generalleeharvey Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 I always warm my car up 3-15 min depending on how warm (today its 55) or cold (last week it was around 23 with the wind chill). It already has 104k mi on it and I need it to last preferrably to 200k mi and every little bit I can do to make it survive I will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattg Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 ^ 15 minutes is bad. waste of time, waste of gas, and possibly hard on your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whobaru Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 I let the car warm up for about 5 minutes while I wait inside the house (during the winter) because I don't like getting into a cold car and shivering while I wait for the heater and seats to get warm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebpda9 Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 i don't ever warm it up. i start and let it idle until i light one up then go. i noticed that if my engine is warm and the tranny is cold the 4EAT will act weird, but if both of them warm up at the same time the tranny acts good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Don Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 when i warm it up in the cold for 2-3 mins it feels like its pulling like its trying to hard..but 5 mins about its nice an easy and smooth, and it feels like it i had to jump right on the highway i could hit redline with no problem...2 mins feels like it is causing damage if i go over 3k...i guess it what makes you happy..summer warm up is 2 mins quick an easy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imstillatwork Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Get it. Start Car. Seatbelt, mirrors, etc. DRIVE NICE. Warm up in anything but freezing / subfreezing is pointless. The car warms up to a good running temp by driving nice, under 3000 rpms or so, no wot. EXTREME conditions might need an adjustment. MOST of us should just get in and drive (again, lower rpms, no wot.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim_KT Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I live in SoCal and allow no more than a half-minute to a full minute. During that time I am either waiting for my wife to get in the car or sifting through CDs or radio stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generalleeharvey Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 When the windchill was 23 degrees last week it took my car probably around 12 minutes to get warmed up. I prefer to wait until the temp gauge reads a few ticks above 'c'. ^ 15 minutes is bad. waste of time, waste of gas, and possibly hard on your car. Honest question: How can it possibly be hard on the car? And why is warming it up that long waste of time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 How is letting your car idle harder on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qikslvr Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Letting some cars idle for long periods of time can be bad because from a cold start the oil pump(which is RPM driven) can't move enough oil to pressurize all the bearings and remote parts of the engine with the proper amount of oil. Low RPMS=lower oil pressure and cold thick oil makes the job even harder. Once the engine does warm up; you can get hot/dry spots in the block, heads, bearings and turbo at idle. Remember that your water pump is also driven by the crankshaft RPMs and it won't move enough water at low idle to cool evenly/properly. It's your car; so do what you want with it. Some of us old dudes have tested these things on some of the 30+ different cars we've had and found what works for us. I spun a rod bearing on one of my Mustangs on a cold winter morning(single digits) by jumping in, starting it up and driving off with zero warm up period. I made it about half a block and hit an ice patch while accelerating and it tapped redline and started knocking. If anyone has an older Jeep; they know that those need a minute to get the oil up into the head so the valves stop ticking and the #1 cylinder stops slapping before you move it. Using the cars heater and defroster for 15 minutes to clean the windows off is just plain dumb and lazy. Has anyone looked at the LGT owner manual to see what they suggest? Let's kick this pig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 How does low rpm= low oil pressure, on evey car i have owned on cold starts the oil presure is way higher than when at warm idle. In my T/A on a cold start it would be a 75psi, and on warm idle it was at 42psi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vimy101 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 ^ This is one of the conditions where the oil pressure bypass valve is activated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Every car i have ever owned, including my 1979 malibu and 1990 new yorker have had a much higher oil pressure at cold idle compared to warm idle, all my parents cars, my sisters cars have lal done this, pretty much every car i have started in the cold has done this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazzen Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I wait until the RPM is at the normal idle (900-1000) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaStaMooN Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Start Car Seat Belt Set channel on Sirius Go Jon - vBGarage Profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qikslvr Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 How does low rpm= low oil pressure, on evey car i have owned on cold starts the oil presure is way higher than when at warm idle. In my T/A on a cold start it would be a 75psi, and on warm idle it was at 42psi. The oil pressure reads higher because most oil is thicker when it's below freezing. Also, if you have ever watched the oil pressure when you drive; it goes up with RPMs (when you are moving) and then drops back down when you come to a stop or idle. When frozen; my Jeep starts out showing 0 psi for about 3 seconds; then shoots up to 43psi and then drops back to 19psi(normal idle psi) at idle after the thermostat opens up and the has engine warmed up. Then the pressure goes up and down between 19-39psi depending upon RPMs while driving. Also, keep in mind that oil pressure and flow rate are two different things. The oil pressure may read high when cold, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's flowing at the proper rate/volume through the engine. Let's kick this pig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imstillatwork Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 The combustion process is terrible at cold temps. You'll end up with coked up valves and plugs because the temps inside the chamber are not high enough to properly burn clean. When someone said that "low rpm= low oil pressure" he is correct. RELATIVELY. Low temps raise the bar across the board. However, high pressure at cold temps does NOT EQUAL good flow, so his statement about poor oil circulation is correct. Everyone that lets their car warm up for minutes and minutes 'because it seems right' should evaluate exactly what is going on and do the research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAINIAC SPEC B Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 If it`s above freezing NO. The whole month of December in Maine up till this Sunday had a high of below 32. I do warm up my car on these days especially when cleaning the snow off. Had about 3 feet so far. Letting my car idle eats up the gas, Iam averaging only 24 mpg now. Back in the summer averaged 27 mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spect2k Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I park in my garage and it gets to about 50 degrees in there during the winter. I open the garage, turn on my car, put on my seatbelt, turn on my heated seat in the winter, and then go. My 'minimum' is that I turn on the car and wait for all of the systems to start up, like the VDC (I wait for the light to go off). When I get going, I take it real nice and easy and keep the rpm below 2500 until it is almost completely warm. I have been told by so many experts including the car manual itself that it is a waste of time, gas, and bad for the environment to perform an elaborate warmup. 30 seconds, 1 minute, fine. More than that, a waste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 But for us who dont park in the garage and its in the 20s or lower, letting hte car run for 1 minute doesnt really warm things up. Some times in january we see -30 with a wind chill of -40+. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirsimon Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 How is letting your car idle harder on it I have a Saab in addition to my Subaru. One common cause of premature death in turbo Saab's is the oil pan getting so hot during extended idle/stop and go traffic that it cooks the oil, leading to sludging problems. It is one of the reasons why people who drive in stop and go traffic a lot should change their oil more frequently than one who cruises on an open freeway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Thats just stupid with all the luxury options in cars today they still make mistakes like that, there are ways around it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spray Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I don't let my car warm up. Sometimes at work I need to start my car and gun it in freezing tempertures. Not much I can do about it...I just really good synthetic to try and help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc6 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I Have synthetic and still warm up for a few mins. If not I stall 2 traffic light later. Already posted in that thread. 2005 Satin White Pearl Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT Unlimited 5EAT (Project Car) 2019 Agate Black Ford Explorer XLT 4WD (DD) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vimy101 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I wait until the RPM is at the normal idle (900-1000) That's much longer than necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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