I have heard people say NOT to let the car warm up, and some say TO let the car warm up. I'm not sure what to believe. My car doesn't shift when its cold, so I tend to let it warm up. What do you do for those who live in cold weather climates?
I warm it up for at least 10 minutes.
just long enough to let the idle settle
excessive idling isn't good
Originally posted by BrApple:
just long enough to let the idle settle
excessive idling isn't good
about five minutes,or until the leather is warmed up
I idle mine about 10 seconds then Im gone.
Originally posted by I-Dom-In-8:
Originally posted by BrApple:
just long enough to let the idle settle
excessive idling isn't good
But i do that in warm weather as well...The Tour is garaged this winter but i always let the idle fall.
the best thing you can do is start it and drive. you actually wear off mor of the cylinder wall when the engine is cold than when its warm. the fastest way to warm it up is to drive it. however it takes the average car about 45 minutes to warm up.
Originally posted by I-Dom-In-8:
Originally posted by BrApple:
just long enough to let the idle settle
excessive idling isn't good
why is excessive idling bad??
I usually let it idle while I'm scraping the ice and snow off. Takes around 5 minutes, and gives enough time for the rear defroster to do it's job.
Originally posted by Matt R:
I usually let it idle while I'm scraping the ice and snow off. Takes around 5 minutes, and gives enough time for the rear defroster to do it's job.
same here, then i'm off (i wear 2 jackets + hat + gloves anyway, so cold doesn't bother me in the least.. Michigan bred, baby)
Originally posted by striker2:
the average car about 45 minutes to warm up.
dunno if its just me or the 1/5th of beam but that just dont seem right
Originally posted by striker2:
the best thing you can do is start it and drive. you actually wear off mor of the cylinder wall when the engine is cold than when its warm. the fastest way to warm it up is to drive it. however it takes the average car about 45 minutes to warm up.
45 minutes? I don't think so!! It takes maybe 2 minutes for hot air to flow through my vents in the winter after starting my car up, and it can't take too long for the engine to reach its ideal temperature after that.
Yeah, I love/hate the all aluminum motor... warms up into the "normal" range in 5 minutes... but also cools off just as quick!
Sure sucks when it's -10�° or less and your car sits for 15 minutes and it's pegged on the cold side again.
I usually wait about 5 minutes or so... start the car, brush/scrape snow/ice off. If I just go right away, I can barely shift it.
Although the coolant temperature may be up to normal in about 5 minutes, it takes a lot longer for everything to get up to temperature, especially the oil. It is more like 20 to 25 minutes.
You don't need to allow time for warm up. Once the idle is reasonably stable you're just wasting gas to sit there going nowhere. Roughly 30 seconds should be more than adequate most of the time, even in sub zero weather. Do drive it calmly at least until the coolant temp comes up to normal.
You didn't say what kind of transmission that doesn't work well until it is warmed up. If it is manual trans there are two things you can do to improve cold shifting without doing a trans overhaul to upgrade the shifter fork and other internal parts. First, you can use either a synthetic trans fluid that doesn't thicken as much when cold, or you can use a trans fluid with a higher level of friction modifier or both. The Ford honey with 2 oz of friction modifier added works very well as does Chrysler spec ATF+3 (alghough not synthetic, it has a higher level of friction modifier to start with). The second thing you can do is get some oil slinging around inside the trans before you try to shift. Do this by starting the engine, moveing the shifter to neutral, let out the clutch, and blip the throttle two or three times to about 2000 or 2500 rpm. After you do that and have some oil on the shift forks it will be easier to slide into gear.
If you have an automatic trans that doesn't shift well cold you probably have some trans problems. It may help to change the trans fluid, but you might have more wrong than a fluid change can cure. It is easy to do a fluid change on our cars and is worth trying before spending money for deeper problems.
On our car when I start it, it likes to go up to 1500rpm or 2000rpm so I let it sit until it drops down to 1000 if I can. Usually takes no more than a minute, the last time I didn't let this happen, when I stopped at a stop sign it acted like I had my foot on both the gas on the brake (but the stop sign was down the street)
It's probably just the dirty EGR valve.
