Warm Up?
 

Hey all, I just wanted to know how long you warm your car up before moving? I have always let the RPMs drop to about 1k, but i always wondered if it was necessary. Thanks in advance!

Depending on outside temperature, I usually only wait about a minute. Obviously if it is dead of winter, I'll let it warm up more (but that's usually to allow for any ice to melt, and the interior to warm up). You obviously don't have this problem being in FL.

I like to let the engine go through it's fast-idle phase at startup. When the RPMs pop up and then settle down, I'll go.

^^^Same here. I find that on colder mornings this process takes a little longer so It compensates for the cold on its own.

A good indicator is to listen for the initial idle change. You it's ready to go by then. I perform this for my bike as well...there's truely a difference!

Yeah!, What J and D Rex said!

Since I no longer live in the snow belt of our country I will start the car, put it in gear and gently drive away. The key word being gently.

If I lived where it really gets cold I would give it a moment to be sure lubrication is flowing and again gently drive away.

I wait until the revs drop like everyone else seems to and then I drive it gently (<4000 RPM) until the engine temp is up to normal.

i dont think in a modern car it is as imperative to wait for the idle to drop. modern oil and a modern engine really only need to get the oil flowing before you really get things going. i think this (along with the precision of machining) is why you see cars lasting longer and longer.

I have always waited at least 30 seconds for the engine to warm and the revs to drop to normal rpm. Then drive gently til fully warmed up.

If i didn't drive the car for more then lets say 5 hours, I always let the car warm up for two minutes before rolling off.
I don't care if i'm driving the Audi or an old Alfa Romeo, i give it two minutes.

I start it up, back out of the garage and try to keep it under 3000 rpm for about the first 10 minutes or so.

I always start up and leave, my last car i put 80k miles on it (152k when i sold) i would start it up, roll out of the driveway, 3k rpms, drop the clutch and race to work.... never had 1 problem...my car would never get warmed up by the time i got to work in the winter... lol

about 10 seconds to make sure i got "pressure in the boat" then drive moderately until operating temperature is reached.

i usually let the car warm up for 3 minutes . oil needs to get to optimal running temp imo before really going.

I wait until the high-rev lowers back to normal idle (just below 1000 RPM) before I start driving off.
I drive it slowly until it is fully warmed up; this prevents pre-mature wear and tear as the oil needs to warm up to properly lubricate the engine.

we think a like sir. :happyanim:

Nothing but only the best for our cars!...

Cheers! :happy0180:

I also wait for the coolant temp to start raising. This tip was actually in one of my car manuals (wait for coolant gauge to move, then gently drive until coolant temp guage is set in the middle).

I wait till it reads into the warm range on coolant guage

There are some more useful tips in this thread as well:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...highlight=warm

: )

I wait until the idle drops below 1k rpm. 2 min on average I would say. Maybe longer.

i tend to sleep longer than a should then i am rushing to work so i give it 30 seconds usually:bonk:

Thanks for the replies guys! glad I'm not the only one who does this lol

I'll let it idle for a few minutes here and there, unless I'm in a hurry. Warm ups arent really necessary on newer cars.

I'm the same as SportInjected I think; the car gets a break here and there, as if it needs it, but I usually just start the car and go. Then again, my car is stored in a garage and the temperature in there is almost never below 70F. And after waiting for my garage door to come up, backing out, and then pulling out of my driveway, i'm not pulling out onto a highway, i'm pulling out into a neighborhood for about 2 minutes of 30mph driving, <4000rpm...

This engine uses 0w-20 from the factory... Doesn't that mean the oil circulates better than a 10w-30 or so at the same temperature?

Yes and no... Our engine oil is very thin compared to many other vehicles but that isn't the main reason why we should idle a little before we take off.

When we wait for the engine to warm up, we wait for all of it's engine component to expand to full from heat expansion, as well as the oil to warm up.

Chances are that your pistons will be knocking against your cylinders in colder revs with all that free-play...
Even worse when rev'ed high creating pre-mature wear and tear when not warmed up to operational temperature.

There is a seinfeld about this.

This car gets a better treatment than my trade in 09 Corolla - Turn it on and go. I always wait for the initial idle to drop to 1k and then drive off. 2 mins of subdivision driving at 40-50 kph and then up to 80-90 kph. Leaving the subdivision sometimes (read often) requires a little stab of the throttle. For the sake of a minute or two, seems like the right thing to do considering the stab fairly early on.

I usually just wait for the RPMs to finish dropping to its normal idling then just go normally (not fast), or if I am in a hurry I just go but more gently until it warms up.

agreed:happy0180:

this is very true being a mechanic its important to me to let engine oil temps raise it properly lubricates the main bearings and lets oil to circulate in the heads. also remember we are using all aluminum blocks and heads to our engines in the past the phase 1 ej25 engines from the mid 90s legacy gt's and impreza Rs's had head gasket problems.

this is because most people turn the car on and drive blast the heat , this is winter driving most people ive seen have blown head gaskets because the expansion and retracting of the metals from going from cold to hot to cold again real fast rather then waiting a few minutes to let the engine reach proper temp and expand to the proper size.

also it wears the internals like cams pistons and what not inside the engine without proper lubrication. my advice to most is before you set out turn the car on let it sit for at least 2 minutes let that engine warm up a little bit. it will only give your engine longer life. ever start the car and just try to drive it it feels sluggish and the transmission feels notchy and strange feeling ? its because its not properly up to temp yet. all the fluids are still kind of thick and not warmed up.

I always start my car then walk 30m or so up to the front gate to open and then back before the car moves so it's gets a min or two to warm up then I have to close the gate aswell so my temp gauge is usually off cold by the time I depart the driveway.

not true,but it won't hurt anything if ya wait the 3 minutes,if it gives ya peace of mind! ideally ,once oil pressure is established,you are ready to run! would be better to have an oil pressure gauge but it's not absolutely necessary,as oil pressure is virtually instantaneous upon start up...just keep revs down untill you reach operating temperature. (few minutes max) runnin' 0-20 synthetic,oil is very light,but extremely tough,durable,AND slippery...just sayin'

starting the car and letting it idle is "not" the smart play! car will reach operating temperature "faster"(with subsequent internal wear reduced) if it is driven (moderately,keeping revs down) right away after establishing "oil pressure".if you let the car idle,wear on internal parts WILL be "increased" because it will take that much "longer" for the car to reach optimum operating temperature. this is well known.

My cousin (master tech) says same thing according to him in Europe it's illegal to let your car idle for more than 45 seconds. I guess I'm just used to 10w60 in my BMW lol that stuff takes a minute to warm up lol. But it glides like butter. Thanks for clarifieing :happy0180:

I wish all cars came with oil temp, and oil pressure gauges . As well as volts.

This :thumbsup:

This probably isn't the right topic for this, but I'm curious about this warm up time. When I first start mine it starts out at about 1100 rpm's, then if I let it idle it goes to about 500-600. Is this an issue? Should it stay around 1k?

As others do I wait for the fast idle mode to drop down and then motor off. I keep the revs under 3500 and use part throttle until fully warmed up.

No, all cars idle higher when started then drops. This car just more noticeable than others, well for me since my old car you wont hear when idle goes down.

That's great until you realize the rich fuel delivery at start-up can create carbon build up. Just like those people who start their carbed motorcycle and let it idle with the choke open...it should be removed as soon as it can idle without the choke. All those pre-mature wear talk is from the 70's at best.

It's pointless to just leave a car warm up, just driving it gently after 10-15 seconds will make the engine warm up faster anyway and you don't waste gas.