warming up

[redgurl]

just out of curiosity, how long on average do you take to warm up your car?

i take at least one cigarette time to warm up (10mins approx), that is when i see the oil temp needle touches the first white line and my rpm sits around 900.

i feel that it's a little long, and it doesn't help when i'm rushing to school. been considering a remote start too.

comments?

p.s i drive an R33 GTST M-spec

[wrxhoon]

why do u sit there warming u r car ? u can do that while u r driving there is no need to pre warm it just take it easy until u rech normal operating temp and it will be fine .

[NuGGeT]

yeh wrxhoon is right

no need to prewarm your car at all

just drive easy for the first 5min or so

[Chef_32]

A cig that lasts 10mins, what r u smoking girl

[AeroGrace]

mmmm....smoking chicks:D

[crooser]

warming the engine up is only part of it. the gearbox and diff etc need to be warmed also. start it cold and just drive off taking it easy at first.

[Demon Dave]

Some people advocate waiting a few moments after starting the engine, not to warm the car up (this can be done while moving) but to ensure that the oil pump has been given sufficient time to circluate oil around the upper block/head/cam area.

Personally, I always give my car a minute or two before moving off, then take it easy until the temp has reached normal.

[Guest RedLineGTR]

sometimes if i have time i let the car start and while i'm getting ready or grabbing a bite to eat before i go out let it sit thier..maybe 5min-10min dont usally have time to do this anyways. But on a average day start her up..let the oil pressure go fully up to where its meant to be after it starts...maybe pop a cd on. Reverse it out slowly on to the road...then do a couple of laps around a couple of streets around my house...keep it at the lowest revs i can...then head to the main roads to my destination. Letting the gearbox warm up abit and diff etc. I usally take it easy untill my oil pressure is up where it should be. Then increase my rpms...

[Guest RedLineGTR]

From what people have said from like merc bmw user guides they usally recommend that u drive it easy to get everything up to temperature..

Especailly turbo cars with the extra pressure i would try and warm it up to operating temp before serious boosting..

[Demon Dave]

Yep, with turbo cars it is particularly important to give the oil a few moments to reach the turbos (which are usually high up on the block, thus being one of the last components to be lubricated after ignition)

I think the main point though, it that there isn't anything to be gained by letting your car idle for long periods of time before moving off - the engine will warm up just as quickly when you're moving and standing still isn't doing anything to help the gearbox/transmission oil warm up...

[NismoR34]

I generally only have mine running for about 30 seconds or upto a minute, anymore than that is a waste of petrol and time.

Like the other guys said - go easy for the first 5-10 mins of driving but wouldnt personally sit there stationary for that long.

I use my Oil Temp [factory on 34] gauge to work out when I can drive a bit harder If the oil temp is cold, you dont wanna drive hard.

Also use your last 5-10mins of driving to cool the car down after a fang, then you only need a short amount of turbo-timer - again I use my Oil temp guage to workout whats needed.

Sorry got a bit carried away, hope all this helps

[MarkR33]

yeah what nismo said is all true . i usually let it sit particulary on a cold mornin for about 30 seconds , drive it slowly tring to keep the revs under 2000 . then after about 5 mins i look at all my guages especially oil an then go for it but 5mins is generally all u need no need to idle for that long a period , it would be a waste same with cooling if ive been thrashin it all the way home

then the TT takes longer, but if i say drive (normally) for a few mins after then it doesnt take long at all , and i think is better for the engine then rather switching it just off

[wrxhoon]

crooser just in case u didnt know the g/box turns while the engine is running and the car stationaryas long as u dont have the clutch pedal to the floor , thats the only time the box is not turning .

redline gtir oil starts circulating the minute u start the engine if it didnt u r engine wont last long . i take it easy when i first start the engine though , never any amount of boost until the coolant temp goes to normal , for the oil temp to get to normal it could take up to 30 minutes though and the harder u drive the hoter the oil will get . u dont have to have oil temp to 140 to give it hard on full boost or high rpm though but when it comes to turning it off then u must make sure u cool it down a little like driving with no boost or idling it at home for a 2-3 minutes , that way ur turbo will leve longer .

demon dave the turbo line is always full of oil so as soon as u start the engine u got oil circulating the last to get oil runing are the cams and the valve stems .

nismo 34 thats fine but it usualy takes that long to back out of the drive so as long as u dont have to back up a steep drive ( puting load on the engine ) u can start and back out .

mark r33 sure drive at low rpm say to 3- 3500 but more impotantly dont load u r engine ( high gear and low rpm ) until it warms up . one part of the engine that doesnt get lubricated when u first start is the cil bore thats when most of the wear happens when u first start it ( the first 30 - 60 seconds )

even if i've been driving along heavy traffic when i stop the car i always idle the engine for a few seconds before turning off .

[cobo_11]

I personally warm the car up until the temp needle starts to move then I take off and drive carefully until the temp needle is at normal operating temperature.

I know most would think it's a waste of time to sit there for 10 minutes waiting for the car to warm up, but it's just one of those things I do to look after my car as much as I can. (not saying you people don't look after your cars).

I also adjust my turbotimer to the approriate amount of time for the drive I just did. (don't know why I added that :-) )

my two cents worth anyways...

[Jetdat]

its a waste of time and fuel to warm cars up before driving.....u just have to take it easy , i.e dont load the engine or drive at high revs until oil temp is at operating temp, which is about 30 mins into driving...

then you can let loose...

[Guest RedLineGTR]

personally if i had the time i would let it idle after startup for 5min max and then drive off slowly...but still knowing that there is some heat already in it.

Basically...drive it soft untill desired temp is reached.

Use a good quality oil and a specific rating for cold starts.

Dont push your car untill its ready...unless u want to waste money.

[WazR32GTSt]

geez i question the credibility of some of these responses...

how can anyone justify starting and driving immediately? its physically impossible for oil to magically jump from the sump to the top of the engine as soon as you start. there has to be a period of wear unless oil can reach it.

surely there is advantage in leaving you car running for 1-2mins just to move some oil around then drive slowly as said previously...

and if you worry about fuel consumption then

1) you're a pov

2) the way you drive determines your fuel usage not warming up / cooling down. the amount of fuel used at warm up is negligable...

...and the sensor for oil temp is located down near the sump so that is not always the best indication of oil movment (my oil pressure rises very quickly after starting)

but this is only my 2c and you can do what you like...

[Guest RedLineGTR]

WazR32GTSt how do u run your car from a cold start??

[Jetdat]

oil starts circulating immediately when the engine starts....although very briefly(seconds) you get no/low oil pressure after starting...thats when the damage occurs and no matter how long you warm the engine, this will happen every time you start your engine....why do think taxi's get such long engine life??? coz they rarely stop their engine during their shifts...

secondly there is waste of fuel if you let your car sit there for ten minutes to warm up everyday particularly because the engine will warm up quicker if you are driving it in that ten minutes.....not only will you waste time(precious for some of us) also waste fuel because of the longer standing warm up period and as the engine runs richer during warm up , it will emit more unburnt fuel to the atmoshere which is bad for the environment...

so not only you are wasting your time and money, but also you are exhausting the fuel supplies and adding to the pollution..

[redgurl]

thanks guys for the enthusiastic replies, i do appreciate them, i think i'd take less time to warm up my car from now on, but i still feel that starting the car and driving off is going to do mechanical harm. don't forget, it's a 10 year old car, and it's winter.

maybe i'll time the warm up a little under 5mins. and keep my turbo timer on for 1-2mins after the first start up.

cheers! and happy driving!