Warming up... [Merged 10-6]

[2GeNTSi]

This is probably a super n00b question but I never had a real solid answer to when and how long you should let your car warm up. My routine in the morning is to let it warm up until the needle is at 1/4, rpms below 1k, and oil pressure is at mid. Thing is I'm still in high school and I don't usually drive to lunch so it stays parked for the whole day and when I leave I'm not sure if I have to go through the whole process of waiting or just drive off right away.

I RARELY drive my car hard, i.e. rpms usually stay around 2-4k. I have no reason to drive fast anyways unless I'm in a hurry but even then I only speed 10-15 above the speed limit. Also I know that your not supposed to drive your car hard until it is at the normal running temperature. Oh yeah if you don't know already, I have a 95 TSi.

 

[echo]

i don't even let mine warm up. i just get in and go. except during the winter, i let it warm up so that heater will be hot. don't be afraid of driving it hard sometimes. sometimes they need to be opened up(that's what i tell myself anyways ).

 

[greeneclipse]

ive heard from a few people that you should let it warm up for atleast 2-3 mins. and then drive it real carefully, keeping the rpms under 3k until you reach normal temp. this way you warm up the entire drive train instead of just letting the engine warm up and start goin at it.

 

[Megaman]

i warm it up till it gets under 1k when idleing...bout 2-3 min.

 

[Goro21]

search this topic there was a really good post on it a few months ago.

 

[EHeye]

i wait till my car temperature has reached the first line in the temp gauge, then drive relatively easy for about 5-10 minutes than i give it balls and set turbo timer for between 1-3 minutes everytime.

 

[truwarrior]

I let it warm up until my egt is around 700-800. Which is usually just a min. Cars now a days its better to get in and go because the oil pressure is low if you let it sit there ideling.

So you can (a) take off with high oil pressure but cold engine (b) have low oil pressure but warm engine or (c) wait a bit until the idel comes down a bit and the engine warms up slightly but not to long where the oil pressure drops.

So I figure about 20-60 secs depending on the weather.

 

[theTuner]

Lets say your in a hurry and you have to drive right away [ no warming up ] is it ok to drive without reaching positive boost for a while or should u wait until the turbo has sufficient oil in it then leave... any suggestions

 

[AlecW81]

There is no need to warm up the car before driving anyway as long as you don't drive like a jacka$$ Idling is not something you want your car to do... I'm sure someone will bring up some small fact in an attempt to flame me, but I've read enough about the topic to know that you are best off starting the car and immediatly leaving.

 

[*97GS_Eclipse*]

your best bet is to start the car and drive right away but dont rev high and drive like a dick, keep it low in the RPM's until all the drivetrain parts are wrmed up then let her rip.



Luke

 

[onepimpclipse]

Like everyone above has stated, get in the car, start, go. Keep the RPM's low and try not to boost much if any until you reach normal operating temp. Then it's Andretti time.

 

[ChicagoGSX]

I give my car 30-45 secs. to let oil pump through then take it easy until its reached full temp.

 

[greathuskie]

can someone tell me why idling is not good....

 

[FourG63 97GST]

I just keep it under 3k till it warms up

 

[eclipsed95]

Originally posted by greathuskie
can someone tell me why idling is not good....

^^Same here. I've always let my cars warm up like 3-5 min. Never had any related problems tp my knowledge.

 

[ivanr4g63]

You shouldn't idle when cold, cause the oil is sitting in the pan, and the internal parts are not well lubricated, but you can drive at los rpms and eventually the engine warms up, your good to hop on the freeway...

Usually everybody has to drive a few blocks before getting into the highway, so just (like said before) keep your revs low till you get there...

There no real extreme reason to warm your engine for 10 mins before driving... unless its under cero degrees and you want your car heater giving you summer inside the car...

 

[ChicagoGSX]

Warming up cars was something that was necessary in the days of carburated cars. Fuel injected cars do not experience the problems so it is best to drive them right away because this speeds up the warm up time. The less time spent cold the better. Excessive wear occurs at low temps because the car is supposed to run rich when cold (closed loop). Also driving the car warms up the rest of the drivetrain like the tranny. Also its illegal in some states to leave a car running when you are away from it.

