Boxer engine and temps - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

SlinkyAvalanche · 03-27-2014, 12:22 PM

Just out of curiosity, does the shape of the boxer engine lead to a longer warm up period and a quicker cool down period compared to other engine layouts? I live in RI and its been freezing and it seems the horizontal 4 engine take a longer period of time to warm up than my old car's inline 6 (I know my old car obviously has more cylinders).

I would assume that because of the layout of the engine, there is more surface area per cylinder and the combustion chambers aren't as concentrated and thus it takes a longer period of time to warm up and conversely, it cools down quicker. Any one coming from I4 care to comment?

reardrv · 03-27-2014, 01:41 PM

The warm up seems normal to me, about the same as my 4 cylinder Ranger and my old Evo X. I think its more the size of the motor and the cooling system then anything. But I could be wrong.

wheelhaus · 03-27-2014, 02:02 PM

2 liters isn't much displacement to generate heat. I would think it's more to do with additional cylinders. My current bike is a 1000cc inline 4-cyl, but my previous bike was a 650cc parallel twin, same engine position, more displacement per cylinder, just missing two outer cylinders. It took a lot longer to warm up.

Eurasianman · 03-27-2014, 02:07 PM

My dad's 2006 Mercedes SL55 AMG engine (5.4L V8 supercharged) is warmed up within 1-3 minutes, no joke. I think it just depends on how the engine itself is set up and how the ECU is programmed (if that makes any sense)

DarkSunrise · 03-27-2014, 02:20 PM

It takes about the same time as my GTI, maybe 1-2 minutes longer. Both hit nominal temp on the gauge very close to the same spot in my commute. (I get impatient waiting for the engine to heat up.) On a side note, the GTI is interesting bc you can see the coolant temp drop as the thermostat opens. Kind of unnerving at first.

My 350z seems to warm up a good bit faster than either.

Ranatsu · 03-27-2014, 03:14 PM

In my experience the boxer motors in all of my Subaru's stay warm for hours. They take longer to warm up in general, but they'll be pretty warm for a good amount of time.

subyboy · 03-27-2014, 03:43 PM

I dduno my brz takes forever to warm up and my previous car which is an 05 sti warmed up alot faster than my brz but that could b due to the turbo and I had auto start haha this car does not but I also noticed that when the brz is warming up the idle drops pretty early when compared to the sti which had its idle pretty high till it was almost fully warmed that might b another reason why it takes longer

mav1178 · 03-27-2014, 03:45 PM

Warmup time is around the same as previous 4 cylinder engines I've had. SR20DE, SR20DET, SR20VE, KA24DE, a few others.

-alex

subiestyle · 03-27-2014, 03:50 PM

The more important thing is oil temp.

But I'm not sure how long it takes to get oil up to operating temp.

mav1178 · 03-27-2014, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by subiestyle

But I'm not sure how long it takes to get oil up to operating temp.

Depends on ambient temp, but I've observed roughly 5 seconds for every 1C increase in coolant temp (~15 second warmup, slow driving for 5 minutes)

Oil temp rises at around the same rate.

-alex

03-27-2014, 12:22 PM	#1
SlinkyAvalanche Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Drives: Whiteout 6MT Location: RI Posts: 52 Thanks: 13 Thanked 13 Times in 8 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Boxer engine and temps Just out of curiosity, does the shape of the boxer engine lead to a longer warm up period and a quicker cool down period compared to other engine layouts? I live in RI and its been freezing and it seems the horizontal 4 engine take a longer period of time to warm up than my old car's inline 6 (I know my old car obviously has more cylinders). I would assume that because of the layout of the engine, there is more surface area per cylinder and the combustion chambers aren't as concentrated and thus it takes a longer period of time to warm up and conversely, it cools down quicker. Any one coming from I4 care to comment? __________________ Luke, use the FRS

