At -20 F, How Much Time For Oil Flow At Startup?

[mechtech2]

All Done in 5 seconds. [worst case scenario]

This month's 'MY FORD' magazine posed the question of how long should a car be warmed up on a cold day before driving it, to Brett Hinds, an advanced engine design and development manager for Ford. [Ford is a major car Mfr.]

"All it takes is a matter of seconds. The myth that you should let your car idle for 5 to 10 minutes before driving to protect the engine is completely false. Even at temperatures as low as -20 F, you gasoline engine has full lubrication and is ready to go within 5 seconds of ignition. "

Driving right away in very cold temps won't hurt the engine, but it certainly does not help my derrier.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I`d think it would put stress on cold stiff parts. I`ve always wondered about that though (the engine warm-up thing). I`ve heard people start up their car on a cold morning and just floor it,and it sounds horrible and noisy.

 

[Gary Allan]

Flow is all but immediate. How much is variable. It takes a bit for a static fluid to accelerate to whatever flow it's supposed to. Time to pressure at the point of measurement will vary.

 

[bepperb]

At the lowest temp this year, -16, both dino and conventional 5-30 passed the "shake the bottle" test with relative ease. They weren't really much thicker than normal.

The 10-40 was pretty thick, but still would pump more or less normally. I'd be more worried about actually getting started from the higher-than-normal friction than the wear on the engine.

 

[Johnny]

In technical schools that I've attended over the years says to start the car and as soon as the oil pressure builds up (about 5 to 10 seconds as stated above), put it in gear and slowly start to drive. It does not take long for the engine to start building up heat, especially when under a slight load.

My concern has always been about the rest of the drive train that does not build up heat quickly, like the transmission and differential.

All a long idle period does is warm up the inside of the car.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I`d think it would put stress on cold stiff parts.

We tend to think that our cars feel cold and hot like humans, but I'm not sure that's really the case. The fact that we feel our ears, noses, fingers freezing and slowly losing feeling in them, becoming stiff, rendering them inoperable does not mean that the same happens to plastic or metal. Sure, it would be ideal for all the parts to avoid any kind of temperature fluctuations, but I think people tend to worry about it more than it's needed.

I usually never idle more than a few seconds, unless I need to remove snow and ice from the car.

 

[NateDN10]

Also, there's a difference between "safe to drive within 5 seconds" and "safe to go WOT within 5 seconds." I usually start driving right away, but don't go much past 30% throttle until the coolant's up to 120F or so.

Ever seen someone floor it right after startup on a cold morning and have a big cloud of black smoke come out of the tailpipe? Happened to me the other day - a relatively new Cadillac in front of me floored it on an entrance ramp.

 

[eoghan]

This has to be a mindset hold over to the old days of old dino oils and the wax that they had. Those old oils did take time to warm up and to flow but with modern group III dinos and superior synthetic oils we have now the oil flows very quickly. also in the carb days the engine would have a tendency to stall if you did not let it warm up before trying to drive.

I use Amsoil and I never let the engine warm up. I just start and drive. The only problem I have is that I am almost at work before the heater gets warm on the coldest below zero days. so I have 3/4's of a cold drive then get warmed up on the last leg of the commute.

 

[daman]

Oil flow is seconds but i always warm up for 5 Min's before taking off in winter cold temps.

hit the RS put my boots and coat on and out the door.

 

[shrooms]

Originally Posted By: daman
Oil flow is seconds but i always warm up for 5 Min's before taking off in winter cold temps.

hit the RS put my boots and coat on and out the door.


Yep, it makes me feel better.

 

[Oldwolf]

It usually takes my oil pressure gauge about 2-3 seconds to swing up to full in my Mercedes diesel. Then I put it in reverse and idle out of driveway. By the time I've put it in forward and made my way out of the culdesac at idle probably 45 seconds have passed. Then I make my way out of the neighborhood never having to go over 2000 rpm for a few minutes.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I guess the best way for me to put what I said in my ealier post about stressing cold parts........it would seem to me that since metal expands and contracts with heat/cold,that an engine is designed to be used at "operating temperature" per se,so it would seem that it would be "healthier" for the engine and powertrain to allow the metals to heat up to op temp to therefore not put any undue stress on them.

 

[Johnny]

You are correct about that. That is why it is not a good idea, especially at -20 to back out of the drive then smoke the tire down the street. Same reason racers warm the oil before putting their foot in it.

But for us common folk, a slow drive down the street under slight load will warm the engine quicker, with no harm, and it cuts down on fuel dilution.

 

[maly]

Those pistons have shrunk by a few thousanths. They are rattling arond in the cylinders until the are up to operating temperature.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: daman
Oil flow is seconds but i always warm up for 5 Min's before taking off in winter cold temps.


^^Same here. Especially if I`m leaving my house and immediately hitting the interstate. My car cruises around 3000rpm at 70mph,and I just don`t feel comfy doing that on a cold engine.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: daman
Oil flow is seconds but i always warm up for 5 Min's before taking off in winter cold temps.


^^Same here. Especially if I`m leaving my house and immediately hitting the interstate. My car cruises around 3000rpm at 70mph,and I just don`t feel comfy doing that on a cold engine.

Yup same here,thats what happens when you've been a truck driver and around heavy diesel/Equipment engines most your life,you get in the habit of "warning things up" in the winter.

objects act totally different in the deep cold vs summer warm months.

 

[tig1]

I start my engine and let it run for 15 sec. then drive off. Tranny shifts great witout any real warmup. I don't notice any more noise when it's cold VS hot at first start in the morning.

 

[shrooms]

Originally Posted By: tig1
I start my engine and let it run for 15 sec. then drive off. Tranny shifts great witout any real warmup. I don't notice any more noise when it's cold VS hot at first start in the morning.


Thank M1 for that!

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Especially if I`m leaving my house and immediately hitting the interstate. My car cruises around 3000rpm at 70mph,and I just don`t feel comfy doing that on a cold engine.

Why can't you just drive at 55-60mph for the first couple of minutes?

 

[Nederlander75]

That's what Im doing now with Terry's advice as well as Dave's at Redline. Idle for 60 sec or until I clear ice, then about 1/10 mile at 20 mph at 2K rpm, then 30-40 mph at about 2.3K rpm, then on the hwy not exceeding 2.5K rpm until water is at operating temp. Then no caution.