Originally posted by Rishodi:
Originally posted by striker2:
the best thing you can do is start it and drive. you actually wear off mor of the cylinder wall when the engine is cold than when its warm. the fastest way to warm it up is to drive it. however it takes the average car about 45 minutes to warm up.
45 minutes? I don't think so!! It takes maybe 2 minutes for hot air to flow through my vents in the winter after starting my car up, and it can't take too long for the engine to reach its ideal temperature after that.
the optimal operationg temp for an engine is about 210 degrees and it takes roughly 45 min to get there. the aluminium engines may warm up faster but our blocks are cast iron. when the engine is cold you actually wear about .008 off the cylinder wall for every hour idleing at that temp. you wear less than .002 off the walls when its at optimal operating temp.
Originally posted by striker2:
Originally posted by Rishodi:
Originally posted by striker2:
the best thing you can do is start it and drive. you actually wear off mor of the cylinder wall when the engine is cold than when its warm. the fastest way to warm it up is to drive it. however it takes the average car about 45 minutes to warm up.
45 minutes? I don't think so!! It takes maybe 2 minutes for hot air to flow through my vents in the winter after starting my car up, and it can't take too long for the engine to reach its ideal temperature after that.
the optimal operationg temp for an engine is about 210 degrees and it takes roughly 45 min to get there. the aluminium engines may warm up faster but our blocks are cast iron. when the engine is cold you actually wear about .008 off the cylinder wall for every hour idleing at that temp. you wear less than .002 off the walls when its at optimal operating temp.
Rishodi's block isn't cast iron! Neither is Kanes, Big Jim's, mine...see a pattern here??? 
Still, my 33 year old Chevy pickup doesn't even take 45 minutes to warm up and SBC's are VERY cold natured.
Originally posted by Nate S:
Originally posted by I-Dom-In-8:
Originally posted by BrApple:
just long enough to let the idle settle
excessive idling isn't good
why is excessive idling bad??
My first GUESS would be carbon build up which could lead to plug fouling, mis-fires, and other irritating / potentially damaging problems.
In Florida, not a big concern. Just a few seconds to plug the stereo in, strap on the seat belt, then go. When I lived in Maine, I'd let the car bring the idle down to near normal before hitting the road. Seemed to work well & never had an engine or tranny failure in any car the family owned.
Question posed on a TV newscast in DC.
"Q: When it's cold outside, should you let your car idle until it warms up or should you just start it and drive away immediately?
A: We went to car expert Pat Goss for the answer. Pat says the most efficient way to warm your car is to let it idle for one minute. Then you should drive your car gently until the interior temperature becomes comfortable. However, if there is a coating of ice on your car, you should let the car warm up for several minutes until you can de-ice your car."
We got about 4 iunches of snow last night. Whether it's the car or truck, I'll start it up, blast the heat, go back inside and do the 3 s's, get dressed and hop in the car. It's more for me than the car...I don't like sitting in a cold car. And it makes it easier to clean/de-ice.
A big thing I learned for us auto guys is to put it in neutral because it moves the fluid around and warms up the tranny too, but dosn't do it in park. Nolt sure how true that is but it can't hurt. I let the revs go to at least 1000 if I'm in a hurry, usually to normal idling if I'm not. But with the temps we get warming it up is a must if its -20 or more. I let it run for about 7 min once at this temp and it seemed ok so I drove very slowly and the engine was very slugish and the tranny came out of drive by its self because it was too cold. My trans is fine 8,000 miles later and was fine after I let if sit there for a min or 2. Just don't start it up and immediatly drive away unless you really want an escuse to do a 3L swap.
Originally posted by TGO:
I'll start it up, blast the heat, go back inside and do the 3 s's, get dressed and hop in the car.
My friends father did this except for the hopping in the car part, he went out side and his BMW was gone.
