Bringing Oil to Full Operating Temperature

[PimTac]

As an example, i short trip a lot too. The grocery store is about 4-5 miles on the direct route. However, I drive a different route that is 15 miles. I do this to counter the effects of short trips.

So again, driver longer, drive more often. If this is not possible due to your schedule then you really have no options.

 

[stangguy]

I also drive lots of short , less than 5 miles, trips, so occasionally drive a little longer to get it warmed up better. But try to not do it JUST for the benefit of the engine. I figure a good long drive to really warm up the oil uses enough gas, that a few of them, and I can just change the oil twice as often. Dollar wise I mean. More work of course.

 

[MacManus99]

I work 12 miles from home, and when I drive my FRS, my oil temp reaches 195° about a mile before I get to work in the winter. It reaches 195° well before I get to work in summer. I drive very gingerly until oil temp reaches 160 or so.

 

[JC1]

Due to the lockdown etc, I've been debating if I should buy some cheaper conventional oil for this years oil changes and changing it more often due to mostly short trips and not enough longer drives on both vehicles.

My stash is currently Pennzoil Ultra and I don't want to waste this on short OCI.

 

[TmanP]

I have to smile. Still have the original battery in my car which was built in 2010. I want to see how far I can take it.

Ha, I chickened out on my '12 Camry's factory battery (mid-2011 build date) last winter. It still load-tested fine, but I didn't want to push it due to doing a good bit of remote highway driving. Your climate should certainly be more favorable for it than mine! They're solid batteries for sure!

 

[OilReport99]

Because it makes me feel good, because I like the design and color of the jug, and because I feel it gives me lots of headroom for the severe service the oil sees. Thanks for asking.

Wasn't your question related to the lack of severe service your oil experiences? Going to the grocery store hardly qualifies as so.
Winter Rating allowing, you can run Edge EP from Alaska to Patagonia -and everywhere in between- twelve months a year, short or long trip and your engine will outlive the rest of the car. It's a Corolla, man! Or Camry FTM.

 

[02SE]

From a condition of the oil standpoint, your current regimen is probably adequate. A UOA would give a better idea.

Just from where you live, I'd take a longer drive on the PCH, just to enjoy the drive.

 

[madeej11]

I would continue doing that 30 mile drive but just a little more often.

 

[FordMan59]

The majority of my trips are 15-30 miles. 2 of my cars are at 200K+ miles on 5K mile conventional OCI's with minimal oil usage I'd say you have everything covered quite nicely. Even 40-45 years ago when lots of my trips were 5 miles or less I did 3-4K mile OCI's on conventional oil without any problems.

 

[Shel_B]

Wasn't your question related to the lack of severe service your oil experiences?

No, it wasn't.

 

[OilReport99]

No, it wasn't.

The Leisure of Capitalism
And some excoriate it.

 

[Shel_B]

From a condition of the oil standpoint, your current regimen is probably adequate. A UOA would give a better idea.

Just from where you live, I'd take a longer drive on the PCH, just to enjoy the drive.

A huge piece of California's Highway 1 was washed out this week by a winter storm that brought heavy rain and snow.

My typical "get-the-oil-hot" drive is east on Hiway 4 where I head out to some natural areas for a walk. Every now and then I head north and explore some small towns. The latest trip was to Woodland where I visited an interesting gas station museum:

Reiffs Gas Station Museum - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

www.tripadvisor.com

Much of the driving is on low traffic roads that offer nice scenery and the ability to "open 'er up" a bit with no concern about tickets, cross-traffic, or traffic jams.

 

[demarpaint]

My truck has an oil temp gauge. A 5-10 mile drive in-town is enough to bring it up to operating temp (215-220F) but the vehicle does have a oil cooler/heat exchanger.

How long does it take to get the oil to normal operating temp on the highway? Thanks.

 

[02SE]

A huge piece of California's Highway 1 was washed out this week by a winter storm that brought heavy rain and snow.

View attachment 44148

My typical "get-the-oil-hot" drive is east on Hiway 4 where I head out to some natural areas for a walk. Every now and then I head north and explore some small towns. The latest trip was to Woodland where I visited an interesting gas station museum:

Reiffs Gas Station Museum - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

www.tripadvisor.com

Much of the driving is on low traffic roads that offer nice scenery and the ability to "open 'er up" a bit with no concern about tickets, cross-traffic, or traffic jams.

I saw that on the news. It's very unfortunate. I was thinking about heading north on the PCH from the Bay area, when I commented. It's one of my favorite roads, anywhere.

 

[Tkonrr]

I do a lot of short trip driving. Most trips are less than three miles, and the engine, much less the oil, doesn't come up to full operating temperature.

About every two-three weeks I take a long highway drive, about 30 miles or so, with the intent of bringing everything up to full operating temp and driving off water and contaminants from the oil. My car doesn't have a real temp gauge, so I'm only guessing that this is adequate for the purpose.

The vehicle in question is a 2011 Camry 4-cylinder. Oil right now is Edge EP.

Any thoughts on how far, how long, or how often I should drive to accomplish the task? Thanks

An oil temperature gauge or checking oil temperature through the obd2 port would help lots more than guessing when your particular engine gets the engine oil to normal operating temperature. A quick and easy way to check for moisture in the oil would be to unscrew the oil fill cap and look at how much "mayonnaise" collected on the bottom of the cap.

 

[Astro14]

My cars have a transmission oil temp sensor, which can be read via the OBD II. The transmission changes its shift points with temp and has an overheat warning. I think transmission oil temp sensors are relatively common because that kind of control and monitoring is common.

But they don’t have an engine oil temp sensor. I think that’s relatively uncommon.

I’d be curious how many cars can actually tell you the oil temp.

 

[Wheel366]

I was driving my car ~5 miles to work everyday before all this **** hit. I sometimes wouldn't get above 150 on the way to work especially when it was cold. Since I'm not driving to work anymore I take my car out once a week if possible for a good 30 to 40 miles if not more and if it is really cold I still don't get much above 180 so then I downshift the auto trans to get higher RPMs and bring oil temps up. I sometimes still do short trips to say the bank or BWW but I try to keep in lower gears to assist with temps. Doesn't always work.

 

[edyvw]

My BMW takes 7-8 miles at ambient temperature around 50-60 to reach 90-100c. Coolant in BMW is super fast, and it is around 90-100c after 2-3 miles (same with Tiguan, maybe even faster. Toyota on other hand is super slow, hence block heater when I have to drive it in the morning).
I would go lowest viscosity as possible. If your engine takes 0W20, stick to 0W20.

 

[mahanddeem]

Research on oil temp PIDs and OBD adapters.
My typical OBD readouts

 

[ZeeOSix]

Drive longer, more often.

Here is another thread on the same subject.

Question re: Oil Volume and Operating Temperature

I drive a lot of short trips at low speed and low stress on the engine. Now that the weather is getting colder it seems that the oil in the sump would take longer to reach operating temp. If I filled the engine with 4 quarts instead of 5 quarts, or maybe even 3.5 quarts, would it get to...

bobistheoilguy.com

Notice same poster.