channel for new videos every day! http://bit.ly/HagertyYouTube Visit our website for daily automotive news, cars stories, reviews, and opinion: https://www.hagerty.com/media Stay up to date by signing up for our email newsletters here: https://www.hagerty.com/media/newsletter/ Follow us on social media: Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/Hagerty Instagram | https://instagram.com/Hagerty Twitter | https://twitter.com/Hagerty If you love cars, you belong with us. Hagerty Drivers Club is the world’s largest community for automotive enthusiasts. Members enjoy valuable automotive discounts, exclusive events and experiences, roadside service created specifically for collector vehicles, and a subscription to the bimonthly Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join Hagerty Drivers Club here: https://www.hagerty.com/drivers-club Like what you see? Watch our other series including: Redline Rebuild | Engine Time-lapse videos from start to finish http://bit.ly/RedlineRebuild Barn Find Hunter | Tom Cotter searches the country for abandoned cars http://bit.ly/BarnFIndHunter Chip Foose Draws a Car | Reimagining popular cars with new designs http://bit.ly/HagertyChipFoose Contact us: Suggest and feedback - [email protected] Press inquiries - [email protected] Partnership requests - [email protected]