warming up my car

[RWDscaresMe]

i've had many people tell me different things about warming up cars. First some people have stated that back in the days of carburators, warming up a car was crucial but that it is not needed for today's fuel injected cars. Then there are people who disagree saying that engine components, like belts and shit, still need to be warmed up. What are your thought on this?

[V-8Fan]

The best way to warm up a car is to drive it---gently.

[SaabJohan]

Agees with V-8Fan, but there is an exception - racing engines.

Racing engines should to be heaten up with an external heater before they are started, if they are started cold they can break. Using an external heater is also a good idea for standard engines.

Just don't try warming it up by letting it stand on idle, this will not get the engine very warm but the rich mixture will also "wash" the oil from the cylinderwalls .

[2strokebloke]

Letting the engine warm up is still important, especially if you plan on getting the most miles possible out of an engine before it needs to be rebuilt.
Generally, I start the engine and let it idle for about 30-40 seconds and then drive gently until the temp guage is showing the "normal" operating temperature. This is probably the best way.
It's important even with fuel injection to do this, mainly to reduce engine wear, the warm up ensures that oil (those first 30 seconds) is everywhere it needs to be before you put the engine under load, and driving gently also reduces wear, but it's important because your engine operates inneficiently below it's normal operating temperature, so you waste less fuel and reduce wear on the cold engine by doing this.

[tman]

The best way to warm up an engine is to start it, and punch the gas pedal to the floor, letting the tach hit the redline each time, until warm.


I'm just playing, noone in their right mind should ever do that! Like has been said, drive gently while cold. I don't like to rev mine past 2000rpm when cold.

[RWDscaresMe]

thanks for the info

[CraigFL]

I always let my car warm up for about 10 minutes. It's no fun driving a Ferrari when it's cold....

[RWDscaresMe]

10 minutes!!....i don't have that kind of time in the morning......maybe if i had a ferrari i would...hahaha

[Racincc85]

i usually let my car stand on idle for 10 mins or so to warm it up when it's really cold out. Is this bad?

[-Jayson-]

first i put the peddle all the way to the floor and press the brake all the way to the floor. Then i start the car and hold it for about 30seconds to a minute, then i let off the gas and shift into neutral. Then i floor it again for another 30-60 seconds. AFter that i drop it in drive and try and get the RPMS at redline for as long as possible. Once the engine is warmed up its ok to drive it slowly, it wont do any damage. This way i figure its best to teach the car that it needs to get warmed up quickly so that in later times i wont have to let it warm up for so long. Good luck and try my way!!

[CarSuperfreak]

....Dear God I hope you're joking

[CarSuperfreak]

Its always best to let your engine warm up some before you drive it, all of the lubricants and other fluids in teh engine are designed to work best when the engine is at normal temperature. Not saying they don't do their job on a cold engine, but they are optimized for normal operating temp.

Assuming -Jayson- was kidding, one of the worst things you can do is rev the engine before the oil has had a chance to circulate. as a car sits the oil tends to settle down out of the heads, leaving the cams/lifters/rockers/etc essentially without oil. any of these parts + no oil = no good. One way to combat this settling of the oil is to switch to synthetic oil. the major difference in synthetic oil is that the molecules are approximatly 1/10 the size of normal oil's. this allows the molecules to get 'stuck' in the microscopic blemishes in the oil galleries and other components.

sorry for the lengthy explanation, I probably coulda left some of that out....

[-Jayson-]

what is my way a bad way or something? Only problem is the engine likes to break down alot now, stupid engine maybe next time i should use maple syrup for 10w-30... they look like the same thing. And also how come when i put Absolute vodka in my tank the car doesnt run as well? i mean its flamable shouldnt it burn just like gasoline? I even tried Popov because that stuff taste like gasoline and it still didnt help. Then a guy told me that the sugars and what else thats in liquor will wreck my engine, so i quickly got a bottle of paint thinner to get it out, hope it all works buti dont think it did cause now the engine wont start. So then i was like i need to jump it, so i took apart a wall socket in my garage and attached it to the battery cable, but all it did was spark for a few seconds and then the circuit breaker was tripped. Yyeah but im pretty cleaver around cars, i had an oil leak from that thingy with all the spark plug and junk, so i took some house hold super glue and filled in the leak, no more leak. I figure i saved myself a couple hundred dollars by doing it myself. Anways the tow truck is hear to pick up my car, so ill tell you the repair bills, normally i just start hitting the engine with a hammer to fix it, but this time i think i did some damage. Oh well. . .cars are so stupid.

[CarSuperfreak]

i feel sorry for the poor sap who takes this advice :

i think youve gotten your point across

[59elcooldsuv]

The best way to start a cold engine is to use a pre-lube pump to pump oil thru the engine's passages before hitting the starter.

But since most people don't, I guess it's a moot point.