WARMING up your car during the cold winter months before you set off on your journey actually damages the engine.

Conventional wisdom says that before going off on a journey in the ice and snow it is best to start up the engine and let it warm up as it idles.

But experts say doing this actually reduces the life of the car’s engine as it strips away oil from the cylinders and pistons.

An internal combustion engine works by using pistons to compress a mixture of air and vaporised fuel inside a cylinder.

That compressed mixture is then ignited to create combustion which in turn powers the engine.

When the car’s engine is cold though the petrol is less likely to evaporate and create the right amount of air and vaporised fuel.

Cars that have electronic fuel injection have sensors that compensate for the cold by allowing in more petrol into the mix.

Former drag racer and mechanical engineer Stephen Ciatti, who specialises in combustion engines at the Argonne National Laboratory, told Business Insider: "That's a problem because you're actually putting extra fuel into the combustion chamber to make it burn and some of it can get onto the cylinder walls.

"Gasoline is an outstanding solvent and it can actually wash oil off the walls if you run it in those cold idle conditions for an extended period of time."

He added: "Idling isn't really getting the engine up to temperature, and until that happens the little brain box on the engine is going to keep sending rich-fuel mixture to the cylinders so that it can ensure that enough is evaporated for a consistent combustion event."

The lifespan of components such as piston rings and cylinder liners can be significantly reduced by petrol washing away the lubricating oil.

Simply driving your car is the fastest way to warm up the engine to the required 40F so it switches back to the normal ratio of fuel to air.

The best thing to do is start the car, remove the snow and ice from the windows and then get on your way.

But don’t go racing off as if you’re a Formula 1 driver as speeding off just puts extra strain on the engine.

It takes between 5-15 minutes for your engine to warm up so take things easy at first.

The idea that your car needs warming up before setting off stems from the days when most engines were carburettors but these were on their way out in the 1980s.

The advice from Volvo, according to Popular Mechanics, is: "It’s best to just give the engine a few seconds to build oil pressure before driving normally. Good oil quality and condition are crucial for protecting the engine in cold start conditions."