warming up the subi?

[Jonathan]

I warm it up by driving it.

 

It'll only take a few seconds for oil pressure to rise up, so you do not need to let it idle. Just NEVER floor it while cold. I keep my car under 4000rpm, (redline is 8) and totally off boost while cold.

Reuben -

At the risk of exposing my near total ignorance of Auckland, New Zealand perhaps you could take a moment to tell us about your climate ? How often, and how much snow might you get in a season ? Any ?

 

Does it get below 10 Deg C (~ 50 Deg F) in the "winter" time (during "our" summer time) ?

 

Thank you.

[Bassnectar]

True about waste, if you would also equate heating your home as waste. Afterall, you could just bundle up with extra layers of clothing and blankets, right?

 

As for pollution, my PZEV Subaru's exhaust is cleaner than the air in many cities.

 

http://www.drive.subaru.com/Fall08/Fall08_whatmakes.htm

 

 

"Vehicles with PZEV emissions ratings have such tight pollution controls, and the burning of fuel is so complete, that in very smoggy urban areas, exhaust out of the tailpipe can actually be cleaner than the air outside."

'

 

Your Pzev engine may be alot better than our oldschool engines, but what a few people think is gonna save the planet there wrong, because its not gonna stop asia from pumping out a billion two stroke oil burning mopeds for the poor people of the world,

 

vid [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dqibvh96Og]YouTube- Saigon Traffic[/ame]

 

 

but for warming up its how u think of your car i guess

because i feel like my car will let me know when its ready to go by how it sounds some days it might need a few minutes others only a minute i like the revs to reach idle

[987687]

You know if you tap the throttle a bit the ECU will tell the engine to rev down.

[Bassnectar]

You know if you tap the throttle a bit the ECU will tell the engine to rev down.

 

 

ive noticed that over the last few days, if i start my car and just let it idle down it takes 5 minutes, if i start it then after like 20 seconds tap the gas up 200rpms it falls to 1000rpm really quick and is ready to go.

 

it reminds me of my brother kicking down his carbeurated 1984 lincoln town car hahaha

[Triple T]

Finally read all of this thread:p

One thing never mentioned is the acidity of the oil at low operating temps.

If anyone has ever had the pleasure of rebuilding high mileage engines from cold climates you would find that the acids that oil collects at low temperature is death to cam and crank bearings. If cold weather driving does not get the operating temp up to normal for 20 to 30 min, enough time to evaporate and burn the acids and moisture out of the oil, then these acids will eat away the main and cam bearings. If you have ever seen this, it looks like worms have eaten away at the bearing and left trails on the face.

For those of you that have above 20 min commutes, this is not an issue.

And if you must know, lived and worked in Fort St. John and Edmonton for 20 years before moving to Calgary. I know and hate cold!

[gathermewool]

The moisture evaporates, not the acids. The additives in the oil neutralize acids and disperse any particulates that're formed. Not changing the oil often enough probably depleted the alkylinity reserve of the bulk oil they got at the quick lube place. This, combined with water and fuel dilution, probably caused what you saw.

 

You don't have any pics do you? That'd be neat to see.

[Triple T]

Sorry, no pics! This was done way before digital cameras:lol:

Best way to explain what it looks like... If you have ever seen a tree that has been attacked by the worms that eat the layer of cells between the bark and tree. The tree dies and the bark falls off, leaving the exposed worm trails visible.

Still looking for picts, but found this link on bearing etching.

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?20486-Rod-Knock-Diagnosis-and-FAQ

[Stang70Fastback]

Ok, here's a question related to oil viscosity. Everyone tells me that on my old car I should not use synthetic as it will exaggerate my oil leaks, since the oil molecules are smaller.

 

But... isn't the VISCOSITY what determines how easily the oil will seep through cracks and gaps? So what does molecule size have to do with it? I understand the idea that smaller molecules can fit through smaller gaps, but if the Synthetic oil is designed to be the same viscosity as a non-synthetic, wouldn't it leak just the same?

 

Lol, you'd think, being an aerospace engineer, I should know the answer to this.

[987687]

Sorry, no pics! This was done way before digital cameras:lol:

Best way to explain what it looks like... If you have ever seen a tree that has been attacked by the worms that eat the layer of cells between the bark and tree. The tree dies and the bark falls off, leaving the exposed worm trails visible.

Still looking for picts, but found this link on bearing etching.

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?20486-Rod-Knock-Diagnosis-and-FAQ

Since this was obviously a while ago, could the situation be amplified by older oil technologies or bearing technologies?

[subikid90]

Ok, here's a question related to oil viscosity. Everyone tells me that on my old car I should not use synthetic as it will exaggerate my oil leaks, since the oil molecules are smaller.

 

But... isn't the VISCOSITY what determines how easily the oil will seep through cracks and gaps? So what does molecule size have to do with it? I understand the idea that smaller molecules can fit through smaller gaps, but if the Synthetic oil is designed to be the same viscosity as a non-synthetic, wouldn't it leak just the same?

 

Lol, you'd think, being an aerospace engineer, I should know the answer to this.

 

 

Viscosity is the rate at which the oil pours. But synthetic oil has smaller molecules letting it seep through small holes easier. These are two sperate things even though you might think that a liquid with a larger viscoity would not be able to make it through small holes its not always true. Synthetic materials have different properties letting them act different.

