How important is it to let the car warm up?

  • Thread starter FuryX21
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FuryX21

FuryX21

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For some reason, I can never seem to leave the house on time when going to school. Often times in my morning rush, I'll just take off after starting the car. I have an '89 Integra and have been told that old cars should warm-up before takeoff. How important is this and what are the cons of not doing so?
 
well if its winter and you dont start it early, then your going to have a very cold ride to school, and it might notstart, other than that, you dont really need to start it early, unless it winter
 
At low temperatures, the oil can be thicker than it should be, preventing it from properly lubricating the engine. Also, each component in the engine changes size as the temperature changes, and the engine will be designed to operate optimally at normal running temperature. This is why F1 engines are siezed at cold, because they will only turn when there's 70 or so degrees of heat in them.
 
Gils is absolutely right. For almost any engine made in the last 20 years, you'll want to idle for no longer than a minute and drive off at low engine speeds and partial throttle. This is the best way to ensure engine life.

Would you rather get the engine up to a temperature as soon as possible, so that the oil can do its job?

Or would you rather let freezing cold engine parts without much proper lubrication reciprocate against each other for 10 minutes in your driveway... ?


///M-Spec
 
i drive off almost straight away, sometimes i let my skyline idle for awhile. but i like to get my engine to operating temp as soon as possible. sayin that i still take it easy and keep revs low. i dont have the extreme cold temps here so thick oil isnt a prob.

plus if i leave it idling it will take forever to get to operating temp
 
Originally posted by GilesGuthrie
At low temperatures, the oil can be thicker than it should be, preventing it from properly lubricating the engine. Also, each component in the engine changes size as the temperature changes, and the engine will be designed to operate optimally at normal running temperature. This is why F1 engines are siezed at cold, because they will only turn when there's 70 or so degrees of heat in them.
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Ha! So true. Here in New england, where we get tenps 0 F regularly in the winter, i put 10W30 (thick) oil in my old car last winter. It was seeping some oil from the pan bolt, so i though this would slow the loss. But start it up at 6 am for school and you could here the terrible grindidng noise of the engine getting NO oil, and tons of white smoke. Problem is, I couldnt see a way to somehow prime the cylinders before i started it up, so it got this abuse every day for about a month. And in this condidition, it wouldnt idle unless i held the revs at about 2500 (this required flooring the throttle). It makes me really respect fuel injection technology.
 
Originally posted by VIPERGTSR01
i drive off almost straight away, sometimes i let my skyline idle for awhile. but i like to get my engine to operating temp as soon as possible. sayin that i still take it easy and keep revs low. i dont have the extreme cold temps here so thick oil isnt a prob.

plus if i leave it idling it will take forever to get to operating temp
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can i see a pic of your skyline?
 
i havent got a digi cam, but i may be able to get a mate to take the pics soon
 
Originally posted by GilesGuthrie
At low temperatures, the oil can be thicker than it should be, preventing it from properly lubricating the engine. Also, each component in the engine changes size as the temperature changes, and the engine will be designed to operate optimally at normal running temperature. This is why F1 engines are siezed at cold, because they will only turn when there's 70 or so degrees of heat in them.
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Exactly.
 
Temperature or not, a friend of mine had a brand new top-line CR-V stolen out of his driveway about two months ago with $4000 of computer equipment inside when he was letting it warm up. I'll take the "less engine life" trade off.
 
Hmm... Interesting? I never let my car warm up but then again it's kinda on it's last legs it's got 150000 on it...

What about "draining" the air conditioner. I had a friend that would sit there in the drive let his car idle for awhile before getting out of his car. He claimed that if you didn't do it then that's why you get that "funny smell" in your car or when you turn on the AC? :odd:
 
M5, I think it depends where the car is warming up. It's okay to warm the car up in like a quiet neighborhood, but if it's in the city, then someone should stay in the car to watch it warm up.

So far, my mom's BMW is running like new, even with 150K miles, other than the fact that the fuel injectors are getting pretty loud now. Warming up the car makes the car last longer because the car will always work under operating temperature, thus leading to less wear and tear on the components. When the engine is run cold, the components are not warmed up yet, not reaching their operating temperature. It's like someone pushing you out of bed and asking you to run around the block 10 times. There will be more friction, and like someone said earlier, due to thick oil or most of the oil dripping down to the oil pan.

