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TheLastForestOnEarth t1_iuro4os wrote

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Diligent_Nature t1_iurzqo9 wrote

> while 0°C is a very important temperature.

Only for water. Cars use antifreeze which, by itself, freezes at 0°F, but mixed properly with water it freezes at -40° (F or C).

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TheLastForestOnEarth t1_iurzy9r wrote

I was refering to the concept of "subzero", which is used a lot in metric countries, but I can't imagine it being that useful in you operate in F.

Wasn't refering to the relevance of 0°C to vehicles.

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Diligent_Nature t1_ius186i wrote

"Subzero" temperatures are common in the northern US.

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[deleted] t1_iut88u5 wrote

That... Doesnt matter?

"Sub zero" is a reference in C. Just because you can aply to any referencial that goes bellow 0 it doesnt really matter.

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Salesman89 t1_iutg4zk wrote

But, we say "subfreezing." Your meteorologist likes to say sub zero in the US because he's a cool MK character. There's really no other reason.

I don't care what your car has inside it. 2/3rds of the rock it rolls on is water. Problems will arrise if you drop below the freezing point of water, for your car, your home, your health...

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N00L99999 t1_iusal3w wrote

> Only for water.

Not just for water. Subzero Celsius means rain turns into snow, and also that windscreens start freezing, thus requiring pre-heating to de-ice it.

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girhen t1_iuskwxy wrote

>Not just for water. Subzero Celsius means rain turns into snow, and also that windscreens start freezing, thus requiring pre-heating to de-ice it.

That's because rain and snow are... water.

Not arguing that his comment fighting over 0C being important only for water isn't silly because there's a lot more water in your car than just coolant (vapor, ice, snow, etc affect more than just driving conditions), but pointing out rain vs snow is still just talking about water.

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N00L99999 t1_iuslthw wrote

Of course.

But the comment I was replying to also mentionned to use “antifreeze” to avoid pre-heating, as if the problem with pre-heating was liquids.

It’s not.

The problem is the snow, which starts at 0 Celsius.

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girhen t1_iuso6wn wrote

I mean, that's fine. The way you said it didn't make much logical sense to me.

I'd have told him that it's not about the engine's water freezing (or not), but rather about warming the engine to deal with the environmental effects of freezing water and general cold. Defrost the ice on the windows, stop fogging windows, and the fact that most humans aren't happy in freezing temperatures. Skip the part that reads like it's not about water freezing, but that it's about water freezing.

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Fearlessleader85 t1_iut4wjl wrote

That's also not correct. It can sleet or snow significantly above 0⁰C. Hail pretty much ONLY occurs well above 0⁰C. The coldest day I've seen hail on was in the high 30s F, the warmest I've seen it was around 80⁰F.

In dry air, pooled water can start freezing around 40⁰F fairly easily. In REALLY dry air, drops can freeze way above that.

It depends on relative humidity as well as dry bulb temp.

Edit: is actually dropping a mixture of rain, sleet, and hail outside my window right now at 39⁰F.

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