Originally posted by BlackE1:
Originally posted by TGO:
I'll start it up, blast the heat, go back inside and do the 3 s's, get dressed and hop in the car.
My friends father did this except for the hopping in the car part, he went out side and his BMW was gone.
Ouch!!!!! Did he ever get it back?!?!?
Originally posted by jtour:
Originally posted by BlackE1:
Originally posted by TGO:
I'll start it up, blast the heat, go back inside and do the 3 s's, get dressed and hop in the car.
My friends father did this except for the hopping in the car part, he went out side and his BMW was gone.
Ouch!!!!! Did he ever get it back?!?!?
Nope. I still have, uh... I mean, yeah, did he ever get it back?
Originally posted by striker2:
Originally posted by Rishodi:
Originally posted by striker2:
the best thing you can do is start it and drive. you actually wear off mor of the cylinder wall when the engine is cold than when its warm. the fastest way to warm it up is to drive it. however it takes the average car about 45 minutes to warm up.
45 minutes? I don't think so!! It takes maybe 2 minutes for hot air to flow through my vents in the winter after starting my car up, and it can't take too long for the engine to reach its ideal temperature after that.
the optimal operationg temp for an engine is about 210 degrees and it takes roughly 45 min to get there. the aluminium engines may warm up faster but our blocks are cast iron. when the engine is cold you actually wear about .008 off the cylinder wall for every hour idleing at that temp. you wear less than .002 off the walls when its at optimal operating temp.
1> I don't see how those numbers could be correct. Using that math within a year of normal driving given what the average car sits at idle between traffic, start-up, and traffic lights, even at optimal temperature, an engine will have several mm of cylinder wear in just a year. There'd be no cylinders left after a couple years.
2> Assuming you're correct and that an engine at optimal temperature is 1/4th as harmful to the engine as one that's cold, why again would I want to just take off and drive?
For one, that relationship between 0.008 and 0.002 on the temperature curve would be non-linear, it would be a logarithmic curve of some sort. So, while it may take 45 minutes to fully warm an engine, that 0.008 done at "cold" is done right at startup and just a few moments thereafter. Cylinder wear would quickly decrease within a few moments to, let's say 0.004, then slowly decrease over the next 40+ minutes until reaching 0.002 in 45 minutes. Almost all of the period of high wear is done right at start-up.
So, in your rush to warm the motor 'because that does less wear', you drive it. Now, instead of having a cold motor sit at 750rpm doing 0.008 of damage, you're driving it and doing five times that because the cylinders are pumping 5 times faster in that initial time of high wear.
In those first few moments of high wear, you multipled the wear several times what it would have been sitting at idle. Those first few moments of high wear by revving a motor at its' 'weakest' will vastly offset the higher wear that one gets by bypassing that period of high wear, letting it pass at idle, then driving the car at a slightly cooler temperature at a point on the curve where wear difference really isn't that significant.
My car seems to take forever to warm up. Maybe 2 or 3 miles before the temp needle even moves. Then it starts to slowly warm up. Oil pressure stays high for much longer than that. I know my T-stat is good.
I have a built in block heater, I still have to give that thing a try.
Anyway, I always let my cars idle settle before going anywhere. Then I just keep the revs low until its warmer and the oil pressure starts to drop.
Originally posted by BlackE1:
nope never saw it again.
That sux.
Thinking about it yes you should let the car warm up. Its like you going to work out and trying to run a 5k with out stretching or loosening up your muscles. Not to good right.
Originally posted by sigma:
Originally posted by striker2:
Originally posted by Rishodi:
Originally posted by striker2:
the best thing you can do is start it and drive. you actually wear off mor of the cylinder wall when the engine is cold than when its warm. the fastest way to warm it up is to drive it. however it takes the average car about 45 minutes to warm up.
