I've heard that older cars needed to be warmed up for minutes but that for newer cars 30 seconds or so is probably sufficient. My 1999 and 2006 cars are both garaged and in the morning they are warmed up for 30 seconds unless it's below freezing (like right now) and then they get 1 minute. However, when I leave from work after the vehicles have been exposed to the outside freezing temperatures for hours (I'm assuming that my garage is warmer)I warm them up for around 2 minutes. Is this overkill and is 30 seconds always sufficient or should they be warmed up even more?
warming up the car
- Thread starter Capa
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Modern fuel injected engines are greatly improved from the carburetor ones of yesteryear. I think your 30 seconds is plenty long enough in the OK cold especially if you can drive off steadily and not have to put a lot of demand on it right away.
The less time you warm it up in the winter, the less gas you'll use. If you're not hopping right onto the highway, just keep the rpms under 2000 and dont go into 4th or overdrive for 5 mins. You're doing much better than the morons who use their remort start then get in their car 20 mins later.
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what about this? i leave my 1990 honda civic outside over night, its been in the low teens a few nights, i'm using 5w30 high milage castrol. How long is too long to warm up? i usually let it run for about 10 minutes before leaving in the morning when its freezing out.
i guess what i'm really asking is how long does my car need to warm up when its freezing temps outside in the morning?
i guess what i'm really asking is how long does my car need to warm up when its freezing temps outside in the morning?
This is a highly arguable debate topic.
I'm a believer that lubricants do not lubricate properly until they hit their operating temperature.
With that said, I don't let it sit and idle for 20 minutes while I get ready in the morning but I do give a few minutes based on temperature outside.
I'm a believer that lubricants do not lubricate properly until they hit their operating temperature.
With that said, I don't let it sit and idle for 20 minutes while I get ready in the morning but I do give a few minutes based on temperature outside.
I think it has something to do with fuel washing the cylinders while letting it sit and idle like that on warm up. Getting it on the road quicky would probably get the temps up quicker and reduce the fuel wash.
My 88 needs a little more warm up time than the 93 and 08 need, especially on mornings like today. 17*F, was 10*F overnight, certainly not cold as in other parts of the US but cold enough to need about 2 minutes run time before taking off. In the 20 years between my vehicles there have been some major improvements. It is quiet obvious when hopping into and driving the 08.
Capa,
You are doing it right!!! Lighting the fire and driving off warms everything up together, i.e., transmission, axle, bearings, etc.. Also, your car will warm up faster with a load on it vs. sitting and idling.
Unless the choke was finely adjusted, many of the older cars with carburetors wouldn't take power until they ran for a few minutes ... maybe a lot of minutes ... before you could finally shift it into gear and drive off. And, if you had a manual transmission, you had to wait for that old molasses gear oil to thin out so you could shift gears!!
Modern cars ...no problem ... with fuel injection you should be able to start and drive off right away even on the very coldest day provided you don't have to de-ice the windows, etc..
Here's the controversy.... You should be able to light the fire and drive off right away even in really cold weather IF you are using a 0Wx or 5Wx oil. These oils pump and circulate very easily when cold so the engines' parts get lubricated right away. This is a good idea regardless of temperature... Some will argue that you need to wait till the oil warms and circulates before getting off. Not so.
I use either 0W or 5Wx oils year round. I just fire it up and drive off. A 65 mph highway is a long block away and I've no problems with jumping on it on a cold day ... even if the temp gauge is pegged at the bottom of the scale.
Stay warm!
You are doing it right!!! Lighting the fire and driving off warms everything up together, i.e., transmission, axle, bearings, etc.. Also, your car will warm up faster with a load on it vs. sitting and idling.
Unless the choke was finely adjusted, many of the older cars with carburetors wouldn't take power until they ran for a few minutes ... maybe a lot of minutes ... before you could finally shift it into gear and drive off. And, if you had a manual transmission, you had to wait for that old molasses gear oil to thin out so you could shift gears!!
Modern cars ...no problem ... with fuel injection you should be able to start and drive off right away even on the very coldest day provided you don't have to de-ice the windows, etc..
Here's the controversy.... You should be able to light the fire and drive off right away even in really cold weather IF you are using a 0Wx or 5Wx oil. These oils pump and circulate very easily when cold so the engines' parts get lubricated right away. This is a good idea regardless of temperature... Some will argue that you need to wait till the oil warms and circulates before getting off. Not so.
I use either 0W or 5Wx oils year round. I just fire it up and drive off. A 65 mph highway is a long block away and I've no problems with jumping on it on a cold day ... even if the temp gauge is pegged at the bottom of the scale.
Stay warm!
Originally Posted By: mjf6866
what about this? i leave my 1990 honda civic outside over night, its been in the low teens a few nights, i'm using 5w30 high milage castrol. How long is too long to warm up? i usually let it run for about 10 minutes before leaving in the morning when its freezing out.
i guess what i'm really asking is how long does my car need to warm up when its freezing temps outside in the morning?
As before, unless you need to defrost/deice the windows... fire and go! Drive gently until the temp gauge is just off the peg...
what about this? i leave my 1990 honda civic outside over night, its been in the low teens a few nights, i'm using 5w30 high milage castrol. How long is too long to warm up? i usually let it run for about 10 minutes before leaving in the morning when its freezing out.
i guess what i'm really asking is how long does my car need to warm up when its freezing temps outside in the morning?
