To idle at start up, or not?

[MrRPM]

Originally Posted By: TFB1
Mine's gonna idle long enough to at least make a little heat, if the engine doesn't like it there's another one where it came from...


right? most care about being comfortable, not their engines or the environment. Most people wont own a car long enough to have engine problems from cold idling. Heck my boss who is elderly who recently had a heart attack uses his remote start to warm his car with the heater already set for a solid 10-20 mins depending on how cold it is and how he is feeling. Its a 2010 model and really he will pass before the car blows up but really even then if he lived forever he would rather do that and buy a new engine every 50k then be cold.

me personally only idle for 30 seconds to a minute as i settle myself in the vehicle and set my stuff inside.

 

[garlicbreadman]

For cold starts, i always always idle for at least 30 seconds. The engine just runs better after you let it settle down a bit from a cold start.

Warm starts, 5-10 seconds.

Then just gently drive it until your car reaches normal operating temperatures

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: Ken2
Don't idle to warm up except in frigid weather. Drive away slowly as soon as it'll drive smoothly.

Idling to warm up just wastes gas as well as puking up the air more than necessary. It is better for the engine, your comfort, and the air we breath to put an electric heater in the engine for prewarming.




Yeah when it`s real cold out all bets are off. it gets idled some then.

 

[jdawg89]

Yeah, it does get that cold. I'm up in the mtns. This winter was kinda mild, coldest I saw was -32.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: jdawg89
Yeah, it does get that cold. I'm up in the mtns. This winter was kinda mild, coldest I saw was -32.



Our winters for the past 10 years (or more) have not been at all what they consider normal. I remember when I was growing up around here, we used to get snow like crazy. Not any more, just this stupid coating to an inch junk that we could all do with out.

 

[jdawg89]

Woke up to 15 degrees and 3" of snow this morning.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: jdawg89
Woke up to 15 degrees and 3" of snow this morning.


Man it`s already hitting the 80s here. I`d love to have some more cooler weather (dreading summer the a/c bill!).

 

[Brons2]

Originally Posted By: 71Chevyguy
Have you tried the OEM filter in that Kia? They do a pretty good job keeping noise levels down.


Yes, that's all I use.

 

[Virtuoso]

I idle only long enough to defrost the windshield.

 

[demarpaint]

This has been discussed several times before. I let my tach tell me when to take off. When it hits about 1,000 rpm I take off. I don't like the idea of burning a clutch up when an engine is idling too fast, and I don't like putting an automatic transmission into Drive or Reverse if the engine is racing. Opinions vary.

 

[hattaresguy]

If its that cold in the winter where you live use a block heater.

 

[Cubey]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
This has been discussed several times before. I let my tach tell me when to take off. When it hits about 1,000 rpm I take off. I don't like the idea of burning a clutch up when an engine is idling too fast, and I don't like putting an automatic transmission into Drive or Reverse if the engine is racing. Opinions vary.


Much like my vacuum gauge. Once it warms up enough that the vacuum becomes stable I take off. Usually 1-2 mins but we're talking carburetor and no computer.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: Cubey
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
This has been discussed several times before. I let my tach tell me when to take off. When it hits about 1,000 rpm I take off. I don't like the idea of burning a clutch up when an engine is idling too fast, and I don't like putting an automatic transmission into Drive or Reverse if the engine is racing. Opinions vary.


Much like my vacuum gauge. Once it warms up enough that the vacuum becomes stable I take off. Usually 1-2 mins but we're talking carburetor and no computer.


Just curious, is the motor home in your sig your daily driver?

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: KCJeep
Originally Posted By: Artem
I always suggest a maximum of 30 seconds of cold idle to get the oil flowing and then drive off gently, keeping the revs slightly lower then normal until the block warms up.



This, I idle just long enough to ensure the oil is flowing before I put any parts under load by driving, usually just 10 or 15 seconds.


Just so we are all on the same page, I understand that when your oil pressure light goes out, (should be 1 second or less in most cases) the oil is flowing. 10-15 is way more than needed. However most people use this time to put on their seatbelt etc, which is fair. I am probably 10-15 before I drive off too.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: SLCraig


Just so we are all on the same page, I understand that when your oil pressure light goes out, (should be 1 second or less in most cases) the oil is flowing. 10-15 is way more than needed. However most people use this time to put on their seatbelt etc, which is fair. I am probably 10-15 before I drive off too.


