350xcloud

How long do you warm up your engine?

1. 1 - 30 seconds
2. 30 seconds - 2 mins
3. 2-4 mins
4. Never

I've been getting mixed answers from everyone, and I just wanted to know what you guys thought. Most of the people say 30 seconds to a min, but can anyone tell me the optimal time to warm-up.

zxsaint

I watch the tach. The ECU is programmed to rev higher to warmup the engine -- this itself varies with temperature ... once it drops under 1k and gets stable its ready. Although I go easy on her for the first 10 mins of driving.

If the weather is really warm/hot then I've noticed the tach will drop much faster, therefore I don't wait for warmup as long.

In cases where i'm going to need some power (freeway less than a block away from parking spot). I'll let her warmup a little longer.

erock

I do a burn out right after I start the car in the morning.......



















J/P..... ~ 30 secs for me then drive pretty easy for a few minutes..

navy-z

Since it has been cooler (30s, 40s), I've noticed that the temperature reaches normal but the oil pressure reads higher than normal (between 90 and 120 psi). So I tend to let it warm up a little longer that I did when it was warmer (ignite and go).

I did put in Mobil 1 in the fall, but I thought that would make pressures lower under most situations.

s9am_me

iTrader: (1)

usually just warm up when my idle gets down to about 1.25 rpms. thats about 30-45 secs. Then i shift around 2K-2800K until my coolant and oil temps raise to optimal operating temps. After that.... my avatar speaks for itself

John

iTrader: (17)

Warming up your car for more than 1 minute does more harm than good.

The fuel mixture on startup is super-rich... a lot condenses out on the cold cylinder walls, and the mixture would not fire if it were other wise. The condensed fuel drains past the rings into the crankcase, diluting the oil and, if it stays there, eventually breaking down to form an acid.

The longer you 'warm up' sitting idle, the longer the walls remain cold, up to about a minute. If you drive off as soon after 30 seconds or so, the engine will heat up faster, re-evaporating most of the fuel in a half hour or so of driving.
Since cold engine tolerances are not conducive to aggressive driving, just drive mellow until the temp gauge rises to normal.

The worst combination, though is a long warm-up followed by a brief drive. If you drive will be 20 mi. on the freeway, then the only downside to a long warmup is wasted gas and a lot of exhaust sitting around your house. There is no benefit.

So, the best solution is to let the car warm up for about 30 seconds, then drive it easy, keep it below 3000rpm or so until the motor is up to temperature.

AndyB

I read the same thing. If you just sit and idle it takes longer to warm up. The advice I read was just to start it, wait a few seconds for oil to get everywhere and the revs to drop a little, then drive a little light for the first 5-10 minutes.

I know the slow warm up is true on my truck. It can idle for 20 minutes with no heat, but after 5-10 minutes on the road at part throttle I got heat going.

Boomer

I warm mine for about 30 secs after startup, and then drive slowly until the temp dial moves off the cold mark. I usually don't exceed 3000rpm after that until its fully warmed up. No hard driving at all until fully warm. The smog regs have reduced the warmup time by a factor of about 3 and its best for the engine if you drive it right away to avoid sitting and idling for a long period, just don't rev it.

I thought I saw that you needed to let the car warm for 30 secs before driving, but it may have ben a pipe dream.

BriGuyMax

iTrader: (4)

Honestly even though I've heard that before, and in theory it could be true, people have not experienced accelerated engine wear or contamination of oil by warming up their motors for 5 mintues or more before driving.

We did a little experiment on maxima.org in which we had one group of guys who had remote starters and guys who started their car for more than a minute before driving, and then another group who started and idled for about 30 seconds or less before driving.

They all had their used oil analyzed at Blackstone Labs (oil experts) and the engine wear and contaminents indicated in pretty much everyones oil was nearly the same. The cars that were warmed up at idle did not show any more wear and in some cases showed LESS wear than the ones that weren't idled for any length of time.

