After starting, how long before driving?
- Thread starter 825ltrgt
- Start date
- Status
I pull out immediately (my car is in a garage), and my neighborhood is 25 mph zone.
I wait until water temperature is above 160 F before giving it any rpm's.
Best to get them moving and drive gently until they are warmed up.
I wait until water temperature is above 160 F before giving it any rpm's.
Best to get them moving and drive gently until they are warmed up.
Last edited:
my neighbor is a mechanic and he starts hid car and lets it runs 30 min before he drive away. Summer or winter. Drives me crazy.
I idle until the rpms dip below 1000, that is usually about 1-3 minutes depending on temps. It is like a built in timer for me. Easier on the clutch and the drive train. JMO
Patman
Staff member
No matter how cold it is out, I always start and go almost immediately. Idling to warm it up is just wasting fuel. I just make sure to drive very gently for the first few minutes of operation.
I like to wait till the rpms die down a bit myself. No point in burning up a clutch, or slamming into reverse to back out of the driveway. I think a waiting till the rpms drop down allows the oil and transmission fluid [if you have an AT] to circulate a bit. These are opinions, and certainly the guys that start'er up and drive ASAP aren't destroying their cars. Old habits die hard!
in the winter time i let it sit until the heater has warmed up the inside. my 1 year olds health is more important to me then gas
Last edited:
I give it a minute to warm up, then take off gently. More time if its really cold out. My street has no traffic, so I can take it real easy.
If I'm at a motel or some other place where there are no empty roads to drive gently on, I'll give it several more minutes of warmup.
My neighbor, on the other hand, just starts it and drives off like normal, heavy on the gas! They have an early-90s Lumina and it doesn't sound like its missed a beat.
If I'm at a motel or some other place where there are no empty roads to drive gently on, I'll give it several more minutes of warmup.
My neighbor, on the other hand, just starts it and drives off like normal, heavy on the gas! They have an early-90s Lumina and it doesn't sound like its missed a beat.
Originally Posted By: Aquaticentipede
Same here, wait until the RPM comes down & the temp gauge goes up; the colder the longer. My wife on the other hand, starts it up & goes regardless of having explained it to her several times.
I know lots of people like that, includint the lady I am with
I idle for under 30 seconds in warm months. Colder times, let it idle till rpms come down then drive gently
Same here, wait until the RPM comes down & the temp gauge goes up; the colder the longer. My wife on the other hand, starts it up & goes regardless of having explained it to her several times.
I know lots of people like that, includint the lady I am with
I idle for under 30 seconds in warm months. Colder times, let it idle till rpms come down then drive gently
Originally Posted By: Jakegday
in the winter time i let it sit until the heater has warmed up the inside. my 1 year olds health is more important to me then gas
Same here. I will sometimes let it idle for 15 minutes in the dead of winter to warm the inside. The kids are more important than the car or gas!
in the winter time i let it sit until the heater has warmed up the inside. my 1 year olds health is more important to me then gas
Same here. I will sometimes let it idle for 15 minutes in the dead of winter to warm the inside. The kids are more important than the car or gas!
I go almost immediately, but I drive easy (under 3000 RPM) until the engine warms up to 180* F or so.
I drive away but drive very gently until it's fully warmed up.
I always let it run till the temperature gauge starts to move. When its really cold, I let it run till the temp gauge is at least half way to operating temp, then take off, driving it easy till its up to full operating temperature.
Originally Posted By: 02zx9r
Originally Posted By: Aquaticentipede
Same here, wait until the RPM comes down & the temp gauge goes up; the colder the longer. My wife on the other hand, starts it up & goes regardless of having explained it to her several times.