45 minutes? I don't think so!! It takes maybe 2 minutes for hot air to flow through my vents in the winter after starting my car up, and it can't take too long for the engine to reach its ideal temperature after that.
the optimal operationg temp for an engine is about 210 degrees and it takes roughly 45 min to get there. the aluminium engines may warm up faster but our blocks are cast iron. when the engine is cold you actually wear about .008 off the cylinder wall for every hour idleing at that temp. you wear less than .002 off the walls when its at optimal operating temp.
1> I don't see how those numbers could be correct. Using that math within a year of normal driving given what the average car sits at idle between traffic, start-up, and traffic lights, even at optimal temperature, an engine will have several mm of cylinder wear in just a year. There'd be no cylinders left after a couple years.
2> Assuming you're correct and that an engine at optimal temperature is 1/4th as harmful to the engine as one that's cold, why again would I want to just take off and drive?
For one, that relationship between 0.008 and 0.002 on the temperature curve would be non-linear, it would be a logarithmic curve of some sort. So, while it may take 45 minutes to fully warm an engine, that 0.008 done at "cold" is done right at startup and just a few moments thereafter. Cylinder wear would quickly decrease within a few moments to, let's say 0.004, then slowly decrease over the next 40+ minutes until reaching 0.002 in 45 minutes. Almost all of the period of high wear is done right at start-up.
So, in your rush to warm the motor 'because that does less wear', you drive it. Now, instead of having a cold motor sit at 750rpm doing 0.008 of damage, you're driving it and doing five times that because the cylinders are pumping 5 times faster in that initial time of high wear.
In those first few moments of high wear, you multipled the wear several times what it would have been sitting at idle. Those first few moments of high wear by revving a motor at its' 'weakest' will vastly offset the higher wear that one gets by bypassing that period of high wear, letting it pass at idle, then driving the car at a slightly cooler temperature at a point on the curve where wear difference really isn't that significant.
I agree. .002 of an inch is a lot in this regard. Hell, i'd even think that .0002 would be a lot.
Originally posted by BlackE1:
My friends father did this except for the hopping in the car part, he went out side and his BMW was gone.
That sucks. They key here is i lock the doors and open the car with my spare key when i'm ready to go.
If someone wants to break the window or jimmy the lock, it wouldn't go unnoticed. Both the dog and my father sit and watch out his bedroom window in the morning, which faces the street.
Originally posted by sigma:
Originally posted by striker2:
Originally posted by Rishodi:
Originally posted by striker2:
the best thing you can do is start it and drive. you actually wear off mor of the cylinder wall when the engine is cold than when its warm. the fastest way to warm it up is to drive it. however it takes the average car about 45 minutes to warm up.
45 minutes? I don't think so!! It takes maybe 2 minutes for hot air to flow through my vents in the winter after starting my car up, and it can't take too long for the engine to reach its ideal temperature after that.
the optimal operationg temp for an engine is about 210 degrees and it takes roughly 45 min to get there. the aluminium engines may warm up faster but our blocks are cast iron. when the engine is cold you actually wear about .008 off the cylinder wall for every hour idleing at that temp. you wear less than .002 off the walls when its at optimal operating temp.
1> I don't see how those numbers could be correct. Using that math within a year of normal driving given what the average car sits at idle between traffic, start-up, and traffic lights, even at optimal temperature, an engine will have several mm of cylinder wear in just a year. There'd be no cylinders left after a couple years.
2> Assuming you're correct and that an engine at optimal temperature is 1/4th as harmful to the engine as one that's cold, why again would I want to just take off and drive?
For one, that relationship between 0.008 and 0.002 on the temperature curve would be non-linear, it would be a logarithmic curve of some sort. So, while it may take 45 minutes to fully warm an engine, that 0.008 done at "cold" is done right at startup and just a few moments thereafter. Cylinder wear would quickly decrease within a few moments to, let's say 0.004, then slowly decrease over the next 40+ minutes until reaching 0.002 in 45 minutes. Almost all of the period of high wear is done right at start-up.
So, in your rush to warm the motor 'because that does less wear', you drive it. Now, instead of having a cold motor sit at 750rpm doing 0.008 of damage, you're driving it and doing five times that because the cylinders are pumping 5 times faster in that initial time of high wear.