[Jonathan]

If you drive in the city and can't stand that the 2nd gen's high idle will tend to over power the stock crappy brakes when cold, then let it warm up first. Before replacing the calipers and changing to aftermarket rotors and pads I would have trouble stopping my car backing out of my parking spot in the morning, even with the brake smashed to the ground! I was told this is common on BDs.

With all the bizarre claims being posted in this tread, I let these comments slide... but its been bothering me for a few days that I didn't reply to the above.

 

In my personal opinion, Subaru makes excellent brakes. I would certainly not call them "crappy brakes". Upon thinking about what you have been experiencing, I strongly suspect that you may have been using a set of aftermarket ceramic brake pads.

 

Any auto part supply store clerk will tell you that "ceramic" brakes are generally much better than "semi-metallic" or "organic" pad material. The one issue I have with ceramic brake pad material is that they require fairly high pedal effort when you first use them, but as soon as they warm up they are perfectly fine, and provide slightly better stopping than the other pad materials and generally will last far longer as well.

 

I am strong enough and haven't experienced an especially high idle with my BD and BK Subarus, so I don't have a problem stopping. On the other hand, I would be reluctant to let a wife or girl friend drive any of these cars with ceramic brake pads with out warning her in advance about them.

 

Also with regards to high idle speed when your Subaru is still "cold", have you tried a gentle throttle "blip" to get the idle speed slowed ? While I live roughly 15 miles in-land of Boston Massachusetts and haven't really experienced the really cold weather that the upper-mid west, northern Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine or sections of Canada routinely enjoy so I can't really claim to be much of an authority on really "cold" weather it isn't unusual for my area to experience single digit cold weather in the winter.

[amp27]

holy cow.... that toke awhile to read.....

 

my input is this..... starting the car sends the revs to like what 2200??? well if you just get in and drive the motor may reach a max or maybe 3500rpm if you drive soft enough. then enough i dont have an engine with 50,000+ miles on it

[gathermewool]

Ok, some background: I bought the car with 176k at what I considered a fair price considering it needed a few wear items replaced, brakes not being one of them. I really don't know what the PO had on there, but I bought the car in Nov, and as the weather dipped down below freezing here in CT the first signs that I'd purchased such an old car became apparent the first time I backed out of my parking spot and nearly tapped the guy on the other side of the lot. I was half asleep, but was aware enough to hit the lever to N and stop the car fully in time. This had nothing to do with strength; having your foot firmly planted on the brake pedal and slowly decelerating to a stop is a far cry from the expected immediate stop one usually experiences with such an action.

 

My revs only rise to maybe 1750 on cold starts, and my habit in autos has always been to shift to N before R/D, which, after a few seconds, will lower the revs to <1250 - similar to blipping the throttle. My other car at the time was a Civic SI (and a WRX before that,) so I just attributed the poor braking to not being used to the old leggy and the need to immediately check the pads and bleed the calipers the next chance I got.

 

I don't recall where, and it's not easy to search for it now on my BB, but I searched around for input on my issue, and found that I wasn't the only one complaining about my BD's brakes. Besides poor braking, I recall complaints of sponginess as well, which went with my thought that maybe those complaining simply hadn't bled their brakes properly or at all. I didn't want to spend money that didn't need to be spent on my DD unless it became dangerous, and though the brakes weren't very good when the engine was cold, they were average otherwise, and it was easy enough to flip it to neutral when in close quarters or while stopping at a red light. I bled the brakes which did actually slightly improve the sponginess, but not the cold braking issue. The pads seemed fine.

 

Unfortunately for me, the day I was to head down to DE for Xmas one of the calipers began locking up, and the hobby shop was closed : ( I had to pay the dealer $$ to fix it. Not wanting to get hosed again I ordered and installed three reman'd calipers, four Advance Auto rotors and what ever their premium pads were two years ago - I think they're semi-metallic, but I really couldn't say for sure. I think they carry wagner thermo quiets or something these days. Braking was improved, as would be expected after replacing 11 year old calipers, but was still far from stellar - with the engine cold, I still tended to flip to N when stopping in parking lots or at stop lights.

 

To end this too-long post I eventually - four or so months ago - found some aftermarket rotors and semi-metalic pads on nasioc that some one accidentally bought for the wrong car. No more issues. It's still not perfect, but different friction materials definitley help tremendously.

 

FWIW, one of the reman'd calipers developed a leak at the psiton seal, so I got a new one under warranty. I couldn't get a firm pedal vacuum bleeding, so I had a guy come over and pump the brakes the old-fashioned way. I kept asking if it was firmer than the last time, and he said, "it's better, but still feels kind of crappy and spongy." After a few more bleeds and no change I shooed him away and hoppedin myself. I pumped the brakes and had to laugh - they were as firm as I'd ever felt them. I told him the job was done, that this is as good as they get.

[Stang70Fastback]

my input is this..... starting the car sends the revs to like what 2200???

 

Well, more like 15-1600, but yeah.

[amp27]

DANG i fail.....i should just get a diff car now...maybe a civic? camery?

 

 

WOO 500 post

[subikid90]

DANG i fail.....i should just get a diff car now...maybe a civic? camery?

 

 

WOO 500 post

 

We will disown you. Get a white LGT haha jk!