Im looking for a way to help the car heat up quicker in the mornings.

Its really bad with the 1.6. I let the car heat up for 2-3 minuts then drive 20 blocks before the needle even moves.

IM thinking possibly header wrap the entire exhaust to save on heat (and kick up a massive cloud at idle) it should help the cat to heat up which means instead of pouring gas on them to heat them up the car can have a proper a/f and heat a bit quicker.

POssibly adding antifreeze and taking some water out of the radiator. I know the water takes alot longer to heat up.

Any winter tricks that I should be aware of.

 

best thing you can do is keep the heater off until the engine warms up. I like to hold the revs to about 2500 for 30 seconds or so and that will usually get it up faster.

 

i usually just wait one min..... sittin there, and drive it easy till it moves up... keepin revs under 3000 (LOL)

 

i dunno how it holds to newer cars, but i hear letting your car sit while idle too long isnt good for the transmission. they say the best bet is to drive around the block several times to warm it up properly. if you garage your car, you might wanna look into an engine block heater?
-meGrimlock

 

Ok, um...Wrapping the exhaust is not going to heat up engine coolant any faster....how about a block heater....

Sorry, not real familiar with Cold weather driving, living in Tampa and all

 

I let it warm up for about sixty seconds, then start driving with the heater off for another minute or so, that usually works.

 

^yep. This thing heats up quick.

 

Shouldn't matter if the heater's on or not, because coolant won't circulate into the heater core until the thermostat opens anyway. On that note, you might check your t-stat. It might not be closing completely.

 

you sure about that? i would think the thermostat just control collant flow to the radiator. it should still run through the heater core as collant circulates around the motor.