Do you warm up the engine everyday?

[Vimy101]

I Have synthetic and still warm up for a few mins. If not I stall 2 traffic light later. Already posted in that thread.

 

Sounds to me that you have a tranny or idle speed problem. Your car should not stall when cold if things are working properly.

[Merc6]

Sounds to me that you have a tranny or idle speed problem. Your car should not stall when cold if things are working properly.

That thread refers to this thread

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72196

[Vimy101]

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.

 

Idling, cold drive train and winter gas all conspire to lower mileage. I have gone from 27mpg to 24.3 this winter and had a similar decrease last season. The temperature jumped up to 50F the other day and my consumption went down. I notice that fuel consumption gets worse the colder it gets. I'm guessing the ECU makes the engine run richer the colder it gets.

[Merc6]

Idling, cold drive train and winter gas all conspire to lower mileage. I have gone from 27mpg to 24.3 this winter and had a similar decrease last season. The temperature jumped up to 50F the other day and my consumption went down. I notice that fuel consumption gets worse the colder it gets. I'm guessing the ECU makes the engine run richer the colder it gets.

was there a certain degree it goes down? My best MPG was at 38-40 degree temps.

[05GT Guru]

Correct your ECU will make up for the extra air, because the colder the air, the more air it thinks its getting by spraying more gas. My supra when its 30 or lower, which i have only driven it wice in those temps to move it from one stoarge place to another got horrible fuel cut with the stock ECU. That was with 450rwhp, now with a custom ECU and 520rwhp no problems.

[Vimy101]

^ I'm thinking that the denser air with more O2 creates a lean condition so the

ECU richens things up.

[meier motor sports]

I try and warm up for as long as I can whenever the engine is cold (in the morning usually). I usually let it warm up for about a minute or so and shift at around 1.5-2k before the engine fully warms up.

 

DM warms up his car daily.

[Jack ffr1846]

The majority of engine wear occurs during the first few seconds of operation because parts are running on only the oil that's left over from the last time the car was running. After those first few moments, the oil pressure builds and forced oiling starts. To avoid the wear that occurs at startup, I simply never shut my car off from the time I drive it off the dealer's lot until the time I trade it in. Sure, it costs me $10 in gas every night, but hey.....my engine doesn't wear at all.

 

</sarcasm>

 

I don't let my car warm up at all. I had an 81 BMW that also said in the manual to never warm up the car, just drive at lower RPMs until it's warm. They continued that in the time that someone else has been idling, you're probably 2 miles down the road. The result being that the guy who warms up his car puts significantly more wear on his engine to get where he's going.

 

jack

[Penphoe]

The *ONLY* time I let my car "warm up" longer than it takes for me to start my engine and put my seat belt on is when there is moisture condensation on my front windshield.

 

But I'm waiting more for the HVAC to clear up the fog on my front window since my car has been sitting outside in the cold for 4-5 days. It's more of a visibility and safety issue rather than engine warming issue. Once it's cleared up enough to safely see, I'm off. I'm of the mindset like many others here, that it is better to drive around under as minimal load as possible to warm up the engine.

 

Heck, I even shut my engine off at long lights especially during rush hour traffic!

 

LaterZ!

Darren!!

[05LGTLtd]

Here's my guidline:

 

Warm out ~30sec

 

Under 50* ~1min

 

Under 30* ~2min with a couple of light revs up to 2k to toward the end.

 

Under any of these, I will not get any warm air from vents untill a couple minutes down the road. I avoid lugging or high revs until the coolant temp is resting at operating temp for a minute or two. (ok I avoid lugging all the time)

 

I'll let it idle for 15-30 seconds before I shut it off after driving.

[jvento]

At what rpm does your car idle at when it is warmed up?

[qikslvr]

My 5MT in neutral; with the clutch released, idles at 1500 ice cold, ~1100 after 1 minute and if I tap the gas once or twice it will drop to 900. After it completely warm up it will idle at 750RPMs. I don't know about the automatics though.

