warming the engine- just curious

[sickchick]

OK, everyone here loves their cars and takes care of them well, right?

I'm wondering how long you all warm up your car before driving. I saw my neighbor start her car when it was 15 degrees out and take off five seconds later. I was appalled. Am I mistaken or is that just plain wrong?

[XeVeNskyLiNE]

yea i'm a firm believer in letting my car warm up before i take off. i do it more often when its cold versus hot. i live in texas so you get the idea, but when it is cold, i let it sit there for atleast 10 mintues.

[R.W.240]

It would be better to let it sit for a minute then once driving keep the RPMs as low as possible till its at temp. letting it sit doesnt give it much energy to warm up off of so it takes longer. more time cold = more wear.

there was a Blurb about this in last months R&T.

[XeVeNskyLiNE]

sometimes if i dont have time to warm it up, i dont put it in neutral and rev to about 2k. my engine makes knocking noises when its cold so i just keep it at low revs until its gone.

[Chuki_breath]

i usually let it warm up for about 3-5 minutes in the cold. If the windows are icey ill start it up go outside scrape windows, mirrors and what not and it usually starts to warm up a little. Or ill go start it up and then go brush my teeth and do my hair (which takes about 5-6 min) then leave.

[nissanfanatic]

The basic idea of warming up the engine is to let oil circulate through all the passages of the engine and to allow the oil to get nice and thin. It doesn't get below like 30F here so I give it like a minute. I also live down a dirt road so I coast to the hard road in first gear. I don't race the engine until it reaches proper operating temp. Either way , its a good idea to let it warm up before you drive it. I even allow my fuel pump to run for a couple seconds before I start it to ensure I have fuel pressure in the lines.

[publicenemy137]

I let it idle for 30 seconds. Read in an advance auto parts pamphlet that says 30 seconds is ideal, even for subzero temperatures. Anymore is just waisting gas. Then my other friend said in his autotech class, he said don't let it idle too long b/c it's bad for the engine, b/c something about the oil not pumping in the pistons or something. I just let it idle for 30 seconds, then drive it lightly

[logik23]

Letting it idle won't bring it up to operating temperature, no matter how long you leave it (in reason), so best is leaving it for like 1-2 minutes tops, maybe like 4-5 if it's a old car and 30 second if it's a new car and then drive slowly. Remember, it's not only the engine you have to warm up, it's the whole car, if you go flying across a pot hole with frozen bushings, shit happens.

[Pavlo]

Yeah the whole point is to warm up the car and the oil, it has to be above its operating temp, cold oil is more dense (maybe not, it is harder though)

[nissanfanatic]

Cold oil is thick.

[Pavlo]

lol, thats what I ment, i'm not american so forgot the word.

[SHIFT_KA24DE]

i usually let it warm up for 4 minutes since it's about 10 degrees F now. I let it idle while i scrape ice/snow off my windshield so it's not big of a deal.

my car is a 93 with 180k on it so the engine's not in it's best condition... hence the long warm-up. I'd say as long as you start to see the temp meter rising you're good to go "slowly." once it's at operating temp you can rev all you want.

[Autofreefindersguy]

I also do about 30 seconds...long enough for the oil to properly work its way through the engine...
But when its ice or snow covered I also (Shift) start it first, put on the RWD (Defrost) while I scarp the windows & remove the snow FULLY before driving...

I am getting ready to change my oil today, using Royal Purple Synthetic, I want to see if it sounds like it circulates quicker and how it performs in the winter...Even though it should be 60 today in Indy In...

[Pavlo]

A bit confused what does defrost and engine warm up have in common? And why are you putting it in a gear (from what I understood), wouldn't it stall or go by itself. Damn im confuse what you just said, can you please refrase it?

[D-Bo]

defrost will get condensation off your rear window.. its the long lines in the glass (a/c does the same but in the air).. rwd=rear window defrost.. and i don't know what he meant by "shift" either