In those first few moments of high wear, you multipled the wear several times what it would have been sitting at idle. Those first few moments of high wear by revving a motor at its' 'weakest' will vastly offset the higher wear that one gets by bypassing that period of high wear, letting it pass at idle, then driving the car at a slightly cooler temperature at a point on the curve where wear difference really isn't that significant.
first i said that the rate is per hour at that temp. no car is going to idle at that temp for but a few minutes.
second, the reason you take off and drive is to help the engine warm up quicker. i never said anything about how you should drive it just that you should. you should drive it like an old lady.
third my facts may not be exactly accurate. i have a sheet that has study on it but i cant seem to find it. if i find it ill post it. until then thats about what i remember.
Quote:
irst i said that the rate is per hour at that temp. no car is going to idle at that temp for but a few minutes.
No, you said that a motor will wear at 0.002 per hour at idle even once its' reached optimal temperature. Assuming that's millimeters (because it can't be inches, a cylinder wall would be gone in a matter of weeks) you'd still wear several mm per year off a cylinder wall -- you'd lose compression within weeks at that rate.
Quote:
second, the reason you take off and drive is to help the engine warm up quicker. i never said anything about how you should drive it just that you should. you should drive it like an old lady.
Yes, but it doesn't make any sense.
When you're driving, even like an old lady, your pistons will still be moving at least 3-4 times faster than they ar eat idle -- therefore you're doing 3-4 times as much damage every second. Even if you could warm the car up 3-4 times faster by driving it, which you can't, the net wear will be exactly the same.
Coupled with the fact that you're doing 2-4 times as much damage (using your numbers) every second when the engine is first started than you are after warm-up, it makes no sense at all to drive it before it's warmed up.
You're advocating doing 3-4 times more damage (engine is revving 3-4 times faster while driving than at idle) while the engine itself (because it's cold) is already doing 2-4 times as much damage to itself as it would be once it was lubed and warmer. The net effect (you're talking 0.008*3*3 for at least a few moments is a HUGE increase in wear compared to the 'extra' damage does while letting the car warm at idle.
Yes, sitting at idle does more instantaneous damage for a slightly longer period of time, but 1> you avoid the added wear from higher engine revs, and 2> you avoid multiplying the wear from that high initial wear due to taking off immediately. The cumulative effect is much lower.
The most efficient combination of speed and wear on the motor is to start it, wait until the revs settle, then drive. Once the revs have settled, you've already bypassed that high-wear period and are at a level that's above, but not significantly above normal operating wear. That's when you drive. Driving immediately puts significantly higher engine revolutions in the time period when you don't want it, and you can't alter the time it takes to warm up significantly enough (or even close) to offset the exponentially higher wear on the cylinders by driving in that time period.
Originally posted by sigma:
Quote:
irst i said that the rate is per hour at that temp. no car is going to idle at that temp for but a few minutes.
No, you said that a motor will wear at 0.002 per hour at idle even once its' reached optimal temperature. Assuming that's millimeters (because it can't be inches, a cylinder wall would be gone in a matter of weeks) you'd still wear several mm per year off a cylinder wall -- you'd lose compression within weeks at that rate.
Quote:
second, the reason you take off and drive is to help the engine warm up quicker. i never said anything about how you should drive it just that you should. you should drive it like an old lady.
Yes, but it doesn't make any sense.
When you're driving, even like an old lady, your pistons will still be moving at least 3-4 times faster than they ar eat idle -- therefore you're doing 3-4 times as much damage every second. Even if you could warm the car up 3-4 times faster by driving it, which you can't, the net wear will be exactly the same.
Coupled with the fact that you're doing 2-4 times as much damage (using your numbers) every second when the engine is first started than you are after warm-up, it makes no sense at all to drive it before it's warmed up.
