Engine Warm-up Time
 

How long does everyone generally warm-up their cars for?
:popcorn:

Get in and go, yolo swag.

2 minutes or idle if I'm in rush.

5 minutes before I really throttle it but I just get in and go

This is the best answer I've seen:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=82

This is a good thread in general:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48264

Oh, I usually let it idle till it comes off of "fast idle" (usually about 30 seconds), then move off and keep in under 4,000 rpms till the temp gauge reaches the 2nd mark (usually about 3 miles).

I figure, by that time, the oil is well on it's way to being warmed up.

humfrz

Till high idle stops, sometimes longer if I'm not in a hurry. Nothing over 4500 until @ full temp.

I follow a similar consensus.

Idle for 5-10 seconds to get fluids moving, pick some music and belt up.
Drive easy under 3k RPM until temp needle passes the first mark.
Drive normally under 4k-ish RPM until the temp needle hits the normal range.
No WOT high RPM until it's run for 5-10 minutes at normal temps.

no time..I jump in..start it..and go!

Oil takes a long time to warm up I noticed in torque. Even when coolant temp is 192F, oil could still be at only 150. I was thinking of doing the Forrester / Cusco oil cooler/warmer thing since it keeps oil temp more consistent.

It takes a lot longer for the oil to reach operating temp than the coolant. I normally drive for around 10 minutes at less than 4K before enjoying the outer limits. But that's in SoCal... I'd probably make that 20 mins if it actually got cold!

A true driver's car needs an oil temp gauge!

Reminds me of time, back in the day, when I was in Upper Michigan and just got into a beat up, old, float plane, piloted by a toothless fellow with alcohol on his breath.

He just kept going around in circles on the water when I impatiently ask him "when are ever going to take off ... http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...shakingmad.gif" ??

He replied .... I'm warming up the oil! We are going 500 miles up into Canada, over NOTHING, to a lake in NOWHERE.....now, if we don't warm up the oil .... YOU pick a place to crash, if this engine seizes up ..... http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...ages/argue.gif

I just shut up.

humfrz - another true story .... :)

Someone with one of those cool tablet mods or oil temp guage would be able to tell us. I bet the oil gets warmed up a lot faster than you guys think.

About 30 seconds until high idle stops. That's when I connect bluetooth, seatbelt and gps etc.
Then I keep the RPM's under 4000 until about 10-15 minutes. Because it takes longer for engine oil to heat up than the coolant. So even though the coolant is at optimal operating temperature, I wait a bit longer before I past the 4000rpm mark.
I decided this was the best method after input from several people :)

I don't drive under any circumstances unless the rpm has dropped down to 1,100 or wherever it sits at once it's warm. You'll know when it's ready because it sits at about 1500 when it's warming on a cold start

Start a few sec and off to an easy going. Who got time to wait?

Wait for the initial RPM to settle down. Putter around in low gears and at low speed ( below 3000 rpm) till the Temp needle starts rising. Once its reached operating temps, then drive normally.

Never/Avoid switch on the A/C before the temps are up. The compressor puts unwanted load to a cold engine.

I warm the car up for awhile because it helps with the initial cold 2nd gear engagement.

I let my car warm up for 5 minutes, or I let it cycle through initial idle, then pull it out on the street and roll in first gear down the street, then park on the sidewalk and let it warm up a little bit more. At that point the car is warmed up enough and 2nd gear shifts smoothly.

I use an oil temp guage.
Oil takes a lot longer to warm up than most think - about 2x as long as the coolant.
I won't go WOT until oil reaches 90°C, and that takes about 8-10 mins of regular driving.

I just get in and drive and shift before 3,000 until the water temp is just about normal level.

So there are two recurring themes here.. wait until coolant reaches operating temperature before going above 3 or 4,000; or wait until oil temp reaches coolant temp/operating temp. The second one is more difficult without a gauge, I wonder if it does really make a difference?

I do the same exact thing word for word...weird ahaha

IMHO, you're both wasting time and gas. Just get in and drive slowly, changing gears slowly and gently, until the temp. gets to normal range, and then, if it's still notchy shifting, take it easy a while longer. Then whatever you want.

unlucky for me, work is only 5 miles away so my car doesn't warm up fully before I have to shut it off. I just get in and let the rpms drop while sitting, then just cruise to work under 4k. modern oils are advanced enough to minimize wear and tear when cold as long as you drive normally.

i start driving when rpm drops to under 1k

Doesn't work like that for me. I can't shift into 2nd when cold at all unless done forcefully. Gearbox goes tight and doesn't want to sync up at that temperature.