03-27-2014, 02:07 PM	#4
Eurasianman Chief Join Date: Feb 2012 Drives: 2013 DGM BRZ Premium 6MT Location: USA Posts: 573 Thanks: 145 Thanked 178 Times in 126 Posts Mentioned: 8 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	My dad's 2006 Mercedes SL55 AMG engine (5.4L V8 supercharged) is warmed up within 1-3 minutes, no joke. I think it just depends on how the engine itself is set up and how the ECU is programmed (if that makes any sense) __________________

03-27-2014, 02:20 PM	#5
DarkSunrise Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Drives: 22 BRZ (Previously 13 FR-S) Location: USA Posts: 5,798 Thanks: 2,187 Thanked 4,243 Times in 2,221 Posts Mentioned: 48 Post(s) Tagged: 2 Thread(s)	It takes about the same time as my GTI, maybe 1-2 minutes longer. Both hit nominal temp on the gauge very close to the same spot in my commute. (I get impatient waiting for the engine to heat up.) On a side note, the GTI is interesting bc you can see the coolant temp drop as the thermostat opens. Kind of unnerving at first. My 350z seems to warm up a good bit faster than either. __________________ "Never run out of real estate, traction, and ideas at the same time." 2022 BRZ Build 2013 FR-S Build

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03-27-2014, 01:41 PM	#2
reardrv Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Drives: 2013 Subaru BRZ Location: NH Posts: 109 Thanks: 56 Thanked 40 Times in 27 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	The warm up seems normal to me, about the same as my 4 cylinder Ranger and my old Evo X. I think its more the size of the motor and the cooling system then anything. But I could be wrong.

03-27-2014, 02:02 PM	#3
wheelhaus Join Date: Jul 2012 Drives: 2013 BRZ, 2020 KTM Super Duke 1290R Location: Denver Posts: 1,788 Thanks: 714 Thanked 1,141 Times in 624 Posts Mentioned: 49 Post(s) Tagged: 1 Thread(s)	2 liters isn't much displacement to generate heat. I would think it's more to do with additional cylinders. My current bike is a 1000cc inline 4-cyl, but my previous bike was a 650cc parallel twin, same engine position, more displacement per cylinder, just missing two outer cylinders. It took a lot longer to warm up.

03-27-2014, 03:14 PM	#6
Ranatsu Cone basher Join Date: Mar 2012 Drives: 2017 Subaru BRZ Series.Yellow Location: Dodgin cones in San Antonio, TX Posts: 800 Thanks: 51 Thanked 256 Times in 169 Posts Mentioned: 7 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	In my experience the boxer motors in all of my Subaru's stay warm for hours. They take longer to warm up in general, but they'll be pretty warm for a good amount of time.

03-27-2014, 03:43 PM	#7
subyboy Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Drives: 13' swp brz limited Location: New York Posts: 302 Thanks: 2 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 1 Thread(s)	I dduno my brz takes forever to warm up and my previous car which is an 05 sti warmed up alot faster than my brz but that could b due to the turbo and I had auto start haha this car does not but I also noticed that when the brz is warming up the idle drops pretty early when compared to the sti which had its idle pretty high till it was almost fully warmed that might b another reason why it takes longer

03-27-2014, 03:45 PM	#8
mav1178 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Drives: 2005 Toyota Camry Location: 91745 Posts: 6,562 Thanks: 493 Thanked 6,099 Times in 3,030 Posts Mentioned: 95 Post(s) Tagged: 3 Thread(s)	Warmup time is around the same as previous 4 cylinder engines I've had. SR20DE, SR20DET, SR20VE, KA24DE, a few others. -alex

03-27-2014, 03:50 PM	#9
subiestyle Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Drives: 2014 Monogram FR-S White MT Location: San Francisco Posts: 433 Thanks: 62 Thanked 106 Times in 68 Posts Mentioned: 5 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	The more important thing is oil temp. But I'm not sure how long it takes to get oil up to operating temp.

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