How long should i let my car warm up in winter time?

[talontsiboy24]

Winter is here in chicago and i dont have a garage for my Automatic 97 gsx and temps are in the low 20s and teens and was wondering how long should i let my car warm up for?

im running mobil 1 15w-50 oil which is real thick for winter but thats what the car has been on ever since the mods and tune...

i usually let it idle for almost 20min and then drive i just wanna be sure that thick oil has went threw everything not just start it up and go as some people do...

what do u guys think?

 

[MattE]

I would say anywhere between 20-30 minutes is plenty of time to let it warm up before driving it. Im also used to the cold winters because Im from Pennsylvania and thats about how long I normally will wait.

 

[Silver 95 GST]

The car itself doesn't need any warm up time.

The only reason to warm it up is to make it more comfortable for you to get in and drive.

 

[Nati0nalxCrisis]

I would say anywhere between 20-30 minutes is plenty of time to let it warm up before driving it. Im also used to the cold winters because Im from Pennsylvania and thats about how long I normally will wait.

Really? Thats insane, you must love you car, or hate being cold.

They say 30 seconds to 1 minute gets all the oil circulated through the engine, therefore, making it driveable and causing no damage. Aslong as you don't start it up and take off right away, you'll be fine.

 

[DSMDriver69]

i usually just wait about 10-15 mins or untill the car is up to operateing temp

 

[FUNWHEELDRIVE]

3o MINUTES! well if your gunna be that nice might aswell get up a couple hours early and just waste even more gas and let it run for 3 hours before you drive it.
haha just kidding just let it sit for a couple minutes just to get things flowwing right.
if u wanna wait 20 mins than thats just so you can be warm
not gunna lie i let my DD POS civ warm up for about half hour.... hats just cause im a ####y and dont like to be cold .... -40 up in canada sometimes

 

[Nati0nalxCrisis]

I suppose its all personal preference like I always say, I'm sure letting it warm up 5-10 minutes and getting to operating temp is good for it, but I can't imagine anything bad happening when letting it only warmup for a min or two.



:edit:

To funwheel, -40? I couldn't do that, I live in Wisconsin and thats already too cold , I don't blame you one bit for waiting.

 

[misphit]

Sheesh. You guys are nuts wasting all that time/gas waiting for your cars to warm. Temperature in the winter here (ontario, Canada) usually plunges to -20 or -30 on bad days but I don't really give my car any warm up time at all. I'd say a minute at the most. As was mentioned already, if I did warm it up for any longer it would be to make myself more comfortable.

 

[97_JDM_GSX]

remote start then you dont have to go out an wait

 

[talontsiboy24]

Really? Thats insane, you must love you car, or hate being cold.

They say 30 seconds to 1 minute gets all the oil circulated through the engine, therefore, making it driveable and causing no damage. Aslong as you don't start it up and take off right away, you'll be fine.

Well i doubt u guys are using 15w-50 which is very thick for winter time thats why i feel like 10min aint enough time even for that thick oil to get threw everything...if i was using 10w-30 or 5w-30 then id understand. but i do see the tempature stick go right in the middle by about 8-10min.

Its 4f right now in chicago so thats cold!

 

[FUNWHEELDRIVE]

next oil change you should change to 5w-30... its the best for winter usually cause its not very thick. when summer rolls around switch back to what u were runnin, or 10w-30 thats what i run in summer.

 

[Nati0nalxCrisis]

Well i doubt u guys are using 15w-50 which is very thick for winter time thats why i feel like 10min aint enough time even for that thick oil to get threw everything...if i was using 10w-30 or 5w-30 then id understand. but i do see the tempature stick go right in the middle by about 8-10min.

Why are you using 15w-50? That seems like almost crazy, I use 5w-30 cause it gets insanely cold up here in Wisconsin but its not so thin that I don't burn everything up during summer, then again I drive a cutlass so heavy oil isn't a priority to me and either is burning up the motor

 

[habitatguy187]

What does your car idle at when it's that cold? 2-2.5k? Just drive it and shift before your idle point and it will be just like letting it idle to warm up.

 

[scotyu]

Your oil is thick, but letting it warm up 1 min or 20 doesn't make a difference due to the viscosity. Once your needle starts to move should be just fine. It's not really gonna be getting into any more places until you put some laod on the motor and put some pressure through the pump. The only thing I could think is that it might take SLIGHTLY longer to warm up due to the viscosity.