Engine temp does little for the transmission, I believe that's what he was getting at. In other words, getting the car moving will warm the transmission more quickly for a couple reasons. 1- the engine builds heat more quickly from being driven (even gently). 2- Friction from the thick oil and some minor stress on the gears will generate more heat within the transmission itself. By letting the engine warm up at idle, you're relying on engine and exhaust heat to passively radiate into the transmission casing, which does have an effect, but takes a lot longer because the cold transmission casing is acting like a heat sink on the engine.

Try some experimenting, personally I'd be curious. Try your method, and time from startup until you feel the shifting is "good" into 2nd. Then try startup and immediately drive. you might need to coax or skip 2nd gear a bit, but time again from startup until you get a "good" shift. I wonder if there's much of a difference...

I've always (in all my cars, turbo'd,NA):
-fire up car
-buckel up, send a text, set radio for about 15-30 seconds
-drive lightly
-don't get on it until temp is fully up

In my case it takes about 5 minutes. Hardly "a lot".

There's no coaxing it, it either wants to go in smoothly or it doesn't and results in a crunch - the transmission / shifter is as stiff as a board when cold and I hate how uncomfortable that feels, and need to be able to to shift into 2nd smoothly as I exit up a hill onto a busy downtown street.

Once the high idle drops, I start driving. But I don't take it above 3k rpms until it's at operating temp.

Then i would suggest you look into some lighter/better transmission lubricant. I think there is a thread on this so search, but Motul seems to ring a bell. Anyway, I did mine, and it made a significant difference. But, to be honest, even when on the original stuff, when cold, it would go into second with some gentle coaxing. There could be an issue with yours.

As most have stated I just wait until the car is around 1k RPMs. And take it easy for the first 5 min or so. The car has a cold nature.

I find a firm and deliberate shift out of first and then equally firm and deliberate shift into second works for me. Triple cone synchros are very robust.

The transmission warms up quickly, even at minus 20C and lower.

Firm and forceful shifting is ok. Just don't rush the synchros. It's all in the slight pause in neutral. Once you find the right length of pause it should work for you.

Also I suspect this gearbox requires a lot of running in.

A minute or two then off and easy does it for the first couple of miles

1. Clutch in
2. Gas pedal to floor
3. Turn ignition
4. Engine starts, let go of ignition
5. Engine hits rev limiter
6. Keep foot on floor
7. Drop clutch
8. Keep foot on floor
9. Keep going
10. Keep foot on floor

(foot comes off floor for gear changes, stop signals, and pedestrians)

Well, it's winter time and really cold up here in NE Ohio. I like to let my engine idle for a while on cold starts when possible. I have Torque Pro, so I usually load that up right after I turn my car on. 17 degree oil temperatures is not something I want to be adding load to or going above idle rpm's on.

I try to wait until the oil temp is at least 60 degrees F before driving, although the car feels much better at 80+ degrees F. I baby the car with light loads and I shift at or below 3k rpm's. At about 160 degrees F, I will push the car up to 4k rpm's at medium load, and I wait until the temps get to 185 degrees F before I'm willing to go WOT and redline. My car levels out at about 195-200 degrees F when fully warm, going up to about 210 degrees F during sustained 80-85 mph freeway driving (30+ minutes).

My car also shifts alot smoother when I let it idle for a while before driving. If I don't let it warm up enough, I grind going into 2nd gear from 1st, and it is impossible to downshift into second without double clutching + perfect rev matching. I can't even get it to go into 1st gear if it's too cold unless I come to a 100% complete stop (0 mph on the digital dash). Once she's warmed up though, she shifts beautifully.

I've noticed this car takes longer to warm up than my previous cars, quite noticeably. Maybe due to DI?

It's exacerbated with the cold weather - if you run the heat full blast pretty soon after startup it can take a really long time for the coolant to hit operating temps - and it will actually drop water temps if idling at a stop light. The engine will heat up a lot faster if you wait until the water temps get to operating temp before you start using heat.

30 seconds idle, minimum 10km of driving before ill take it over 2700RPM, best to have all fluids warmed up before doing anything fun :)

Coolant hits operating temperature as the thermostat opens. The temperature gauge gives you that temperature to begin with. The normal effective range of operating temperature for the coolant is only around 20 degrees C. Minimum to open the thermostat is likely 89 C. Boiling point is likely around 140C. Winter or summer the upper part of the cylinders and the head will be running around 100 C regardless of outside temperature.

There is no need to "fully" warm up a street engine. Just avoid full throttle loads until the thermostat opens (coolant temp gauge moves off the peg) then you can let er rip.

There's definitely no reason to try and warm up the engine by idling it. Warm up is far quicker as you drive. Higher rpm and smaller throttle openings heat up the coolant more quickly.