[Aphidman]

Okay, I’m impressed. I took my new Cruze to Banff National Park yesterday, and the temperature overnight dropped to -37°C. That was 9 degrees lower than what had been forecast. There was nowhere to plug in the oil pan heater. It was -36 when I started it up — and it started like nothing was different than when it was kept in a heated garage. I like that.

 

[Tomko]

And are you using any fuel additives?

 

[oilburner]

Okay, I’m impressed. I took my new Cruze to Banff National Park yesterday, and the temperature overnight dropped to -37°C. That was 9 degrees lower than what had been forecast. There was nowhere to plug in the oil pan heater. It was -36 when I started it up — and it started like nothing was different than when it was kept in a heated garage. I like that.

:th_salute:
welcome to the forum, I want to go there some day but going to wait until its warm

 

[money_man]

Nice! Mine started at -30c all last winter with no additives


Sent from the sexy electrician

 

[diesel]

Awesome! Did you make a video?

 

[Su8pack1]

That's good to hear, we're going into the first winter with ours.

 

[XtremeRevolution]

The single most important factor in this will be the fuel blend you're using. No matter how the car is designed, if the fuel congeals, you're out of luck.

Engine oil quality will be the next factor. The oil you're using has a pour point somewhere between -30F and -45F unless you're using a true synthetic in which case it will be between -55F and -70F. Drop below those temps and the oil solidifies as well.

 

[LizzieCruze]

The single most important factor in this will be the fuel blend you're using. No matter how the car is designed, if the fuel congeals, you're out of luck.

Is 87 octane bad in the winter? I live in RI and 0° might be the lowest it goes.

 

[XtremeRevolution]

Is 87 octane bad in the winter? I live in RI and 0° might be the lowest it goes.

That was in reference to the diesel fuels. Gasoline fuels don't have this issue.

 

[Aphidman]

About half the tank was Husky diesel, and the other half was Petro-Canada diesel. No additives.

 

[Tomko]

Okay, I’m impressed. I took my new Cruze to Banff National Park yesterday, and the temperature overnight dropped to -37°C. That was 9 degrees lower than what had been forecast. There was nowhere to plug in the oil pan heater. It was -36 when I started it up — and it started like nothing was different than when it was kept in a heated garage. I like that.

And are you using any fuel additives?

About half the tank was Husky diesel, and the other half was Petro-Canada diesel. No additives.

And there you have it. -36 start with blended diesel and no additives.

 

[Aphidman]

And one more follow-up: I was impressed enough by the engine’s cold-start performance that I sent a LinkedIn message to Michael Siegrist, the GM engineer who was the assistant chief engineer for the Cruze diesel engine. (The chief engineer is someone in Italy, I believe.) I shared essentially the same story that I told here. He actually wrote a brief reply, which was clearly not a canned response. That impressed me too.

There is a good, lengthy interview with Mr. Siegrist on YouTube here.