Engine Warm Up Time does it matter?
- Thread starter Chimay
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This is one thing I love about my Civic. I have heat within a couple minutes in the winter.
With the absence of any solid proof of long warm ups doing any good, and ways it could cause harm, I am just going to jump in and go, saving my time and gas. The only exception is when the car is setting outside and thoroughly encased in ice. I will let the engine run while I chip. That also speeds that job. Even starting from the garage, in some weather you need heat from the engine to keep the windshield clear. Not being able to see where you are going definitely can damage your car.
Do aluminum blocks warm up faster than cast iron? My Cavalier is the first aluminum block I have owned, and it quickly throws out heat, lots of heat.
Do aluminum blocks warm up faster than cast iron? My Cavalier is the first aluminum block I have owned, and it quickly throws out heat, lots of heat.
Labman, I have never owned a small cast motor in a 4 banger like Honda and Nissan, my cummins and v-8 ford cast blocks seem to take forever to warm up in comparision, mind you their blocks are bigger to warm. I show how I warm up my Nissan above.
In my Nissan and previous Honda I have to be extremely careful in -30 to -45, when the windshield is that cold, these heaters in these small aluminum engines can crack your windshield due to fast hot heating on extremely cold glass surfaces. I have stress cracked a few windshields on these fast warmers. I have learned to use more heat than defrost until air equalized a bit so not to make such a violent expansion on that shield and cause damage.
Also, these small aluminum blocks, never run low on anti freeze or you will be in the garage getting head gaskets etc done, they are great warmers, but cannot overheat due to lack of coolant.
Cyprs
In my Nissan and previous Honda I have to be extremely careful in -30 to -45, when the windshield is that cold, these heaters in these small aluminum engines can crack your windshield due to fast hot heating on extremely cold glass surfaces. I have stress cracked a few windshields on these fast warmers. I have learned to use more heat than defrost until air equalized a bit so not to make such a violent expansion on that shield and cause damage.
Also, these small aluminum blocks, never run low on anti freeze or you will be in the garage getting head gaskets etc done, they are great warmers, but cannot overheat due to lack of coolant.
Cyprs
I can vouch for the quick warmup of the new aluminum 4 cyl. engines. My F250 diesel takes forever to warm up-at least 10 miles @ 60 MPH to first open thermostat (on a cool morning). 900 lbs of iron, 8 gallons of coolant and 4 gallons of oil take a while to heat up.
I start them up and baby it away. No hard throttle or high RPM until temp has stabilized.
I start them up and baby it away. No hard throttle or high RPM until temp has stabilized.
I mistakenly mentioned I haven't had cast 4 bangers, I have had small many import cast block 4 bangers with aluminum heads, they were still fast warmers. My Altima is now is all Aluminum block is what I should have orginally posted here.
Cyprs
Cyprs
Poorly set chokes, general inattention and such are what ruined many of the old big blocks. My last one held [8] gallons coolant and [5] quarts of oil. But heater air was quick (core was big enough to bbq on, and it would melt the polish off your shoes) due to carb rebuilds every few years or 50k.
Don't really miss it . . except the torque!
Don't really miss it . . except the torque!
Back in 1993 they gave me a 1994 Dodge truck for survey work. I hated that truck like you would not believe, it sat too high and it was hard to get in and out of 50 times a day, not to mention the seats were very hard on my back. I would start it up in sub-zero weather and drive it away ASAP, often it went into get as soon as it started and I would always drive long distances and let it idle all day long. **** thing never broke in 4 yrs. I had to live with that truck till they went back to Chevy suburbans in 1998, like we had for 25 yrs prior. One of the other surveyors got a Ford at the same time. He hated it also and he was doing the same thing, only his broke on more that one occasion but they kept fixing it over and over again. I ended up getting a new one 2 yrs before him in 2000.
btw-They were low bid leased, 4x4 base trucks with very few options.
btw-They were low bid leased, 4x4 base trucks with very few options.
I usually wait till idle rpm drops before shifting to D. Main reason for this is I live near a wild traffic and have to take the uphill way.
For the warming up periods I found that coolant volume is very important. I believe, before deciding a buy one should definitely observe its capacitiy. Many small engines that are optimized for the economy have coolant capacity of about 3 to 4 quarts/litres. They reaches to optimum temperature quick, their heater starts to blow warm sooner but not as stable temp. for long cruises. Despite its low displacement my 2.8 v6 GM with 13 quarts is definitely a cruiser on contrast. With short distances on winter it is hard on mpg but it is very capable and forgivig at the speedways or long grades on summers.
