Obviously, climate and what kind of engine it is will factor in to some degree. If the manual for my small DI car says try to get under way in 30-60 seconds that's what I do...wait for the rpm drop to idle ( usually within 30 seconds or so ) and then go. You'll get differing opinions on this but one of the tenets of direct injection cars is to not let it idle excessively....during break-in and always. If it's parked outside in freezing weather that might put a crimp in that idea.
How long to warm-up an engine?
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It depends. The colder the weather, the more apt I am to let it idle to warm up. Anything above freezing I will give it about 10 seconds before it is in gear (lets me get my seatbelt on), below that it might idle while I clean off snow. Around 0F/-10C, give or take, I might find any good excuse to run back inside the house while it warms up for say 5-10 minutes, so that it has the impression of heat when I get back to it--unless if I'm at work, in case it's less than 10 seconds before I'm off.
I'm not sure if start up wear is the bogeyman that it used to be. I'm sure wear is worst at startup, I'm just not sure it matters in the long run. Seems like most cars get junked long before bearings are shot; seems like, most people who drive "nice" cars try to get rid of them long before they have issues.
I'm not sure if start up wear is the bogeyman that it used to be. I'm sure wear is worst at startup, I'm just not sure it matters in the long run. Seems like most cars get junked long before bearings are shot; seems like, most people who drive "nice" cars try to get rid of them long before they have issues.
I always wait for the oil temp to warm up to atleast 60C before taking off.
Originally Posted by alex_at
I never noticed much of a difference on my cars - but on my motorcycle - a Suzuki Boulevard C50. When cold it has an audible piston slap as soon as you rev up the engine higher than a little above idling.
I usually tend to warm it up before I drive - that piston slap noise doesn't sound healthy at all - but it does it since the day I bought it new.
Lots of engines will have some piston slap on a dead cold start ( sounds just like a rod knock ... but goes away when engine warms up). On my car that has piston slap ( Mazda 2 ... 100 k miles ) , I too let it warm up a little longer. After about 5 minutes, engine is much quieter. Not sure it makes any difference to engine life ... but it seems, ummm, kinder ?
I never noticed much of a difference on my cars - but on my motorcycle - a Suzuki Boulevard C50. When cold it has an audible piston slap as soon as you rev up the engine higher than a little above idling.
I usually tend to warm it up before I drive - that piston slap noise doesn't sound healthy at all - but it does it since the day I bought it new.
Lots of engines will have some piston slap on a dead cold start ( sounds just like a rod knock ... but goes away when engine warms up). On my car that has piston slap ( Mazda 2 ... 100 k miles ) , I too let it warm up a little longer. After about 5 minutes, engine is much quieter. Not sure it makes any difference to engine life ... but it seems, ummm, kinder ?
I start the car then put on my seatbelt, wait for my phone to pair to the stereo with Bluetooth, pick some music, put it in the mount, etc. and then I set off. So maybe 30 seconds to warm up. Then drive it gently til the coolant temp gauge is at normal position. If I'm in a hurry I'm not so patient.
Originally Posted by Linctex
I don't go over 1800 RPM/35 MPH until the coolant temp needle comes off of "low"
Are you one of those guys that will pull out onto the highway and not go over 35mph and impeed traffic that comes along at highway speeds? Or are you just starting off driving in town or pull over for traffic? I only ask because I've had some real *a holes* that just pull out in front of traffic and drive like a Gramma maybe because they aren't warmed up yet. People like this believe they are the center of the universe or something. Nobody else matters. Lol
I don't go over 1800 RPM/35 MPH until the coolant temp needle comes off of "low"
Are you one of those guys that will pull out onto the highway and not go over 35mph and impeed traffic that comes along at highway speeds? Or are you just starting off driving in town or pull over for traffic? I only ask because I've had some real *a holes* that just pull out in front of traffic and drive like a Gramma maybe because they aren't warmed up yet. People like this believe they are the center of the universe or something. Nobody else matters. Lol
I have a normal routine - foot on brake, start car, shift auto into neutral, buckle seatbelt, get my preferred playlist queued up then get ready to go. Usually the secondary air pump is shutting down by this time and idle settles down to ~800 RPM. It's ~1/8th mile pretty much idling out of my community then ~¼ mile drive at 35 MPH to get onto the local roads so plenty of time for fluids to get circulating.
Using this routine my MB's have never jerked into gear using this procedure. Depending on outside temps the secondary air injection will run for 30-45 seconds so it's not a crazy wait to get rolling.
Using this routine my MB's have never jerked into gear using this procedure. Depending on outside temps the secondary air injection will run for 30-45 seconds so it's not a crazy wait to get rolling.
I don't really. My 2002 Ranger loves to fast idle, but I'm not waiting around on it, so I have no problem throwing it into D with RPM still over 1K. Engine and trans are original at 229K, so I'm just not worried about it. That truck can pretty much idle it's way to the first stop sign.
. My older trucks, (both 94 4.0s, 1 auto, 1 manual) don't seem to do the fast idle thing so much. I'm a couple miles back in my neighborhood, so there's a good bit of low speed driving for warming things up.
My car heats its self up crazy fast, though I still drive it gently until I'm satisfied it's ready (time varies with ambient temps, of course). This pic is from the site run by those lunatic folks who chop up perfectly good NEW cars, just to learn about them (talk about having too much time & money on your hands...): At least they're willing to share their stuff publicly!