Oil may well be flowing but in the average OHV engine that lubricates the rockers by pushing oil up through the hollow pushrods, there probably won't be any oil present for 30 to 60 seconds when cold...

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: TFB1


Oil may well be flowing but in the average OHV engine that lubricates the rockers by pushing oil up through the hollow pushrods, there probably won't be any oil present for 30 to 60 seconds when cold...


It's doubtful that oil is lacking after that period of time in even below 0 temps. Not only that but residual oil coats those parts before shutdown and will be present upon start up which adds protection.

No reason to idle a car more than 30 seconds unless temps are below 0 F. The quicker you warm up the engine (run it above idle speeds forces oil into the engine quicker.) the better it is for lubrication. Bottom line is if possible you should start your engine and drive the car away as soon as practical.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Originally Posted By: TFB1


Oil may well be flowing but in the average OHV engine that lubricates the rockers by pushing oil up through the hollow pushrods, there probably won't be any oil present for 30 to 60 seconds when cold...


It's doubtful that oil is lacking after that period of time in even below 0 temps. Not only that but residual oil coats those parts before shutdown and will be present upon start up which adds protection.

No reason to idle a car more than 30 seconds unless temps are below 0 F. The quicker you warm up the engine (run it above idle speeds forces oil into the engine quicker.) the better it is for lubrication. Bottom line is if possible you should start your engine and drive the car away as soon as practical.


Then you've never run a cold engine without valve covers, I have many time and oil is always slow to to pump to the rockers when first started, even in fairly warm weather...

Maybe someone else that's actually observed this condition will chime in...

 

[Cubey]

Originally Posted By: lexus114
Just curious, is the motor home in your sig your daily driver?


Nah.. not really. I need to add my 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 to my sig. I ride that mostly. I get most of my groceries at stores a mile down the road from me. I get what will fit in the under seat storage and in the top case I added on. One day I made two trips. I went to one store, came home, and then went to the other to get the rest of what I needed.

That's also why I'm gonna be pulling the below pictured trailer behind my motorhome. I put a new 3500lb axle on it with 3500lb capacity leaf springs That's way over what I will be carrying in it, but it didn't cost much more vs a 2000lb setup. I bought it at night with a flashlight to see it and IO didn't realize it had no suspension. The axle was fixed to it! So I bought the parts and paid a guy to come down here and weld on the leaf spring hangers. $150 was much cheaper than a trailer shop quoted me for the same task. The welder guy ended up mounting the axle for me most of the way. I goofed up and only bought one set of u-bolts so I had him do as much as he could. I went back later and torqued the buts and added the other u-bolts. The photo below is when it had the old axle still.

It suits my needs very well and it's very well built (home made).

I like the raised mesh sides so it provides a little bit more some security than a rail side one. Plus, if the scooter decides to fall over at 65mph due to a bad strap, it won't end up in a thousand pieces on the highway. Plus it has a drop ramp tailgate that can accept 3" long shackle padlocks on either side to lock it up.

I am slowly painting it black with gloss spray paint. Picking up a few cans here and there. It makes it look a lot better than the color shown below.

Anyhow... I do drive the van some days to the city north of me (about 35-45 miles round trip depending where I go) but I save that for rainy days, days I may be driving home at night, or days I need to bring home large items or more than I can carry on the scooter.

At current gas prices around here ($3.50-3.60) it costs about $15-16 for 4 gallons of gas in the van. The scooter takes about half 0.5-0.6 gallon so under $2 round trip.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: TFB1


Then you've never run a cold engine without valve covers, I have many time and oil is always slow to to pump to the rockers when first started, even in fairly warm weather...


With today's modern oils there isn't much of a problem. Even if what you claim WAS true, the reduction in forced oil pressure when idling compared to at higher RPMs is worse for that engine in cold weather. Again I mentioned that oil is still present on those parts after shutdown and this will protect them fine during start up anyhow.

Generally in cold weather the lower the idle the more time it takes to get the oil to critical places it needs to be. The higher the revs the quicker the oil will warm up and start flowing well too.