For the warming up periods I found that coolant volume is very important. I believe, before deciding a buy one should definitely observe its capacitiy. Many small engines that are optimized for the economy have coolant capacity of about 3 to 4 quarts/litres. They reaches to optimum temperature quick, their heater starts to blow warm sooner but not as stable temp. for long cruises. Despite its low displacement my 2.8 v6 GM with 13 quarts is definitely a cruiser on contrast. With short distances on winter it is hard on mpg but it is very capable and forgivig at the speedways or long grades on summers.
Thanks for the info.I have been under the assumption that it was bad to not warm up your car.After reading these posts it does make sense to get your engine up to temp as soon as possible gently.Sure is hard breaking old habits!LOL
In warm weather, you only need to wait 15 seconds for the oil and transmission fluid to circulate. However, if the temperature is below freezing, you should wait several minutes for the metal parts to adjust to each other. See Tom and Ray's syndicated column: http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/2003/May/03.html
In both cases, drive VERY gently until the engine is warm, never exceeding 2500 rpm. Avoid strong acceleration until you've driven 2-5 miles past "fully warm" on the coolant gauge. Short of installing an aftermarket oil gauge, perhaps the best indicator that you've reached operating temperature is when the idle rpm drops to its bottom.
[ October 15, 2004, 03:06 PM: Message edited by: Bruce T ]
In both cases, drive VERY gently until the engine is warm, never exceeding 2500 rpm. Avoid strong acceleration until you've driven 2-5 miles past "fully warm" on the coolant gauge. Short of installing an aftermarket oil gauge, perhaps the best indicator that you've reached operating temperature is when the idle rpm drops to its bottom.
[ October 15, 2004, 03:06 PM: Message edited by: Bruce T ]
I say it doesn't matter, as long as the engine runs smoothly and has power to move the car.
Consider this: what's more important, coolant temp or oil temp, in regards to an engine being warmed up? I have an oil temp gauge on my car, 2002 camaro LS1 V-8. Typical American pushrod V-8, 6qt oil capacity, except it's aluminum block & heads.
This past summer, on a cold start the oil temp would be 70-80 deg F, and slowly get to 200+F long after the coolant temp guage is running at 190-210F. With mornings now around 50F, and even though I garage my car and start out at 60-70F oil temps, the car can be fully warmed up coolant-wise to 190F after having driven about 8 miles and for about 15 minutes and oil temp will still be around 100-110F. I'm curious to see how long a drive it takes to get oil temp to 180+ deg F this winter after the car has been sitting outside at 32F and below.
With this info in mind, I would think anyone who lets their car run 20 minutes in the winter to warm it up is not helping it any. Coolant temps may be hot, but oil temp certainly won't be. And a gas engine idling with cold oil temps for an extended period can't be good. At the very least they are wasting gas.
Consider this: what's more important, coolant temp or oil temp, in regards to an engine being warmed up? I have an oil temp gauge on my car, 2002 camaro LS1 V-8. Typical American pushrod V-8, 6qt oil capacity, except it's aluminum block & heads.
This past summer, on a cold start the oil temp would be 70-80 deg F, and slowly get to 200+F long after the coolant temp guage is running at 190-210F. With mornings now around 50F, and even though I garage my car and start out at 60-70F oil temps, the car can be fully warmed up coolant-wise to 190F after having driven about 8 miles and for about 15 minutes and oil temp will still be around 100-110F. I'm curious to see how long a drive it takes to get oil temp to 180+ deg F this winter after the car has been sitting outside at 32F and below.
With this info in mind, I would think anyone who lets their car run 20 minutes in the winter to warm it up is not helping it any. Coolant temps may be hot, but oil temp certainly won't be. And a gas engine idling with cold oil temps for an extended period can't be good. At the very least they are wasting gas.
Patman
Staff member
This is what I've been telling everyone for many years! You need to drive your car in order to warm up the oil faster, as the oil temp will crawl up far too slowly when idling, even if the coolant temp is going up faster.
I think oil temp is much more important to look at in terms of when you can safely push your engine harder. I personally don't go full throttle on my engine until the oil temp is 180F or higher.
Not having an oil temp gauge, I can use the pressure gauge. It does not stabilize at the hot pressure until a good 10 to 15 miles. That's where I want to be for Italian Tuneups. Before that you can reasonably step on it, but not full bore.
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