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2019/03/full-3715-31159-prius_exhaust_he.jpg "[Linked Image]")
See the thing in the middle of the exhaust that's bleeding -- you guessed it -- coolant? Yep, it's an exhaust-to-coolant heat exchanger. My 04 had what enthusiasts called the "Thermos", an insulated container that saved ~3L of hot coolant to inject into the block on the next start. This car sends coolant right to the pictured heat exchanger, then back to the engine. Works great. On my 1.7 mile drive to our ops department, it'll climb from ambient to at least 150F (per Scangauge I keep on dash). Certainly, not fully warm, but pretty good for the short distance.
Of course, this neat little contraption begs another question, which I'm sure half of you are already thinking -- a long run of coolant plumbing THAT close to the exhaust??? Yeah, I know, it's definitely one of those "what could possibly go wrong. . ." things. I will be keeping an eye on it. . .
See the thing in the middle of the exhaust that's bleeding -- you guessed it -- coolant? Yep, it's an exhaust-to-coolant heat exchanger. My 04 had what enthusiasts called the "Thermos", an insulated container that saved ~3L of hot coolant to inject into the block on the next start. This car sends coolant right to the pictured heat exchanger, then back to the engine. Works great. On my 1.7 mile drive to our ops department, it'll climb from ambient to at least 150F (per Scangauge I keep on dash). Certainly, not fully warm, but pretty good for the short distance.
Of course, this neat little contraption begs another question, which I'm sure half of you are already thinking -- a long run of coolant plumbing THAT close to the exhaust??? Yeah, I know, it's definitely one of those "what could possibly go wrong. . ." things. I will be keeping an eye on it. . .
For me, it's about 20-30 seconds. I crank it up when I get in it. The I buckle my seatbelt, set my phone in the hands-free holder, set the radio, and by then, about 30 seconds has passed, and I drive off. I have the same routine whether ti's July or January.
Summer about 20 seconds
Winter I start up,scrape window and go within 5 minutes
Winter I start up,scrape window and go within 5 minutes
Originally Posted by OilUzer
curious if you guys notice the same noises when driving cold?
You want noises, start it at -40. You'll have noises that you never knew existed.
curious if you guys notice the same noises when driving cold?
You want noises, start it at -40. You'll have noises that you never knew existed.
Leaving for work I hop in and go. If it's really cold I'll wait for it to idle down. Gotta drive through slow speed residential areas. Above 40F? I'll remote start it about 3-5 minutes before I leave work. Below 40F I'll let it go for ~10 minutes. Gotta jump on the 55mph highway pretty much immediately.
Originally Posted by ekpolk
See the thing in the middle of the exhaust that's bleeding -- you guessed it -- coolant? Yep, it's an exhaust-to-coolant heat exchanger. My 04 had what enthusiasts called the "Thermos", an insulated container that saved ~3L of hot coolant to inject into the block on the next start. This car sends coolant right to the pictured heat exchanger, then back to the engine. Works great. On my 1.7 mile drive to our ops department, it'll climb from ambient to at least 150F (per Scangauge I keep on dash). Certainly, not fully warm, but pretty good for the short distance.
Of course, this neat little contraption begs another question, which I'm sure half of you are already thinking -- a long run of coolant plumbing THAT close to the exhaust??? Yeah, I know, it's definitely one of those "what could possibly go wrong. . ." things. I will be keeping an eye on it. . .
Thank you for that post. I didn't know vehicles had such technology to help them heat up faster!
See the thing in the middle of the exhaust that's bleeding -- you guessed it -- coolant? Yep, it's an exhaust-to-coolant heat exchanger. My 04 had what enthusiasts called the "Thermos", an insulated container that saved ~3L of hot coolant to inject into the block on the next start. This car sends coolant right to the pictured heat exchanger, then back to the engine. Works great. On my 1.7 mile drive to our ops department, it'll climb from ambient to at least 150F (per Scangauge I keep on dash). Certainly, not fully warm, but pretty good for the short distance.
Of course, this neat little contraption begs another question, which I'm sure half of you are already thinking -- a long run of coolant plumbing THAT close to the exhaust??? Yeah, I know, it's definitely one of those "what could possibly go wrong. . ." things. I will be keeping an eye on it. . .
Thank you for that post. I didn't know vehicles had such technology to help them heat up faster!
The exhaust note is a little on the loud side so after about 5-10 seconds I back out of drive way and then using only idle speed I crawl the 200 ft to the entrance of my neighborhood and then a leisure 1/10th of a mile drive to the light at the main road afterwhich its either 1/4 mile to hwy or downhill through residential areas. I don't have a coolant temp gauge, but my oil temp gauge starts to move at about 5 miles of 60-70 mph hwy driving.
Most engines sound different when they are cold, mainly from the exhaust.
So until the next thread with the same title, start your car, get the oil pressure up then go. Drive conservatively until the engine is fully warmed.
In colder weather give it another minute or so. If you have to scrape then the timing is good. Warming a car up by idling for 5-10 minutes is wasteful.
So until the next thread with the same title, start your car, get the oil pressure up then go. Drive conservatively until the engine is fully warmed.
In colder weather give it another minute or so. If you have to scrape then the timing is good. Warming a car up by idling for 5-10 minutes is wasteful.
[video:google]https://photos.app.goo.gl/6Jq9bXyGrikHNdky5[/video]
Not sure if the video will work for others or if you have to be logged into my google account. It's me starting my carbureted car from the passenger side because I didn't feel like going around to the driver side. Lol
Not sure if the video will work for others or if you have to be logged into my google account. It's me starting my carbureted car from the passenger side because I didn't feel like going around to the driver side. Lol
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