Eli5: how come when you start your car in the cold, it “smokes” but when it warms up it stops “smoking”? The temperature outside never changed

Question

Edit: I’m talking about condensation

In: Physics

Answer 1

Could be one of two things. It could be moisture (steam) since a byproduct of the internal engine is water, but this will continue if it’s cold enough. The second is there is often blow-by of oil in the cylinders and valve guides until the various metals expand to their normal operating temperature (if the smoke is white).