[imstillatwork]

Oh, and BIG BIG BIG misconception here:

 

Water temp IS NOT engine temp. You really need to be looking at oil temps to tell when the engine is read to flog. The water/coolant heats up much faster than the oil. Water temp can reach normal very very quickly, especially on our dummy gauges that don't actually read temperature in degrees (you're either cold, hot, or ok...)It may seem that the engine is ready to go while the oil temps may still be around 140 or less. oil should beat least around 170+ before a proper flogging.

[Vimy101]

^ That's one reason why synthetic oils are superior to conventional dino.

[LittleBlueGT]

I have always used 100% synthetic oil.

 

I have always started driving within 1 min of starting even when it is -40 (sometimes -60 with the windchill)!

 

I drive real slow, that is all. When it is -40 I don't even press the gas, just use the fast idle to keep the car moving.

 

I actually think driving right away is a protection. A lot of people here have car starters, then get in a car that is nice and warm, and boot off. Trouble is the engine is warm, but the tranny, and cv-joints and bearings are all still extremely cold.

 

If your engine is idling at 1700 rpm, then it can be pushing the car at 1700 rpm too IMO. That way everything warms up nice and evenly.

 

You sucks that live in, oh my it is -5 this morning, should really not worry at all.

 

A few other tricks I have learned:

 

-CD players don't like -40, turn the stereo to FM before turning off for the night

-CV-joints don't like turning sharp when -40, park in a way that allows you to get out with minimal turning of the wheel, and park with the wheels straight

-HVAC controls (especially auto-climate ones) don't react well when trying to change all the little passages and doorways when it is -40, again before turning off car for the night set to whatever setting you want it at for the next morning (and take it off auto)

[Natheya]

I usually average 1 to 3 minutes depending on temp outside. I then drive rather conservatively until the blue light is gone.

[Vimy101]

I have always used 100% synthetic oil.

 

I have always started driving within 1 min of starting even when it is -40 (sometimes -60 with the windchill)!

 

I drive real slow, that is all. When it is -40 I don't even press the gas, just use the fast idle to keep the car moving.

 

I actually think driving right away is a protection. A lot of people here have car starters, then get in a car that is nice and warm, and boot off. Trouble is the engine is warm, but the tranny, and cv-joints and bearings are all still extremely cold.

 

If your engine is idling at 1700 rpm, then it can be pushing the car at 1700 rpm too IMO. That way everything warms up nice and evenly.

 

You sucks that live in, oh my it is -5 this morning, should really not worry at all.

 

A few other tricks I have learned:

 

-CD players don't like -40, turn the stereo to FM before turning off for the night

-CV-joints don't like turning sharp when -40, park in a way that allows you to get out with minimal turning of the wheel, and park with the wheels straight

-HVAC controls (especially auto-climate ones) don't react well when trying to change all the little passages and doorways when it is -40, again before turning off car for the night set to whatever setting you want it at for the next morning (and take it off auto)

 

Heated (or at least insulated) garage FTW!

[wukindada]

Never really timed it but I'd say 1-2min @ idle warming up always

 

Regardless of the vehicle being driven I never get the revs past 3k until the engine temp gets past the first notch

[Guest Gitster]

About 5 minutes in the morning while I pour my coffee and pack lunch.

 

Heater gets blastin just from 5 minutes. It was about 27 degrees this morning.

 

I gas very slowly, and dont rev too high as well, until it is good and warm.

[BlackHole]

No warm up here - it wastes gas. I just get in the car and drive, avoiding heavy throttle until warm.

 

The water/coolant heats up much faster than the oil. Water temp can reach normal very very quickly...

 

How do you figure? The specific heat of water and total volume are both much higher than engine oil, so if anything the oil heats up first.

 

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/specific-heat-fluids-d_151.html

[LittleBlueGT]

Heated (or at least insulated) garage FTW!

 

My garage stays at room temp.

 

It is when I work mids that my car gets the worst of it.