The fact is the car is going to run rich after startup for nearly (slightly less if you drive) the same amount of time weither you idle or drive.

Now what is bad is driving very short distances and not allowing the car to ever warm up completely...it puts a lot more stress on the oil and contaminates and breaks it down much faster.

dr_gallup

I agree completely.

Boomer

I have a grocery store 2 blocks from my house and if I drive, I drive about 2 miles before I stop there to avoid cold start/shutoff in under 5 minutes. Its very hard on your car to drive a very short distance, shut it off before its warm, and then repeat it back to your home. My wife understands why I do it, so I take longer to go to the store close to us than one farther away.

Chase_Houston

I always let me engine/car warm up for a few minutes or at least until the temperature needle is in normal operating position.

But I've always done this, and probably always will.

What could it hurt. Not to mention I tend to drive a little fast and I feel its good to have the engine warm and lubricated before driving fast.

Just my 2cents.

Chase

dr_gallup

The tree huggers are the biggest group against this, the car manufactures seem to go along mainly to be politically correct. Excess idling delays the catalyst light off so you are in the highest pollution operating zone longer. Also you are wasting gas and creating excess pollution when ever the engine is idling.

One of the principal stratagies we will be seeing in the near future for decreased fuel consumption and emissions is vehicles that will shut themselves off whenever you are sitting still. The engine will self start when you hit the throttle. This was tried before but 12 volt starters aren't quite up to the job. 42 volt systems with integrated starter/alternators built into the flywheel will be required. Probably about 5 years off, some components are available now but the systems design is still lacking. Expect to see it in high end luxury cars and hybrid powertrains first where the 12 volt system is running out of gas so to speak.

mchapman

iTrader: (1)

I do this as well, you can feel the difference if you dont. Its interesting to hear all the different info on this topic though.

Has anybody asked the any Nissan guys what they think? Maybe Performacne Nissan?

Murray

Boomer

Bad for the environment, more pollutants make the air we breathe stink and another good one. Letting your car idle for more than a minute and as it heats up anything that isn't fire retardent can be set on fire by the cataytic convertor; leaves, dry grass, paper blown under the car. Could set off a pretty good-sized explosion if the fire gets to the gas tank.

Any idling for more than 30 seconds is unnessary, keep your car under 2-3000 rpm and it will warmup faster. When your temp indicator moves into the low range on your gauge, you can drive faster, but I wouldn't redline it. 2 or 3 more minutes, it will be completely warm, unless its below zero outside and into a headwind.

mchapman

iTrader: (1)

I guess we need that pastic bag that captures all the exhaust gases until the cats are at the right temp then passes it back through them, greatly reducing the amount of pollutants that go into the enviroment during the warm-up stage.

But your car is still greatly polluting during the warm up stage wether your driving or sitting there, because the cats arent 'warmed up'.

Well if Nissan isnt worried about it, I dont think we need to. Im sure it passes all regulations with flying colors. I think older cars are more of a problem.

Murray

Boomer

No, your car pollutes less driving away from startup because the cats start working, they don't have to be fully warmed up to retard pollutants. Driving at moderate revs pushes emissions through the system more easily. It is inherent in the emission system design. Older cars' emission systems are less efficient sure, but there's no need to hamper your new car's efficiency by idling it for long periods of time. Another pointed out the new designs being pursued shut the car down with no idling. Pushing the gas pedal restarts it and you're ready to go.

Unless its very hot or very cold, I avoid idling my car as much as I can. Long idling is not good for your engine unless your temp gauge goes into the red zone, then you let it idle to cool down. An example is mountain driving, going up a long, steep grade, your car can easily become overheated. The best thing to do is pull over if you can and just let it rest with all its fluids moving through each system. Most of the time it works fine, never shut off an engine abruptly when its overheated unless you've blown a hose or popped a coupling. Then you shut it down and open the hood for cooldown and repair.

mchapman

iTrader: (1)

Ok well i'll idle less.