You're advocating doing 3-4 times more damage (engine is revving 3-4 times faster while driving than at idle) while the engine itself (because it's cold) is already doing 2-4 times as much damage to itself as it would be once it was lubed and warmer. The net effect (you're talking 0.008*3*3 for at least a few moments is a HUGE increase in wear compared to the 'extra' damage does while letting the car warm at idle.
Yes, sitting at idle does more instantaneous damage for a slightly longer period of time, but 1> you avoid the added wear from higher engine revs, and 2> you avoid multiplying the wear from that high initial wear due to taking off immediately. The cumulative effect is much lower.
The most efficient combination of speed and wear on the motor is to start it, wait until the revs settle, then drive. Once the revs have settled, you've already bypassed that high-wear period and are at a level that's above, but not significantly above normal operating wear. That's when you drive. Driving immediately puts significantly higher engine revolutions in the time period when you don't want it, and you can't alter the time it takes to warm up significantly enough (or even close) to offset the exponentially higher wear on the cylinders by driving in that time period.
Very well said!
Originally posted by jtour:
Originally posted by sigma:
Quote:
irst i said that the rate is per hour at that temp. no car is going to idle at that temp for but a few minutes.
No, you said that a motor will wear at 0.002 per hour at idle even once its' reached optimal temperature. Assuming that's millimeters (because it can't be inches, a cylinder wall would be gone in a matter of weeks) you'd still wear several mm per year off a cylinder wall -- you'd lose compression within weeks at that rate.
Quote:
second, the reason you take off and drive is to help the engine warm up quicker. i never said anything about how you should drive it just that you should. you should drive it like an old lady.
Yes, but it doesn't make any sense.
When you're driving, even like an old lady, your pistons will still be moving at least 3-4 times faster than they ar eat idle -- therefore you're doing 3-4 times as much damage every second. Even if you could warm the car up 3-4 times faster by driving it, which you can't, the net wear will be exactly the same.
Coupled with the fact that you're doing 2-4 times as much damage (using your numbers) every second when the engine is first started than you are after warm-up, it makes no sense at all to drive it before it's warmed up.
You're advocating doing 3-4 times more damage (engine is revving 3-4 times faster while driving than at idle) while the engine itself (because it's cold) is already doing 2-4 times as much damage to itself as it would be once it was lubed and warmer. The net effect (you're talking 0.008*3*3 for at least a few moments is a HUGE increase in wear compared to the 'extra' damage does while letting the car warm at idle.
Yes, sitting at idle does more instantaneous damage for a slightly longer period of time, but 1> you avoid the added wear from higher engine revs, and 2> you avoid multiplying the wear from that high initial wear due to taking off immediately. The cumulative effect is much lower.
The most efficient combination of speed and wear on the motor is to start it, wait until the revs settle, then drive. Once the revs have settled, you've already bypassed that high-wear period and are at a level that's above, but not significantly above normal operating wear. That's when you drive. Driving immediately puts significantly higher engine revolutions in the time period when you don't want it, and you can't alter the time it takes to warm up significantly enough (or even close) to offset the exponentially higher wear on the cylinders by driving in that time period.
Very well said!
I R PHYSICS...rawr 
Originally posted by KingpinSVT:
My car seems to take forever to warm up. Maybe 2 or 3 miles before the temp needle even moves. Then it starts to slowly warm up.
So is mine but it never used to be that way b4. Also the Duratec we got gets warm like within seconds, so when I remore-start my car and it's sitting outside for like 15 minutes and then my wife starts her Duratec - hers gets warmer like 4 times faster... 