As before, unless you need to defrost/deice the windows... fire and go! Drive gently until the temp gauge is just off the peg...
Originally Posted By: Silber Igel
Originally Posted By: mjf6866
what about this? i leave my 1990 honda civic outside over night, its been in the low teens a few nights, i'm using 5w30 high milage castrol. How long is too long to warm up? i usually let it run for about 10 minutes before leaving in the morning when its freezing out.
i guess what i'm really asking is how long does my car need to warm up when its freezing temps outside in the morning?
As before, unless you need to defrost/deice the windows... fire and go! Drive gently until the temp gauge is just off the peg...
thanks! this site answers so many of those questions i wonder about but dont know where to go to ask. i love it!
Originally Posted By: mjf6866
what about this? i leave my 1990 honda civic outside over night, its been in the low teens a few nights, i'm using 5w30 high milage castrol. How long is too long to warm up? i usually let it run for about 10 minutes before leaving in the morning when its freezing out.
i guess what i'm really asking is how long does my car need to warm up when its freezing temps outside in the morning?
As before, unless you need to defrost/deice the windows... fire and go! Drive gently until the temp gauge is just off the peg...
thanks! this site answers so many of those questions i wonder about but dont know where to go to ask. i love it!
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I'm glad I don't have a remote start, Arco.
My drive to work is 7 miles and 100% city and I'm not tempted to bury anyone at a stoplight until the 6th mile mark, and so the rpm's are kept under 2000. Also I've heard rumors that the GS400 will start from 3rd gear when cold.
My drive to work is 7 miles and 100% city and I'm not tempted to bury anyone at a stoplight until the 6th mile mark, and so the rpm's are kept under 2000. Also I've heard rumors that the GS400 will start from 3rd gear when cold.
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My Subaru has a "Coolant temperature indicator light" which always remains lit when the engine is started in cold weather...usually for a couple of miles. The manual states "Blue illumination indicates insufficient warming up of the engine and the light turns off when the engine is warmed up sufficiently."
Now I know there is a difference between oil and coolant temperatures but this is the first time I've seen such a light and believe me when I tell you it remains lit for quite a while (5+ minutes idling and around 2-3 miles driving). I am quite a firm believer that newer cars only need 15-30 seconds of run time before driving.
Now I know there is a difference between oil and coolant temperatures but this is the first time I've seen such a light and believe me when I tell you it remains lit for quite a while (5+ minutes idling and around 2-3 miles driving). I am quite a firm believer that newer cars only need 15-30 seconds of run time before driving.
Silber, thanks for the excellent and informative post. I currently have 0w30 in both vehicles and would only use that or the 5W stuff.
It sounds like most here are in favor of the 30 second warm-up for a newer car regardless of outside temperature. Now I guess my mpg will go up a little in the winter
It sounds like most here are in favor of the 30 second warm-up for a newer car regardless of outside temperature. Now I guess my mpg will go up a little in the winter
This topic comes up (it seems like) weekly here.
Personally, I prefer getting in cars that have some interior warming before I take off in the morning or after the car has sat for more than a couple of hours.
IMO, as long as your not on either extreme end of starting/driving or extended idling, it probably doesn't really make much of a difference.
It's just a matter of preference.
Personally, I prefer getting in cars that have some interior warming before I take off in the morning or after the car has sat for more than a couple of hours.
IMO, as long as your not on either extreme end of starting/driving or extended idling, it probably doesn't really make much of a difference.
It's just a matter of preference.
When we lived up north in Wisconsin years ago would substitute one quart of oil with a quart of MMO which helped get things going on those cold mornings/days.
@ that time 10W30 was the oil weight that most used. MMO made a big difference and would let the vehicle run just long enough to get the defroster working some.
@ that time 10W30 was the oil weight that most used. MMO made a big difference and would let the vehicle run just long enough to get the defroster working some.
for me its 15 seconds max and then I pull out of my driveway
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
You're doing much better than the morons who use their remort start then get in their car 20 mins later.
oh you mean the morons with kids, the people who kids' health is more important to them then any amount of gas could ever be...
yeah, what are they thinking....
You're doing much better than the morons who use their remort start then get in their car 20 mins later.
oh you mean the morons with kids, the people who kids' health is more important to them then any amount of gas could ever be...
yeah, what are they thinking....
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I had 2 recent starts with my 2007 V6 Honda Accord in -38 Degree weather (degrees C for the record, but it's pretty much the same in degrees F). That was after a night outside with a block heater plugged in. The seats were rock hard. Started well. I let it warm up for 5-10 minutes to clear the windows before driving.
My usual approach from an unheated garage on the coldest days is start, put on shoulder harness, back up, go. I don't romp on the throttle and I keep the revs quite low until the temp gauge is well off the pin. In very cold weather I double clutch for the first dozen shifts too.
My 1986 Volvo Turbo was doing fine after 18 1/2 years and 285,000 Km of this sort of approach.
Ecotourist
My usual approach from an unheated garage on the coldest days is start, put on shoulder harness, back up, go. I don't romp on the throttle and I keep the revs quite low until the temp gauge is well off the pin. In very cold weather I double clutch for the first dozen shifts too.
My 1986 Volvo Turbo was doing fine after 18 1/2 years and 285,000 Km of this sort of approach.
Ecotourist
As long as you use thin enough oil that it will pump in your temps, and a filter with an anti-drain-back valve, I don't see much reason to wait around.
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