Originally Posted By: zray
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
For many drivers the problem is not maximum oil temperature but too much driving at temperatures well below normal operating temperatures. For many drivers the oil change intervals should be determined by how much driving is done with less than normal oil temperature..........."
Absolutely. People are killing their oil and their engines by driving off before the engine has warmed sufficiently on these short trips. . While it's true that idling too long, by literal definition, is not the best way to warmup your engine, there is nothing wrong, and everything right, with modulating the throttle frequently until the engine is warmed before driving off. Especially if the trip is short,and the engine will not be warmed up enough otherwise by just the driving.
Z
So what constitutes "short trips" in winter? My Regal doesn't have an oil temp gauge or instrument readout. In the long long summers here, I'm sure my 9-12 mile commute, with about 5-6 miles at highway speeds, is enough to warm the oil. But what about the times, rare as they are, when the temps dip below freezing?
Last winter, when we had a spell of what (for here) was brutal below-32 cold, I would start the car at 6 am, let it idle for perhaps a minute, then take off. It's some two miles to the bridge at speeds under 45, then the bridge itself and the expressway it becomes at anywhere from 50-65. About 5 miles of that, then surface streets the rest of the way -- total 20-25 minutes if there are no traffic troubles. Is that a "short trip" in cold weather?