area 51 Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 I let the car warm up at least a minute for every 10 degrees below 40. Sometimes I wait for the high idle to go away. Then the car feels ready to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Spec. B Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 If you adhere to the rule of drive it nice until it warms up, your car will be fine. You shouldn't start it and let it warm up for 10 minutes or so unless you don't care about the environment. Not to mention your mpg. I typically shift under 3K until the motor warms up and very rarely let my car idle for any longer than a few minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tocsin Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 warming is a waste of gasssssssssss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommypenguin Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 I usually let it warm up a bit before I actually drive it. I don't drive my car every day, so I don't warm it up every day. If it's not completely warmed up, I shift below 3000 RPM. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vimy101 Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 That's a hotly debated subject up here in cold eastern Canada. The expert's advice is to not let it idle for more then 30-60 secs, just enough time to make sure the oil gets a chance to circulate through the engine. You should then drive easy until the temp gets into the normal range. In Extreme cold temperatures (-20C or less), you should let it idle 2-3 minutes. They say idling for long periods of time is actually bad for the engine as corrosive gases can accumulate in the oil, and the very rich mixture can clog cat converters. The rich mixture also means it consumes a lot more gas then people think, and it generates a LOT of pollution because the gases do not get hot enough to fully burn. Unfortunately, it appears that no one around here follows that advice as they all have remote starters and will let their cars run for 15-20 or even 45 minutes (my neighbor). +1 You only have to idle the car until oil has made its way throughout the engine. Any more is a waste of fuel. I wait until the tach starts dropping which usually takes about a minute. Then it's easy does it (no lugging, no hard acceleration, RPM well under 3k) until the temp gauge needle leaves the "cold" zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Yes but jsut because you let the car wamr for a minute doesnt mean the oil is all the way through and even if it is that doesnt mean its all properly lubricated, then you create hot spots because those spots get less oil than the rest before driving. Hot spots=bad and if you dont let your turbo warm up thats real bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vimy101 Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 ^ Correct. Which is why easy does it and RPM well under 3k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruowner840 Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 when cold some parts of the engine are not the exact size but when they are nice and warm they are a perfect fit, plus cold makes the oil thicker and harder to move so the engine is less lubed so you dont want to redline it cold let it warm for a few minutes its bad for the car not to. btw the rpms stay above 1k unyil you tap the gas or put it in gear. "all season" or multi viscosity oil is actually "thinner" when cold. i.e. 5W-30 has a viscosity of 5 when cold and 30 when hot. When initially introduced the W stood for Winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Just because you have 5w-30 doesnt mean you car is unbreakable due lubrication in cold climates. Its better to be safe than sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vimy101 Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 ^ If you have a low viscosity syth. oil and wait until the revs start dropping, you should be good to go taking it easy until the guage shows warm. It makes me shudder to see people get in their ice cold car, start it up and immediately zoom off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynekranzler Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 I live in North Dakota...yes, it gets cold here, but no worse then Chicago winters most of the time. My '05 LGT is garaged, but a few times has been out nights when temps reached -20. In any case, I've driven cars in this environment for 35+ winters and have always followed the same routine...Start the car, wait a minute or two for the oil pressure to get up to speed and then drive moderately, keeping RPMs below 3000K until the engine reaches operating temperature. I've owned 18 cars over the years and have never had an oil burner or engine failure. I've always heard it's tougher on engines in extreme cold conditions to sit and idle to reach operating temperature...heats up faster under a light load without all the rich fuel draining into the crankcase and I must say, unlike what some have said in another recent thread, this car reaches operating temperature faster then any other I've owned. My '05 is now at 29.7K miles, has had 5W-30W dino changed every 3K miles and doesn't use a drop of oil between changes. I just did the 30K service and replaced the trans and diff oil with Subaru synthetic. What a difference in shifting on cold mornings...Seems like summer again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tzarof smurfs Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 I use synthetic and don't bother idling, but I do drive 'nicely' until its fully warm. +1:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruowner840 Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 dont get me wrong...i dont start my car and floor it out of the garage while its 15 below outside. I do a 30-60 sec warm up with 2-5 min of light driving for the engine to get to operating temp. I just wanted to clarify that multi-vistosity engine oil adjusts for cold weather and does not get thicker when cold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawdaddy79 Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 I used to buy a "As Seen on TV" product called MotorUP when I was a teenager for my Celica... included was a booklet that had 10 secrets your mechanic doesn't want you to know. And one of them was idling your engine for long periods of time is bad for it. I don't quite remember the reasoning behind it... but it was convincing enough for me to follow it to this day. So I start it up, put it in first, and keep it around 1500 RPMs while giving it as little gas as possible until I get to the first intersection (unless a car is behind me... then I drive like a normal person), and usually by then I feel comfortable enough to get it to 2500 - 3000 RPMs. I try to keep it below 3 until the little blue light on the gauge goes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airfuel Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 Start it and drive. It's a Subaru boxer engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainmorgan Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 I find the best way to get all the snow off my windshield is to surprise it by going WOT in reverse out the driveway. The snow doesnt have a chance to hold on so it just hangs there, like in the cartoons. By the time I get my seat belt on (yeah I know, put it on before starting hte car) and situated in the seat, the engine has settled down, and I just back out of the garage (slowly ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainmorgan Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 on a realted note to my previous post, I bought the car in the dead of winter. The day I took delivery it was -3*F out. I started the car and let the rpm settle a little, but off she went. It was so cold in fact, that the radio, electric mirrors (tilt and such), and interior lights didn't turn on right away, but once the car warmed a bit down the road, they just magically popped on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f1anatic Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 idling 2 min in winter, 1 in the summer. even 3+ when it is extremely cold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWP-LegacyGT Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 nope. sometimes I'll let it cool down after I've a spirited drive but I just drive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qikslvr Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 I pretty much always start the car and let it run for a minute or two before driving off in the morning. Just long enough to know that some oil has been pumped into remote areas of the engine and then I go easy for a few blocks. My car usually hits the first mark on the temp gauge within about a mile and is completely warm within another mile. IIRC the owners manual of my Porsche 944 suggest that you start it and drive off. They specifically said not to let it idle during the warm up period. It also said to just drive at low RPMs and low load until warm. I think they were saying that the oil pump can't get enough oil moving to fully pressurize the system and get it distributed properly at idle. Let's kick this pig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Don Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 In winter ill warm the car up for 5 mins...i hear its not so good...but anything less and the cars slips gears, an just doesnt feel right. when my cars cold even at 5 mins it will be barly above the 1/4 oil mark... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vimy101 Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 ^ Try synth ATF. "Slippng gears"? Your tranny is cold. "Oil mark"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoozeRS05 Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 It makes me shudder to see people get in their ice cold car, start it up and immediately zoom off. Yeah.. not good. I have been warming my car up for ~5 minutes, low 30's in the morning. Only problem is I have a decent size hill to climb as soon as I leave the driveway.. EB's Subaru journal - 2005 LegacyGT Wagon & 2014 Forester FB25 (2008 specB - RIP) IG@legacygtliving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirsimon Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 I always warm the car up a bit. Just a 45 sec to a minute of idle, then very gentle until the temp gauge comes to life. I read a tech bit by (engineer) Dennis Simantis (sp?) in Road and Track several years ago discussing this topic. If I recall correctly the consensus was that modern cars warm up quickest under light driving conditions, and need little time just idling. Just long enough to get the oil circulating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 ^+1 Fortunately my commute begins with 5-6 minutes of street driving with 2 stop lights, another 10 minutes of slow highway driving and then 25-35 minutes of clear highway and backroad driving. Coincidentally, on the return commute, the traffic works out almost exactly the same. I saw an increase in my fuel economy of roughly 4-5 MPG when I moved out here. The Crimson Dynamo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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