I know lots of people like that, includint the lady I am with
I idle for under 30 seconds in warm months. Colder times, let it idle till rpms come down then drive gently
My lady is terrible about that too. From the time she shuts the door it is like a race. She does not even have the patience to wait for the fuel pump to stop before hitting the starter. That burned her yesterday. I kept telling her to wait a second or two until the pump stops but she won't listen. Yesterday she was in a parking lot and went straight to start and the engine didn't start. So she went back to off and directly to start and it startd but ran rough probably due to bad fuel / air mix as a result of bad starting technique. She threw it into reverse right away with the engine running rough and as she got out of the parking spot it died and she couldn't get it to restart. Killed the battery trying to restart it. Now she has everyone honking at her but of course no one would offer to push her back into the stall to get out of the way. Crying on the phone by this time. By the time I got there and put the cables on it she turned right over as everything had enough time to go back to normal. She had called AAA in the mean time and the tow truck showed up right after I got there. He explained starting technique to her as I have. Maybe she will listen to him.
Originally Posted By: Aquaticentipede
Same here, wait until the RPM comes down & the temp gauge goes up; the colder the longer. My wife on the other hand, starts it up & goes regardless of having explained it to her several times.
I know lots of people like that, includint the lady I am with
I idle for under 30 seconds in warm months. Colder times, let it idle till rpms come down then drive gently
My lady is terrible about that too. From the time she shuts the door it is like a race. She does not even have the patience to wait for the fuel pump to stop before hitting the starter. That burned her yesterday. I kept telling her to wait a second or two until the pump stops but she won't listen. Yesterday she was in a parking lot and went straight to start and the engine didn't start. So she went back to off and directly to start and it startd but ran rough probably due to bad fuel / air mix as a result of bad starting technique. She threw it into reverse right away with the engine running rough and as she got out of the parking spot it died and she couldn't get it to restart. Killed the battery trying to restart it. Now she has everyone honking at her but of course no one would offer to push her back into the stall to get out of the way. Crying on the phone by this time. By the time I got there and put the cables on it she turned right over as everything had enough time to go back to normal. She had called AAA in the mean time and the tow truck showed up right after I got there. He explained starting technique to her as I have. Maybe she will listen to him.
I have remote starters on all of my vehicles, so I usually at least get a couple min of running before I leave the house or work.
Wow, my g/f listened to me right from the first time I told her about starting technique. Guess I have it lucky!
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- Messages
- 39,793
Originally Posted By: 2003f7
Originally Posted By: Jakegday
in the winter time i let it sit until the heater has warmed up the inside. my 1 year olds health is more important to me then gas
Same here. I will sometimes let it idle for 15 minutes in the dead of winter to warm the inside. The kids are more important than the car or gas!
Unless you two are in an apartment/condo situation, you need block warmers. Those times more than pay for the electricity.
Originally Posted By: Jakegday
in the winter time i let it sit until the heater has warmed up the inside. my 1 year olds health is more important to me then gas
Same here. I will sometimes let it idle for 15 minutes in the dead of winter to warm the inside. The kids are more important than the car or gas!
Unless you two are in an apartment/condo situation, you need block warmers. Those times more than pay for the electricity.
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- Messages
- 39,793
Originally Posted By: xxch4osxx
Wow, my g/f listened to me right from the first time I told her about starting technique. Guess I have it lucky!
Yeah, but I think you're giving questionable advice. ZERO mpg and prolonged time to warm up.
Wow, my g/f listened to me right from the first time I told her about starting technique. Guess I have it lucky!
Yeah, but I think you're giving questionable advice. ZERO mpg and prolonged time to warm up.
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Unless you two are in an apartment/condo situation, you need block warmers. Those times more than pay for the electricity.
Where can I get one for my GP. That is the car that is used daily with the kids. My truck has one frome the factory but I have not used it yet, Its a tow vehicle and not used daily.
Unless you two are in an apartment/condo situation, you need block warmers. Those times more than pay for the electricity.
Where can I get one for my GP. That is the car that is used daily with the kids. My truck has one frome the factory but I have not used it yet, Its a tow vehicle and not used daily.
- Status