warming up the car before driving

[sr20tom]

I always warmed up my car before driving but now in school there are kids with brand new Evos and STIs and they all just turn the key and go. Turbo timing is not an issue for them. I know turbo timing is important fot the cooler oil to get to the turbo but a cald start driving???? I know with temp rising, the rings and the rod and main bearings expand to where they are supposed to be, but would it do any damage if you start up and drive without beating on the car????

[yokotas13]

i start, 30 seconds, and go
Not hard, but i go normally babying it till it gets up to temp.
WTF is turbo timing. i have a stock turbo i could care less about letting it cool down. I normally only stop for 15-30 seconds while im getting my stuff together to get outta the car for the cool down.

[Jung918]

Just let it idle for 30 sec to a minutes and drive it easy. You still want to warm up your other fluids like the tranny and diff.

[5t341tH]

i dont have a turbo but i have to warm up my single cam KA for like 2-5 minutes. if i dont, i get a ticking sound from my ?lifters?

[redsuns3838]

yea i just warm it up a bit. i switched from redlineMT90 to redline 75-90 tranny fluid and the tranny doesnt seem so friendly when shifting on it cold. so i try to warm it up.
starting up and driving probly isnt that big a deal if you dont beat on the car. just drive at like 2000rpm for a minute or two. that warms the car up faster too vs sitting at idle.

then again your in queens. im in OC, cold to me is like 60 degrees. 50 is the dead of winter. =P

[deadpirate]

i dont have a turbo but i have to warm up my single cam KA for like 2-5 minutes. if i dont, i get a ticking sound from my ?lifters?



i got a DOHC KA


need to let it warm up like 10-15 minutes....otherwise my car dont like me


also when i had the single, and i started the car...until everything was warm...my car made a griding noise...like the brakes were grinding...but they wernt..it was weird

[WILDACEX187]

my car runs stupid rich in the mornings in the cold. i have to let it warm up so the smell of gas doesnt make me pass out. also my redline tranny fluid sux until its warmed up enough. yea just warm it up.

[kY.gordon]

its not like warming up the car for a few min. is a hassle. 1 in the morning, 1 after work/school, etc most times for me my engine is already warm.

[g6civcx]

Okay, there is a common misconception about this issue so I will attempt to clear it up.

The engine is most succeptible when it is cold. Everybody knows that.

What people don't know is the longer it takes for the engine to warm up, the more succeptible to damage the engine is. What you need to do is warm the engine up as much as possible, as quickly as possible.

The other thing is if you rev too high and boost too much when cold, the engine will have serious issues.


So the best thing would be to set the temperature selector to full cold, start the engine, and immediately start driving the vehicle.

When you drive, don't use too much throttle and keep the revs low.

What this does is it will gently bring engine temp up. It's much much better than letting the car idle. Just make sure you don't drive aggressively until the engine is completely warm.


I believe I have addressed this question adequately. Any additional comments are welcome.

[HKsilvia]

u know in Germany, there is a law that if u warm up ur car more than 5 mins or so, u will get a ticket.
even in FSM, they said u dun need to warm up ur car, just dont high rev it then ur fine.
too bad the freeway is 3 blocks away from me... :(

conclusion: no need to idle warm up ur car, just drive it gently (2.5k or below), once your water temp start rising, u can drive it like normal

[g6civcx]

u know in Germany, there is a law that if u warm up ur car more than 5 mins or so, u will get a ticket.
even in FSM, they said u dun need to warm up ur car, just dont high rev it then ur fine.
too bad the freeway is 3 blocks away from me... :(

conclusion: no need to idle warm up ur car, just drive it gently (2.5k or below), once your water temp start rising, u can drive it like normal

That's an interesting tidbit. Can you quote the law?

Why would they do that, to prevent waste, reduce emissions, or something else?

[drew935]

yea i just warm it up a bit. i switched from redlineMT90 to redline 75-90 tranny fluid and the tranny doesnt seem so friendly when shifting on it cold. so i try to warm it up.
starting up and driving probly isnt that big a deal if you dont beat on the car. just drive at like 2000rpm for a minute or two. that warms the car up faster too vs sitting at idle.

then again your in queens. im in OC, cold to me is like 60 degrees. 50 is the dead of winter. =P
I used to have the same problem with my tranny being hard to shift when I had 75/90 redline in there. Then I mixed in some lightweight shockproof redline and it's all good now. Hot or cold mornings and it's like butta.
My warmup is like 2mins sometimes because I'm always grabbing something. LOL
But Most of the times it's only 30secs and yeah I only rev it to 2500.