Quote:
The most efficient combination of speed and wear on the motor is to start it, wait until the revs settle, then drive. Once the revs have settled, you've already bypassed that high-wear period and are at a level that's above, but not significantly above normal operating wear. That's when you drive.
how long does it take your rpms to settle. maybe 30 seconds. if you start your car then turn on your lights and buckle your belt the rpms should have settled. anybody that doesnt drive with their seatbelt on is just a dumba**. and then you take off. thats what ive been meaning when i say just get in and drive it. if your rpms take several minutes to settle then there is something wrong, they should settle very quickly.
desired idle rpm is based off of your coolant temps. its not going to idle properly until it has reached operating temp. the fastest way to reach operating temp is to drive it.
by the way i go to UTI and this info that im trying to find is something that they tell you about. the whole thing about letting your car idle was for carb. cars. something about the float. i dont remember exactly.
as for the wear i also stated that my numbers may not be correct and that i was going based off of memory. i will try to find the paper that has all of the correct info on it. once i find it then ill post the exact info from the study.
Originally posted by striker2:
how long does it take your rpms to settle. maybe 30 seconds. if you start your car then turn on your lights and buckle your belt the rpms should have settled. anybody that doesnt drive with their seatbelt on is just a dumba**. and then you take off. thats what ive been meaning when i say just get in and drive it. if your rpms take several minutes to settle then there is something wrong, they should settle very quickly.
desired idle rpm is based off of your coolant temps. its not going to idle properly until it has reached operating temp. the fastest way to reach operating temp is to drive it.
Whoa, you just contradicted yourself. You say you should wait for the idle rpm to settle and then drive, but in the next paragraph you say that the fastest way to make the car idle properly is to drive it. 
Originally posted by Rishodi:
Originally posted by striker2:
how long does it take your rpms to settle. maybe 30 seconds. if you start your car then turn on your lights and buckle your belt the rpms should have settled. anybody that doesnt drive with their seatbelt on is just a dumba**. and then you take off. thats what ive been meaning when i say just get in and drive it. if your rpms take several minutes to settle then there is something wrong, they should settle very quickly.
desired idle rpm is based off of your coolant temps. its not going to idle properly until it has reached operating temp. the fastest way to reach operating temp is to drive it.
Whoa, you just contradicted yourself. You say you should wait for the idle rpm to settle and then drive, but in the next paragraph you say that the fastest way to make the car idle properly is to drive it.
yeah it sounds kind of awkward. but letting the idle settle doesnt mean that its the proper idle. however it will be proper for the current coolant temp.
i tihnk the main point of this thread is letting your car warm up isn't going to adcersely effect it or make it blow up so stop worrying about it and do what you think is right.
Originally posted by TGO:
i tihnk the main point of this thread is letting your car warm up isn't going to adcersely effect it or make it blow up so stop worrying about it and do what you think is right.
Ok guys sorry to bring this topic back up but i finally found the info i was looking for.
the reason you get in and drive it (letting the idle settle first which should take no more than 30 sec.) is because at the colder temps it wears out the cylinder walls faster. the higher rpms will do 2 things for you.
1. it will help the engine warm up faster
2. it helps to through more oil onto the cylinder walls which helps to prevent cylinder wear.
here is a pic of the chart that shows the differant amounts of wear at different temps.
the test was run for 60 hours at each of the temps and that is the results.
again sorry to bring the topic back up again i just wanted to clarify for everyone.
nothing has been clarified...people are still going to let their cars waram up. I let my 92 expldoer warm up. The car is now 14 years old, with 140k miles on it. I'm not worried about the motor, i'm worried about my butt freezing all the way to work.
I let the idle settle in the mornings or when I haven't started it in awhile, 30sec-40secs usually. I don't punch it above 2750rpms either until the coolant guage gets warm. With the oiling problems the car has, I want to make sure the oil's nice and warm and slippery before I do any fun stuff.
I don't buy that idling for too long will ruin the car, it's a modern car -- are you telling me all those poor bastards stuck on the interstate in heavy traffic for hours are destroying their cars ?
Originally posted by ODC:
I don't buy that idling for too long will ruin the car, it's a modern car -- are you telling me all those poor bastards stuck on the interstate in heavy traffic for hours are destroying their cars ?
no those people stuck in traffic for hours arent doing any more damage by idling because their engine is up to operating temp. its when it idles when the engine is cold that the damage is done. as to how you drive it when its cold thats perfect.