VipFREAK, what kind of car does your friend have? That's odd :reallyodd:
 
I would definitely warm up the engine to atleast 72 degrees Fahrenheit, because lower causes stress on the bolts and can ruin seals easily, if not crack the block.
 
Letting your engine warm up first is ok but it`s best to get in and drive at low revs to help distribute the oil as it start`s to thin out a bit more, most maual`s will specify warm up and warm down time`s, altho investing in a ricer timer can help as they can be set at the corrct timming for your car.
 
Originally posted by Thio
Warming up the car makes the car last longer because the car will always work under operating temperature, thus leading to less wear and tear on the components.
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This is wrong. Read the owner's manual. BMW will tell you to start the car and immediately drive it under light throttle and low engine speeds rather than letting it idle.

The goal is to get the oil up to temperature the quickest. It will take a lot more time to get there idling in your driveway than it will on the road. This goes for every BMW engine made since the M30 series motors.


///M-Spec
 
Originally posted by Thio

VipFREAK, what kind of car does your friend have? That's odd :reallyodd:
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Well, he's a dumbass and "honda lover" (no offense people) he really anal(sp?) about his cars since he thinks all his hondas should be incased because they are best cars... Eh, sorry getting off topic a little, anyway, it's a 2000 prelude but I think he does it on all of his cars? I'll assume any honda since I don't think he wouldn't buy anything else.
 
Originally posted by Thio
M5, I think it depends where the car is warming up. It's okay to warm the car up in like a quiet neighborhood, but if it's in the city, then someone should stay in the car to watch it warm up.
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Actually, this friend was warming his car up in one of the best neighbourhoods in his part of the state.
 
I start up and drive right away but do keep the engine revs down (under 2000rpm) until the oil temp gauge moves up a bit.
 
Originally posted by M5Power
Temperature or not, a friend of mine had a brand new top-line CR-V stolen out of his driveway about two months ago with $4000 of computer equipment inside when he was letting it warm up. I'll take the "less engine life" trade off.
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Thats why you sit in your car.
 
on modern fuel injected engines, warming up the engine is not such a big deal.
start the car, wait a few seconds to establish oil pressure, drive off and dont drive hard for a few minutes.

older cars, id suggest you wait a few minutes beofre you actually drive. and by older i mean anything with a carburattor.
 
Originally posted by neanderthal

older cars, id suggest you wait a few minutes beofre you actually drive. and by older i mean anything with a carburattor.
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Damn now you tell me! I always drive off fast. j/k I some times do it anyways.
 
Originally posted by VipFREAK
Along with not leaving $4000 worth of computer crap in your car...
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Pah, only 4 grands worth? A lot of the time I've got 10 £800 laptops in my boot.

If anyone wants to arrange a "mugging" just let me know. The only rule is I get to keep my car and 1 of the laptops! :D
 
Originally posted by ///M-Spec
This is wrong. Read the owner's manual. BMW will tell you to start the car and immediately drive it under light throttle and low engine speeds rather than letting it idle.

The goal is to get the oil up to temperature the quickest. It will take a lot more time to get there idling in your driveway than it will on the road. This goes for every BMW engine made since the M30 series motors.


///M-Spec
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Ah, I was talking about cars in general, not specifically the BMW.

And yes, you are right about warming up the car the quickest, but I have to get ready for school in the morning and the car doesn't shift correctly when it's cold*, so that's why we warm it up for about 5 minutes and then leave. Especially in the area that we live in, going with the flow is important.

*the car stays in 1st gear until the RPM hits 2500 and shifts to 2nd etc...
 
Originally posted by neanderthal
on modern fuel injected engines, warming up the engine is not such a big deal.
start the car, wait a few seconds to establish oil pressure, drive off and dont drive hard for a few minutes.

older cars, id suggest you wait a few minutes beofre you actually drive. and by older i mean anything with a carburattor.
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Yeah, but the transmission shifts really high when the engine is cold on my parent's car (1995)...

I guess the transmission needs to be warmed up also? :confused:
 
i dont want to go to far off topic or anything but my Audi is a turbo and someone at work (he owns an MR2 turbo) said i should let the car warm down after driving to prevent the hoses in the turbo from getting bloked up or something. i dont really pay any attention to this but i was just wondering if it was true or not?
 
In the owner's manual of my car, it says to let the car idle for a couple of minutes defore switching it off if it's been working hard. It's not a turbo tho'.
 

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