 

[Satori]

Originally posted by ChicagoGSX
I give my car 30-45 secs. to let oil pump through then take it easy until its reached full temp.

This is exactly the definition of warming up a fuel injected engine. Just let it idle long enough to allow the oil to work its way through the engine.

I also try not to give it full boost until the water temp reaches almost normal.

 

[NoRiceTSi]

just fire it up, let the rpm's drop to a steady level, only takes a few seconds, then just shift at 2500-3k until your engine gets up in the normal operating temp range on your water temp gauge, this way you will warm up drivetrain parts, as well as supply enough oil up into the head....some oil pumps wont have enough pressure to well oil everything at idle, if anyone on here has ever owned a probe/mx6 you should know what i'm talking about, as thats a very big problem on those cars

 

[Defiant]

Originally posted by greathuskie
can someone tell me why idling is not good....

It's not so much the idling as it is you're warming up the engine and gearbox.... and nothing else. Rear driveline, wheel bearings, CV joints, all are starting out dead cold. It was good to idle until the choke pulled off in the days of carburetors, but with modern systems I go with those who say its best to get everything going at the same time. For the first four miles, no more than half throttle, half speed, and half load.

 

[Generation X]

I personally let mine warm up for a few minutes, to let the oil circulate properly, and give the metals time to expand from the heat. Most people that I know that use turbo timers let there car idle down for 3 minutes anyways, so what's the difference?

 

[Dieselboy]

I choose to let my car warm up for a few minutes, usually until the temp needle first begins going up, then I feel Im good to go. I also agree about the theory of letting the metal internals absorb some of the heat and expand. Something about taking raw cold metal, then simultaniously exposing it to 100's of degrees of heat within a minute or so. I do this also because I know my oil pump is fine, and I want to circulate oil up into the head before I even move. On cold ass mornings, I have some lifter tick, but under a minute later while idling/warming up, its gone. Also my car drives alot better from the go if I let her warmup a lil first. Warm up + cool down = My theory

 

[diamondstarr]

I do the same as dieselboy...I usually let my gsx warm up until I hear the idle drop to a normal range.

 

[Defiant]

Originally posted by Generation X
I personally let mine warm up for a few minutes, to let the oil circulate properly, and give the metals time to expand from the heat. Most people that I know that use turbo timers let there car idle down for 3 minutes anyways, so what's the difference?

The metal expansion is a good idea, although I doubt it translates to practice.

If your oil's not circulating after about the tenth revolution, it never will be.

I think turbo timers, particularly with water-cooled spools, are a complete ripoff. You'll get much better cooling at 30mph in third for the last two miles or so.

With all that said, millions of moms and French people are hopping into dead-cold cars every morning and flooring them onto the motorway. Yet we hardly ever hear of one dying from repeated cold starts. "Proper" warm-up procedures -whether dynamic or static- might gain a machine an extra 10% of life.

I think the real payoff is in having the kind of mindset where you'd even wonder if warming up matters.

 

[Generation X]

Originally posted by Defiant
The metal expansion is a good idea, although I doubt it translates to practice.

If your oil's not circulating after about the tenth revolution, it never will be.

I think turbo timers, particularly with water-cooled spools, are a complete ripoff. You'll get much better cooling at 30mph in third for the last two miles or so.

With all that said, millions of moms and French people are hopping into dead-cold cars every morning and flooring them onto the motorway. Yet we hardly ever hear of one dying from repeated cold starts. "Proper" warm-up procedures -whether dynamic or static- might gain a machine an extra 10% of life.

I think the real payoff is in having the kind of mindset where you'd even wonder if warming up matters.

My car sits on average about 4 or 5 days before I drive it, so that's one of the reasons why I let mine warm up a little longer, but it's a personal preference, and as far as millions of moms and french people getting in there cars and just taking off on cold starts, well most of them aren't making 350 to 360 hp in a motor that's designed to make only 210 hp from the factory. I may be a little old school since I'm 34 years old but it's just my personal preference to let mine warm up before I start driving off. I can see your point though.