How long to warm up oil?

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GRWOil

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I've seen this topic discussed a lot of BITOG, but never really seen a consensus answer. How many miles of driving does it take to get oil all the way up to operating temp, and burn off fuel, moisture, and contaminates?

For discussion sake, let's say 5qt sump, heated garage (65F), and coolant gets up to operating temp in ~1.5 miles.
 
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The oil will take longer than the coolant to get up to temperature, it also depends on oil viscosity as with thicker oils there will be more drag inside the engine which creates more heat, also depends a lot on engine design... it's very hard to say.
But for the average car it shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes?
 
How about for a Hyundai Santa Fe with a 2.0L GDI turbo? Just went a jimmy John's for lunch. .5 mile round trip and my dash temp gauge got all the way up to operating temp. Currently running Mobil 1 EP 5w30.
 
WAG, every vehicle is different. My aluminum block 2.0 may take several miles. Some cars have coolers and turbos. Get a Bluetooth adapter and a program(Torque) and you will be able to see everything the vehicle is monitoring on your phone or tablet. Around $20. Well worth the bucks to check charging voltages, coolant temps, speed, estimated milage, rpm, cancel idiot lights, what cylinder is misfiring.
 
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Originally Posted By: GRWOil
How about for a Hyundai Santa Fe with a 2.0L GDI turbo? Just went a jimmy John's for lunch. .5 mile round trip and my dash temp gauge got all the way up to operating temp. Currently running Mobil 1 EP 5w30.


Your coolant might have gotten up to temp in a .5 mile trip, your oil was probably warm to the touch at best. Oil can take 15 minutes or more to come to operating temps, depending on ambient temps, load, speed etc. I did an oil change a few weeks ago to my 08 Liberty and after about 15 minutes of driving prior to dropping the oil, it wasn't as hot as I thought it would be.
 
Originally Posted By: GRWOil
How about for a Hyundai Santa Fe with a 2.0L GDI turbo? Just went a jimmy John's for lunch. .5 mile round trip and my dash temp gauge got all the way up to operating temp. Currently running Mobil 1 EP 5w30.

I would allow 5 miles of easy driving just in case, especially in turbo application.
My Tiguan reaches coolant temp. very fast, especially if you put HVAC temperature gauge at cold first mile, so due to heat exxchanger, oil will reach operating temperature probably 2-3 miles later.
BMW on other hand is diesel and has 8qt sump running very thick 5W30. I can monitor oil temp. using Carly. In 30-40 degree weather, going mostly uphill easy, rarely going over 2K rpms, it takes 6-7 miles to reach oil operating temperature even though I keep HVAC temp. gauge on cold. When I run HVAC heat immediately when I have baby in a car (BMW 35d has 1KW electric heater for air) it takes sometimes 7-10 miles to heat up oil.
Take into consideration too that both of my cars are always in garage.
 
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I'd say don't push your motor for up to 30 minutes in order to be safe. My turbo car usually warms up at about 15 min in cold winter day. But remember it's not only oil. Every other liquid such as Valvolines etc need sufficient time. Fully injection motors don't require pre heat period ,but gentle operation till you start flooring the right pedal
 
I usually take a 15-20 minute drive, through town then up 500-600 ft to the summit of a local look out. When the oil comes out it is hot to the touch, including later when I remove the oil filter.
 
Someone posted this before. It will vary based on engine and temperature but what we can see is the oil slowly rise up to the same temperature as the coolant but taking a full 15 minutes of driving steady to get there even though the coolant got up to temp in about 5 minutes.

The time will be slower during stop and go I would think
 
There are far too many variables for someone to be able to quote X number of miles before the oil is warm. Oil viscosity, oil sump size, coolant capacity, engine size, turbo or GDI, driving habits, driving terrain, highway vs city miles, storage temp, ambient temp, altitude, AC use, just to name a few.
 
A data point: 1992 Taurus 3.8L V6. I changed the oil myself, so I carefully planned the task after a long 'warm-up' in the winter. Outside temp: 18F. I drove 20 miles, cold-soaked for 2 hours while at an appointment, and then drove 20 miles home on the interstate and directly onto the ramps in my garage. The heater was 'ON' the entire way, of course, and heated powerfully. Engine Temp gauge had risen slowly to Normal, as expected. Oil was draining within 3 minutes of shut-down. The oil was just barely warm! In the summer, the oil in this car was always very hot in a similar routine. At the time, I thought that the cold air at 70MPH flowing across the sheet-metal oil pan (oil pan hung rather low in this car) prevented normal heating of the oil. Overall, no issues - the oil was not thick, and I let it drain a long time to .... make me feel better!
 
While driving to work on the hiway the coolant temp warms up pretty quick. Watching the oil pressure gauge I can see that the oil temp becomes steady about 20 minutes into the drive @70mph
 
A related question is how hot is hot? and where do you measure the temperature? That's why you don't see any definitive answers for your question.

Oil is an insulator and because of that resists heating when cool, and resists cooling when hot, so in a properly warmed engine will tend to reach an equilibrium temperature.

Still, it is heated by the main bearings, and cooled by the oil filter / cooler (if equipped) before entering the sump again. Your oil is circulating a suprisingly numerous number of cycles per minute; again it's engine specific but don't be surprised to learn that your 5 quarts circulates through the motor 10 times a minute, for example.

The measured temperature will vary depending on where, exactly, the temperature is taken. The sump will be cooler than a passage in the block, for example. So you can't expect some number to be useful to your specific vehicle; instead do your own recording of temperatures under various conditions and get a feel for what is "right" that way.

Many vehicles come factory-equipped with a water/oil intercooler, where the oil is heated by the coolant when the engine is cold started and moderated (not quite cooled, but kept "regular") when hot. Generally that will stabilize the oil temperature somewhat.
 
Originally Posted By: GRWOil
I've seen this topic discussed a lot of BITOG, but never really seen a consensus answer. .


Ask 20 people and it's likely you'll get at least 19 different opinions.
 
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I once owned a car with an oil pressure gauge. It typically took about 20 miles to stabilize after a cold start, meaning the temperature took that long too.

Water doesn't "burn off," and neither does fuel contamination in your oil---I hope.
 
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