How long do you let you car warm up?

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I was arguing with my dad earlier this evening.

I have an 03 civic, he has a 11 sonata.

He always lets the car warm up at least 2 minutes in winter and 30 seconds in the summer months.

I typically wait 30 seconds in winter, and maybe 10 seconds in summer. I don't drive it hard till its fully warmed up.

Odd because I'll always warm my Harley up before I go anywhere......


Has either way ever been proved to help engine or drive train longevity? Or is it all personal preference / wisetails....?
 
Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
As long as it takes me to get situated and put on my seatbelt.


+1 30 seconds if it's in the single digits.
 
My neighbors are real idiots. They have an '05 Mustang,'06 Denali,and a late '90s Dodge Ram.

It doesn't matter whether its 10° or 80°. They start them up and let them idle in the driveway for a minimum of 10 minutes before driving off.

I've seen them go 15-20 minutes more than once.
 
Until the rpm's go down. I don't wanna put my 3 into gear at 1500 rpm
 
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Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
My neighbors are real idiots. They have an '05 Mustang,'06 Denali,and a late '90s Dodge Ram.

It doesn't matter whether its 10° or 80°. They start them up and let them idle in the driveway for a minimum of 10 minutes before driving off.

I've seen them go 15-20 minutes more than once.


My dad does this on the really hot or cold days. He's worked out in the blistering heat (or cold, depending on the season) for his entire life. He deserves to hop into an ice cold (cozy warm) truck before heading off to work.

He changes his oil frequently enough, and couldn't care less about the added fuel costs.

Me, on the other hand, my drive to work is only 5-6 miles. I can usually see my breath for the majority of the trip.
 
Once the oil pressure has come up, I drive it easy until it's warmed up all the way, keeping rpm under 2000 until that time.
 
Originally Posted By: Josh48065
Until the rim's go down. I don't wanna put my 3 into gear at 1500 rpm


When cold my civic idles <1100rpm. 1500rpm would seem to shock the trans....
 
Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
Colt45ws said:
As long as it takes me to get situated and put on my seatbelt.

+1.....which is about 10 to 15 seconds.
When temps are below freezing.....I might let it go another 15 seconds....and drive it slowly until the engine warms up a bit (usually 5 to 10 minutes).
 
Originally Posted By: dja4260
Originally Posted By: Josh48065
Until the rim's go down. I don't wanna put my 3 into gear at 1500 rpm


When cold my civic idles div>


Yes it does. Also please excuse that stupid "rim" typo.. Dumb auto correct. Initially it goes up to 2000 at the first cold start in the mornings. Sure hope the previous owner didn't put it into gear at that those engine speeds.
 
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In the spring/summer/fall I just let the rpm's fall to 500 and take off.

Anything above 10*F but below 30*F usually about a 3-5 minute warm up in the drive way while I brush my teeth before work/class. When it drops below that especially in the -10 to -20* range I let it go for about 5-7 minutes which brings the temp needle just off the very bottom. Then 6 miles of 55mph driving to the expressway and it has usually reached full temperature by then for the acceleration onto the expressway. I like the car to be half way decently warm inside and the windows defrosted before I pull out into traffic.

I see it as more of a safety issue than anything, 95% of the time when I go out to my car in the winter every single window is glazed with ice/frost.
 
In the summer, just long enough for the rpms to drop from high idle(15 seconds or so) in the winter, depending if its during a blizard or extreme snow issue where i have do drive through deep drifts, ill let the f150 warm up for 5 minutes or so. normal winter 1 minutes or so via astrostart.

But during extreme temps(25-30 below with windchill) ill idle it for an extra minute, and its not uncommon for my father to leave his 5.9 diesel run all night on fast idle, and many of his tow trucks will run all night. this is also in extreme cold only
 
Don't for most of year . Just start and go .On those cold mornings will only let it warm up a few minutes if needed to get the frost / ice partially melted on the windows , hit with the wiper fluid , and then go .
 
With the cruze, when it's warm, I wait until I have buckled my seatbelts and the gauges have finished with their test sweep on startup. Waiting for RPMs to come down isn't feasible, because even when it's 80 degrees it can be up to a minute for the revs to come down from 1500RPM. (Pretty sure it's a PZEV thing, not really sure).
 
Only long enough to defrost the windshield; or clear the snow off the car. If that's not required, I wait until the RPMs have settled a bit and then get on with it... ten seconds maybe?
 
Originally Posted By: Scorch
I

I see it as more of a safety issue than anything, 95% of the time when I go out to my car in the winter every single window is glazed with ice/frost.


I forgot all about that. I DO allow the car to warm up if it's bitter cold out and I've got more than just a thin layer of frost on the windows.

Of course, you would think most people would either scrape their windows or allow their car to warm and defrost itself, but I've seen plenty of cars with inches of snow EVERY WHERE but a small port hole they scraped out on the driver's side of the windshield.
crazy2.gif
 
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Originally Posted By: odie
Don't for most of year . Just start and go .On those cold mornings will only let it warm up a few minutes if needed to get the frost / ice partially melted on the windows , hit with the wiper fluid , and then go .

Same here. When its gets into the 20s probably somewhere around a minute or less and that's mostly getting the frost off the window. Once the idle drops I'm gone.
 
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