[Biggamehit]

well becasue my job is on base. i only have to drive about 5 min to work so when i get to work frost is still on the window

i just let it idel for about 1 min, once my idle drops i go, but drive easy shifting at about 2900 rpms

[HyperTek]

its ok, but dont drive hard on cold start, becuase your cylinders/piston rings need to heat up and expand/contract or whatever for optimum

[S14DB]

ECUs since late 80's have had a warm up cycle. You only need to idle for a minute to get your oil pressure up and circulated thru the block. The ECU is then set up to bring the car up to temp while protecting it.

Idling your car for 5mins is the wost thing you can do. The engine warms up slowly and at different rates(alum, steel, ect). If you warm up quickly the metals spend less time expanding and less time at dissimilar sizes. The ECU is also dumping a lot of fuel at cold start to warm up the engine. At idle this washes down the cyl. causing wear on the rings and walls.

Cliffs, Idle till oil comes up(about a min) then drive like a grandma till the water temp comes up.

[psychoblue23]

if i jsut start my car and go, liek the some of you suggested.. my car idles crazy.. high one sec then low the next... jerking the car .. so i have to shift into third and drive at very low rpms for a min... so I normally jsut let it run a few mins before i leave. Guess that was a bad idea ^_^

[WILDACEX187]

ok so warm up for a minute it is then. i hope its ok

[CylonFrakker]

i have to let mine warm up for about 2 mins then drive. AEM EMS has a pretty good cold start idle. Make sure that your IAC motor is clean and working good.

[ledzeppelin240]

The piston rings do not expand. They might expand a bit obviously from the heat, but the piston is what does the expanding. What g6civcx is right on the money. I still laugh when someone starts thier car up and takes it right to redline through 1st, 2nd gear right away.

[nsn240]

u know in Germany, there is a law that if u warm up ur car more than 5 mins or so, u will get a ticket.


It's not a law... there's a sensor or whatever in the computer that will see and document if you "abuse" the car when its cold... if you do, that automatically viods your warranty. I have a good friend that lives in germany, they have some crazy laws and shit over there

I usually drive it till i see the gauge is up and the heat is on... just dont go over 3000/3500rpm when its still cold

[R33GTS-T]

i usuallt let the car warm up until the needle starts to rise above C on the OE temp gauge. even with the stock turbo, if i drive the car before the needle gets above C you get an awful whine from the turbo (only did it once when in an extreme rush)

- Daniel

[Silverbullet]

I like for my car to idle for about 30 sec to a minute depending on the temp outside or until it slows down to around 1100 RPM. Of course since im late every morning to work or school, i've reduced to that to around 10 seconds or however much time it takes for me to put on my seat belt and adjust myself. When i do go on the fly without warming up, i give it very little throttle and keeping it under 2500 RPM.

Turbo timers are the biggest gimick ever. You really dont need to idle your car a minute if you weren't driving hard. Durring the winter, i dont even bother with letting the car sit after driving just becase of the temp outside. Durring the summer, I'll just dont drive hard within the last minute of getting to my destination.

The piston rings do not expand. They might expand a bit obviously from the heat, but the piston is what does the expanding. What g6civcx is right on the money. I still laugh when someone starts thier car up and takes it right to redline through 1st, 2nd gear right away.

piston rings is what seals the piston. Of course it expands.

[ledzeppelin240]

It goes through linear expansion, that is why the minimum spec of the piston ring end gap is important. I don't know why I couldn't remember that earlier.

A lot of remote car starters have a turbo timer built in to them, so not only do you get a remote car starter there is also the turbo timer option which is pretty cool.

[LayNLow]

just thought i would say that bearings dont expand.

[Dream240]

Okay, there is a common misconception about this issue so I will attempt to clear it up.

The engine is most succeptible when it is cold. Everybody knows that.

What people don't know is the longer it takes for the engine to warm up, the more succeptible to damage the engine is. What you need to do is warm the engine up as much as possible, as quickly as possible.

The other thing is if you rev too high and boost too much when cold, the engine will have serious issues.


So the best thing would be to set the temperature selector to full cold, start the engine, and immediately start driving the vehicle.

When you drive, don't use too much throttle and keep the revs low.

What this does is it will gently bring engine temp up. It's much much better than letting the car idle. Just make sure you don't drive aggressively until the engine is completely warm.


I believe I have addressed this question adequately. Any additional comments are welcome.

Yes you broke it down perfectly.

As far as revs....you can go as high as 3k and it's still on the low end. Alot of you guys seem to miss one important thing. OIL.

