Let the truck warm up?

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I've always thought on cold mornings 32 and below let your gas truck warm up for 10 or 15 minutes before driving. Some people tell me it's not good to idle that long but some people tell me it is good for your truck. Good to let the oil warm up a bit before driving or no? Trying to see what the general consensus is?
 
I start my (anything) clean windshield if needed, put on seat belt, figure out what I want listen to. By now the "it" has idled down. Put it in gear and drive moderately for 4-5 miles. Once the oil temp hits 105° and water temp is now at least 180°, set the cruise and go. I'm only 5 miles from a interstate so when I get on it cruise goes to 75MPH.
That's what I do.
cheers3.gif
 
For the first start of the day, Above freezing, 30 seconds to a minute. Below freezing I add another minute. If the windows are iced up then that has to be taken care of first.
 
I would suspect the extra fuel burned by idling the vehicle for 10-15 minutes on each cold startup would be more expensive than any additional wear and tear caused to the engine by putting it in gear and driving gently (after the revs drop from high idle). With that said, I like fog and frost-free windows when I'm driving, so I let my vehicles warm up. It seems whenever I've skipped a warmup in the winter, I've ended up pulling over a block away to deal with foggy windows.
 
Trouble is...the oil doesn't warm up at idle. Start up the vehicle, buckle up, tune in your songs/news as desired and drive off with mild throttle & revs for the first 5 miles or so.
Modern DI engines are especially going to put an end to the myth: It is better to "warm up" this way. Sounds like death by fuel dilution to me.
 
I've never let a vehicle warm up any longer than it took me to scrape the frost, assuming there was frost. If there wasn't then I was rolling within 10 seconds of turning the key. I've been doing that for 40 years now and have never had an engine problem of any sort.
 
I would worry about idling a DI engine to warm up. Potential dumping of fuel in the oil. A minute or so or until you can see out the windshield, then drive.
 
Originally Posted by oldhp
I start my (anything) clean windshield if needed, put on seat belt, figure out what I want listen to. By now the "it" has idled down. Put it in gear and drive moderately for 4-5 miles. Once the oil temp hits 105° and water temp is now at least 180°, set the cruise and go. I'm only 5 miles from a interstate so when I get on it cruise goes to 75MPH.
That's what I do.
cheers3.gif



This is close to the "ideal" that I've heard from knowledgeable sources on this forum and others, and pretty much what I do, too.

I let mine warm 30 seconds, then go but keep it under 2k and very gentle until the water temp is swinging towards normal (getting close to 180F). Minimizes the fuel dilution, which can be quite pronounced in the cold (and which also maximizes wear since the fuel is washing the lube off the walls), and maximizes warm-up speed.
 
Originally Posted by Oro_O


This is close to the "ideal" that I've heard from knowledgeable sources on this forum and others, and pretty much what I do, too.

I let mine warm 30 seconds, then go but keep it under 2k and very gentle until the water temp is swinging towards normal (getting close to 180F). Minimizes the fuel dilution, which can be quite pronounced in the cold (and which also maximizes wear since the fuel is washing the lube off the walls), and maximizes warm-up speed.



Bingo! Correct answer.
 
In cold climates if I was concerned enough to allow for a 10 minute warm up, I would simply have a block heater installed. You not only will save gas and wear over time, but the engine is warm enough to drive as soon as it starts.

Out here it is of no concern. I start up, and as soon as it comes off high idle, I'm in gear and on my way.
 
I start the engine, when the tach gets to about 1,000 rpm I start driving. That could take 30 seconds to about 2 minutes depending on how cold it is. I drive nice and easy until the engine reaches normal operating temperature.
 
Hot summer day I never let the cars warm up
On cold month . I let it warm up for a min or 2 .

The key is to drive easy and slow for first few miles until the car fully warm up . That all
 
I never have cared and never will care about what might be best or better for any component of a vehicle. I'll let it idle for hours if need be for my comfort and convenience which is why it was purchased to begin with.
 
Originally Posted by Dragon44
I've always thought on cold mornings 32 and below let your gas truck warm up for 10 or 15 minutes before driving. Some people tell me it's not good to idle that long but some people tell me it is good for your truck. Good to let the oil warm up a bit before driving or no? Trying to see what the general consensus is?

I never warm up the engine. After starting, let idle for a half minute and drive off. Idling will add extra wear, load up oil with more contaminants and waste fuel.
Besides, only a "candya$$" has to have a warm comfy seat.
 
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Originally Posted by AC1DD
Originally Posted by Oro_O


This is close to the "ideal" that I've heard from knowledgeable sources on this forum and others, and pretty much what I do, too.

I let mine warm 30 seconds, then go but keep it under 2k and very gentle until the water temp is swinging towards normal (getting close to 180F). Minimizes the fuel dilution, which can be quite pronounced in the cold (and which also maximizes wear since the fuel is washing the lube off the walls), and maximizes warm-up speed.



Bingo! Correct answer.



I agree ^^^^^^


Strangely enough in the past 5 years my area has seen near 0°F or in fact below 0°F temps in those wintees... Interesting how long it takes the water temp to come up to normal in temperatures that cold .. Versus say temperatures in the upper 10s and low 20s... It is a very noticeable difference in time it takes.

Coldest temperature I observed was -7°F just want of Richmond... That was the coldest my area has seen since January 1985... I put gas in my car at -5°F near the Rte 249 exit and I was like wow... This is quite chilly.
lol.gif

Deep snow and moonlight night and no winds... Are obviously optimum for best thermal drop in temperatures. Same was true in January 20-21, 1985.. . My area had 7 inches of fresh fallen snow, a massive Arctic front had come through that Sunday am at around 2-3 in the morning... I got up at 430 really excited to see if it was finally snowing.. saw a bit of snow on the leaves near the Beech tree with the outdoor light shining on it. Ran downstairs turned the back light on near the living room... Sure enough it was snowing pretty good. Ran up the steps checked the temperature and it was 28 degrees... So I knew we were good to go. Snowed all day... Not super hard... Just pretty good at times. Temp was 19 degrees by 10 am. Temp was 9°F by 230 pm... I was outside at around 530 pm and it was 0°F... Even though I was in 3rd grade I knew it was exceptionally cold in my area... Went inside to watch the start of the Super Bowl between the 49ers (17-1) and Miami Dolphins (16-2)... 49ers dominated after the 2nd quarter in a 38-16 win. Got up the next am and had to ask my mom how cold it was when Dad had left for work... It had dropped all the way to -15°F... The coldest nights in my region's recorded history.
 
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I've never let a modern vehicle sit around and "warm up" even on the rare occasion when the temperatures are in the 30s. Just get in, open the garage door, put on the seat belt, start it, put it in gear and drive away.
 
I use synthetic oil in winter. Van is parked outside and uses a block heater on a timer to warm up quicker.

Two mins is usually the max unless I need to remove snow.
 
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