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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)
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Joined: Jan 2005
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CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
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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
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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.
E0 Silver Frost CSVT #3095/6535
Alpine CDA-9851
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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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.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,693
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
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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.
Jim Johnson
98 SVT
03 Escape Limited
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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.
1995 Mercury Mystique 2.0 (125hp of FURY!)
2006 Chrysler 300C 5.7
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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.
97 contour gl mtx
front & rear upper strut tower braces
19mm bat sway bar
Koni struts w/GC knockoffs
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 4,149
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
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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.
-- 1999 SVT #220 --
In retrospect, it was all downhill from here. RIP, CEG.
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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.
Must be that jumbly-wumbly thing happening again.
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Posts: 5,345
Addicted CEG\'er
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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."
"Always do the cheap and easy ones first."
1996 V6 ATX 96K miles
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