Engine oil is multi-grade for a reason. 10w-30 is our standard oil for 240s and the lower weight is for the colder start up and operating temps. Speaking for California of course. As he said it is best to start driving right away. By actually driving the car you heat up to motor faster and get it to porper operating temps. Letting it idle cold for long periods is harmful to your motor, turbo, and our environment...not that many of you care about that last one... :(

So get out there and drive to let that oil heat up faster....your engine will thank you for it. :)

[wafi]

Whoaaa...it seems like evryone had very short warm up time compared to me. I do 15-20 min warm up then go. Even my rpm only drops to 900ish after 15 mins or so. If i didnt warm it up long enough the first 3 gears are not engaging smoothly and easily to bog the car. About my engine oil,i use hks 10w50 racing oil. My thermostat and radiator are stock.

[nrg]

g6civcx is right on the money. That's exactly what I do. Drive the car slow right before i pull into the drive way, enough cooling for the turbo. Drive it slowly as I leave in the morning, enough time for it to warm up before i jump on the freeway. No need for babying the car.
About the turbo timer. there's no need if the turbo is STOCK watercooled. Unless you've driven your car hard as GT500 cars. Those sti and evos you see drive their car normally. Just because there's a turbo, doesn't mean you should treat the car any differently.

[cotbu]

I got the whole warming the car up thing from my father. (Ford guy) Always told me to warm the car up 1st! So what do I do now? Warm the car up 1st. And i tell my girl the samething. Why?
I think it's like a pre-flight check, to make sure everything is functioning properly. How long depends on the pilot or the amount of gauges you have.

[drew935]

Whoaaa...it seems like evryone had very short warm up time compared to me. I do 15-20 min warm up then go. Even my rpm only drops to 900ish after 15 mins or so. If i didnt warm it up long enough the first 3 gears are not engaging smoothly and easily to bog the car. About my engine oil,i use hks 10w50 racing oil. My thermostat and radiator are stock.
Whoa you're in Brunei...that's the country with the Prince that has 5000 cars right>?

10w50 is a lil high for me since I don't race it. I use Mobile1 5w30. 'm sure that the weather conditions are a factor for you though. I am running a nismo thermo and stock rad. But yeah 30sec warmup and driving slow shifting early is my run of it. But there are times that it does get a long warmup if I am grabbing a lot of last minute stuff...

[waynehead05]

i just get in and drive below 2.3k.
some people say 25-30 secs is optimal. i only do that when it freezes. seems to work very well in this Texas climate.

[wafi]

Yes i'm in brunei, but i'm not sure about our prince got 5000 cars. I only saw he drives a pretty cool lambo and a VW toureg. About my car,i can hear my turbo letting out a shearing noise as soon as ignition is done. Does an oil primer exist to lubricate those turbo shaft before ignition?

[McRussellPants]

I just let mine idle in the driveway until the idle stablizes, then I don't rev it over 3000rpm untill the oil pressure comes down.


i can gaurntee anyone who revs their car cold on a usual basis will start to blow out seals and crap, Im pretty sure I could peg a 10kgf guage if I ran it to red line cold.

[gotta240]

ok.. all the above makes perfect sence......

BUT SOMEONE please explain why old school mechanics/car guys warm up older cars for so long? the only thing i can think of is so you don't have to drive with the choke one...anyone else?

[Chrischeezer]

i let my sr warm up for about 5 min before driving every time no matter where i am. i also have an auto start so befor i leave the house i just click it and get my shit togeather.. by the time im in the car im good to go.

[h2v7]

BUMP

what do you guys think warm it up 30 seconds or five minutes?

[harrypotter]

BUMP

what do you guys think warm it up 30 seconds or five minutes?

Didn't you read all the other posts in this thread?
No reason to bump a thread from last ....!!!

Get an oil pressure and oil temp gauge and watch them on startup and you will answer your own question.

[TheRealSy90]

mfw 06 was last decade...

:(

[cotbu]

mfw 06 was last decade...

:(
Decade=10year span, so although it wasn't technically 10years ago, it is consider last decade, because of the span. Since 06, 2012 is considered 2years into the next decade.
It's weed science son, smoke it up!XD!;)

[h2v7]

ok well i got people saying both things

warm it up for a few seconds then run it cold warm it up fast keep low rpm.

and others saying warm it up for 5 min then good to go

in my case its a n/a sohc

what do you guys think

i usually warm it up for 2-5 min but seems based on this thread too long?

[j20accord00]

ive had my coupe since i was 17. i rebuilt the motor when i was about 20. I never let that car warm up. It runs so good when its cold.. my dodge is a 12v cummins diesel. if you dont baby that thing till at least the trans gets warm it wont shift or really move for that matter

[Nicelyphe]

Personally, I let it warm up anywhere from 1-3 mins, then start driving. But my SR has this real deep tone clack/knock kind of noise anywhere under 2k rpms when pressing the throttle until it hits operating temp. Then the noise goes away.