 

[is0lati0n]

i usually let it warm up till the gauge sets in the middle for normal operating temps.

 

[habitatguy187]

Wow guys. Think of how much gas you're wasting letting your cars warm up that much in the winter, just sitting there in open loop dumping extra fuel .

I hardly even sit through drive-through's because I hate to sit there and idle when I can just park and go inside.

It's not that I'm afraid to use the gas, (I go WOT at least 5 times a day ) I just don't want to waste it just sitting there.

 

[Nati0nalxCrisis]

Really? Man, I don't know how you guys have the patience to let a car warm up that long, does anyone know if it'll decreast the life of your motor only letting it warm up for a minute instead of ten? I mean yeah, I always let my car warm up a little bit, no matter what I'm doing, or where I'm going, but I just couldn't do ten minutes .

Correct me if I'm wrong but WOT is Wide Open Throttle right?

 

[habitatguy187]

Correct me if I'm wrong but WOT is Wide Open Throttle right?

Yes. And I always let mine warm up for at least 20 seconds in the summer, and usually around 2 mins in the winter. As long as you don't rev the motor very high at all you can get away with no warm up. What happens is all the rubber seals and metal gets hot and expands, creating a better seal for various parts of the engine. If you boost or rev the motor real high with all those cold hard seals and contracted metal it can deteriorate parts faster.

 

[805DSM]

i warm up mine every morning, it doesnt get that cold her in So Cal but ive noticed that if i dont let it warm up to operating temp,"atleast 5 mins" the car runs like crap and it eats up ALOT of gas , compared if i warm it up... so i'd say just let it warm up for atleast 5 minutes.

 

[fatboy95gsx]

10 mins is plenty of time

 

[habitatguy187]

10 mins is plenty of time

Plenty too much unless you plan on doing a launch out of your driveway.

 

[BK85]

Since the 70's manufacturers have recommended 30 seconds to 1 min max than drive carefully till fully warm.

On some motorhead show they said that it warms up much faster while driving gently till fully warm than it does sitting in the driveway.

BK85

 

[talontsiboy24]

Why are you using 15w-50? That seems like almost crazy, I use 5w-30 cause it gets insanely cold up here in Wisconsin but its not so thin that I don't burn everything up during summer, then again I drive a cutlass so heavy oil isn't a priority to me and either is burning up the motor

Well its been on that thick oil for 5yrs now so i dont wanna switch and have problems. my motor has almost 129k miles so thicker is better i think to make it last longer.

 

[1990AWD]

wow...you sad Americans...4F is not cold. what would you do if it was -40F like it is here in Saskatchewan?.. we are sitting at -29F and this is a warmer evening. last week we went from ~+30F to -40F (with the windchill) in only a couple days.

1. get rid of that heavy of oil. why do you need it that thick? 5W30 would be perfect for winter. its really hard on a car because the only thing making it difficult to start in winter is the oil and the cold battery. help the car out a little here.

2. I say warm the car up to about half of operating temperature while idling. that should take only about 5-8 mins. down in Chicago.

3. I say only warm up the car half way because none of your powertrain has warmed up at all. spend the first few miles driving slowly letting your tranny and all that warm up nicely. by then the engine will also be at nice operating temperature.

4. if need be, plug your block heater in for a couple hours before you start in the morning. works wonders.

 

[tkelly27]

Since the 70's manufacturers have recommended 30 seconds to 1 min max than drive carefully till fully warm.

On some motorhead show they said that it warms up much faster while driving gently till fully warm than it does sitting in the driveway.

BK85

I heard this on click and clack the tappet (maybe unrevised lifter?) brothers. They made a really good point too. You are letting your engine oil warm up, but sitting there at neutral your transmission fluid/oil and more importantly with AWD your transfer case and rear axle fluid remains freezing cold. So the only reason I see to let your engine warm up is for your own comfort.

The best way to warm up an engine and drive train is with light load, the kind you get from easy driving.

I let the clutch out as soon as the thing stays running. That takes a few seconds without an ISC or FIAV. I'm normally at operating temps 3/4 mile away from my house, give or take depending on the weather.