aestival

My Ralliart starts without a problem down to -25 degC (or -13 degF), and down to -30 degC (or -22 degF) it starts with some hesitation.

I probably won't be starting the Ralliart below -30 degC ever again, because at -34 degC (or -29 degF) it not only took multiple tries to start, but there was a tremendous slow thumping noise for several seconds before the engine revved up, and then the service warning came on (the car drove fine, so I won't know what the service warning was for until the dealer mechanic tells me). Here in Canada, I'd normally have a block heater installed for cold starts away from home, but for some reason Mitsubishi doesn't sell one for the Ralliart (likely figure you'll always have your Ralliart safely stored in a heated garage, which just doesn't work for winter travel).

Interesting side note -- below about -30 degC, the Nav system doesn't start up normally, instead you get a screen that says "this unit is too cold, please wait...". Not sure whether it means the head unit or the GPS/antenna, but like I said, if you're seeing that message then probably best not to try starting the engine. The warning took forever to go away at -34 degC, because it took forever to warm up the inside of the car -- thank god for those heated-seat leather-alcantara Recaros!

Also, for those who haven't experienced real cold, the low tire pressure warning is likely to come on below about -20 degC (or 0 degF), but that's not surprising, as the cold just causes the air in the tires to contract.

My Ralliart hasn't had an oil change yet, so it's using stock oil, at least whatever's stock for Canada.

AJsGenerX

iTrader: (6)

You need a dealer installed engine block heater. Also, you should use thinner oil (5w30/5w20). The liquid crystal display for the navi thickens at those kinds of temperatures and will not operate normally.

aestival

Is there a block heater available for the Ralliart? -- Mitsubishi wasn't listing it as a part. I'm taking the car in for an oil change at the dealer on Wednesday and I'll ask them then.

I do know to use a thinner oil (used to live in Edmonton, Alberta), though frankly with synthetic it's not as important. Unless I read the Ralliart specs wrong, it uses 5w30, not 5w20 (well, it uses 10w30, not 10w20, but that's for warmer weather). Normally I get thinner oil put in over the fall, but I got the car in the fall, and figured that without a block heater, the thinner oil was mostly superfluous anyway. I better make sure that the dealer has a stock of 5w30 synthetic.

Anyway, we only have cold snaps like this about once every five years, and you can always keep your car warm in a garage (figured I'd see what it could handle out in the driveway).

madcows

All I know is that it sounds miserably cold

jRox

iTrader: (11)

^agreed..

GL getting that figured out. Doesn't nearly get as cold here.

suprPHREAK

The manual says that at extreme cold temperatures to switch to a 0W oil.

Trumpfan

I recently had a problem with cold starting , I thought it was because the car wasn't plugged in, it would crank for a long time before firing (5-7 seconds) but not crank slowly like a cold engine. I finally was able to plug it in but it did the samething at -36C.

There is a block heater available for it, however it doesn't seem all that effective at colder temps, from what I was told it directly transfers heat to the cyl walls via direct contact, not directly to the coolant. From what I know it is not a mitsu part but something the dealership found that would fit the fitting in the block.

Kind of irresponsible to sell a car in Canada and not have a real solution for preheating the engine.

aestival

My dealer won't install block heaters (Mitsubishi does not provide a solution) -- the normal solution is to use 5w30 synthetic oil and put the car in a garage when it's cold, of course. Most parts of populated Canada never get below -30 degC in a normal year, so while it's irresponsible, it's not as bad as it sounds, especially since the car does start with stock synthetic oil down to -35 or -40 (though personally I'd recommend saving that for emergencies).

If you live where it gets below -30 degC most years (Edmonton, say), and don't have a garage, then maybe try synthetic 0w30 along with a higher end battery. I don't think warming the coolant will help much -- you should be using coolant safe for your climate regardless, so there's no freezing issue.

cfdfireman1

iTrader: (11)

You can get one of these and use a trickle charger on the battery for the best results but put some lighter oil in it for sure. At those those temps plug her in for sure.

GenetiX403

i really havent had problems in the freezing cold it got down to -30 for a long time for me but i plugged my car in alot
when i have it at work and i turn it on it sounds like its gonna explode

Trumpfan

I was debating using a tanis heater as well, I've got one on my toyota truck and it really keeps the oil warm (when I O\H'd the toyota engine there was a carboned up spot in the shape of the pad where it was boiling the oil on the inside of the oil pan- I use synthetic, a smaller pad and a timer now)

I'm not quite where I want to be km wise to dump the factory oil yet but when I do synthetic is going in.

aestival

The key is to have lighter oil from the start -- warming the oil doesn't work particularly well for starts, because the oil just cools down the instant it flows into the engine (which is a heavy aluminum/metal block at whatever the outside temperature is, before you start it). That's why 5w30 (or 0w30 for extreme cold) generally work so much better in cold climates -- the oil is less viscous at cold temperatures, but has the same viscosity (nominally) at higher temperatures, once the engine is running.

Does anyone run year-round on 5w30? -- I used to do that, but it's a bit more expensive, so I went back to 10w30 for the warmer months.

laksman91

iTrader: (4)

http://www.lancerralliart.ca/EN/features-specs

^ says oil to be 5W30 so I'd assume that would be fine year-round

aestival

Thanks -- I had forgotten about that site.

Trumpfan

I've found that the Tanis (oil pan heater) works quite well on cold soaked engines, oil will retain its warmer temp long enough to flow through the engine properly and protect from metal to metal contact --by that time the engine is running and the cold oil thing is moot.
Also there is the effect of having 5L+ litres of warm fluid in the bottom of the engine that will keep the engine several degrees warmer than ambient air around it.

I use 5w30 all year round in my cars(syn) I also use 5w40(syn) in my truck. Have a look at the chart in the owners manual 5w30 will be good for most of the temps you will encounter here in Canada.