[!Zar!]

Start car, idle for about 15 seconds to bring up oil temp, drive car and keep revs low.

As for coming to a stop, NA cars can shut down immediately. Turbo cars with coolant lines can shut down immediately. Turbo cars that are oil cooled only, wait maybe 10 seconds before shutting down.

If you warm your car up for long periods of time, or have a turbo timer set to five minutes or some stupid shit, I consider you a fanboy.

Or a fob.

[mattack69]

It's not a law... there's a sensor or whatever in the computer that will see and document if you "abuse" the car when its cold... if you do, that automatically viods your warranty. I have a good friend that lives in germany, they have some crazy laws and shit over there

I usually drive it till i see the gauge is up and the heat is on... just dont go over 3000/3500rpm when its still cold

Um I'm currently stationed in Germany. It is law. FACT. Neighbor was ticketed 90 euro by the Polizei for running his car the other morning. It sucks especially with temps like this past month where it was 5 degrees with a high of 14...

[Croustibat]

Um I'm currently stationed in Germany. It is law. FACT. Neighbor was ticketed 90 euro by the Polizei for running his car the other morning. It sucks especially with temps like this past month where it was 5 degrees with a high of 14...

You quoted a 6 year old post. congratulations.

[Silverbullet]

I like for my car to idle for about 30 sec to a minute .

This is what I did in 2006.

In 2012, i just start up and go with super light throttle and <=2000RPM up until i see the water temp needle move. Then i drive normal.

[bussitcustoms]

I know this is an old thread, but I have a question pertaining to water cooled turbos. Someone said earlier that water cooled turbos do not need to be cooled down at all. Can anyone confirm this? I don't have a turbo timer so I have to sit in the car while it idles for a minute before I shut it off. It's a redtop with an s15 turbo running 18psi. I was told to cool it down for a minimum of 45 seconds, so I was going to install a turbo timer. If this isn't necessary, should I skip the timer?

[Croustibat]

Before confirming anything, think about it. Try to find why it should or should not.

main reason to make a cool down time is to prevent the oil remaining in the turbo from coking. It wont as long as it flows, but when engine is stopped, it does not. Wether the turbo is watercooled or not, it can still run up to 900°C. What do you think happens when oil stay in a place that is at 900°C ? It cokes.

Watercooled turbos have a little less oil flow in them, because the oil is mostly used for lubrication and pressure buildup on bearings, and less for cooling. Roller bearing ones have even less oil. But they still need to cool down before stopping; oil gallery in them is so small that a little coking will block them (and destroy the turbo)


Watercooled or not, you just need to drive off boost for something like 5 miles before stopping to let everything cool down. More if you thrashed the car for quite some time.

Even after a 15min track session, it just take a couple of 3km laps to cool everything to a correct level.

Skip the timer and buy an oil temp gauge and sensor instead, that is MUCH better to know when you can push the car and when you cant. Stock water gauge is crap, dont use that. The sender is good, but not the gauge, it was designed to quite never move between 60 and 90°C.

[mattack69]

You quoted a 6 year old post. congratulations.

Does not matter, wrong is wrong. This has been law since the 80's. Congrats though to you too...:picardfp:

[Dream240]

Okay, so N/A cars DO NOT need a warm up, PERIOD!!! There's a reason why we have multiple viscosity oils that we put in our cars. The 10w-40 or 20w-50 oils accomodate for the change in engine/ambient temps.

Fact of the matter is, is that when your car is cold it is actually running very poorly. Also your CAT is not warmd up and so is not properly processing your emissions, which is why the car smells so wierd when its cold. The sooner your drive it and get the engine to operating temps the beter off the car will be.

Sitting in your drive way for 5 mins does two things, stinks up your front yard and grossly pollutes your neighborhood. Oh yeah and it makes you look like a douche sitting in your car waiting to drive, "because it's so cold....." Oh yeah and the sooner you get your car to operating temps, the sooner the heater will blow warm air.

Simple guidelines: Get in car, start it up, set your music, back out of driveway, drive to destination, park car and go on with your day.

Warming up cars is from the 1950s and 1960s before they invented thermostats and OBD systems.

[94_240sx]

I turn up the heat and warm up my DD for 10-20 min when it's cold outside. I just let it idle until it gets warm inside of the car. I'm a guy who runs outside 110 degree in summer, but can't stand below 50. It's freaking cold!!! :-)

240 stays in garage, so it warms up pretty quickly. As soon as the needle moves up a little, I drive slowly to bring the temp up.