warming up your engine?

[Brodie]

hay guys just a curious question!!

how important is it to warm your engine up before you start drivin? specially in winter.

my navs a diesel (dont know if it makes a difference of having to warm the enginge if is petrol or diesel)

bit of a silly question but just not to sure and would like t know cause im leavin for work early in the morning when its nice a chilly.

cheers for any replies

 

[Krankin]

You'll get many varied answers here,
but one fact is most engine wear occurs when its cold,
modern engine or not,
they still use oil for lube and still are made form the the same materials and are designed to run best when at operating temp.
You'll notice though as long as they have oil in the sump that engines will cop a lot of abuse and still have long lives.

I belong to the warm up before driving camp and as such will start the engine 5-10 mins before driving off to work at about 5:30 am..
( and thats even in the work car which i dont even own)
Spose I'm bit of an engine nut.
keep in mind though i"m getting around the -4 to 5deg C mornings during the winter,
and
within 1 minute of leaving home, I'm on the HWY 110klmh zone.

Also have a Drag racing/ engine building hobby/took up most of my life and money background,
in which you would NEVER run a cold engine and i mean it had to be at operating temp before a pass.

Like i said though youll get a shitload of answers and have to make your own mind up.

 

[the_bluester]

I am in the couple of minutes idling camp. I live on a 100kmh road so it is out the gate and straight up to speed. I don't quite do it on my work car but I do let it idle for at least 30 seconds or so and drive it very gently until it warms right up.

 

[Matt76]

Yeah the fact that krankin is only a minute from the 110km zone is an important one, I only live 5 minutes from work, and its all 50 or 60 zone, so I start the car while I am mucking around, buckling up etc, then drive off nice and slow and sort of idle down the street (well not really but probably only up to 1500rpm. I reckon its best to give it a gentle start than sit idling for ages.

Everyone's different though, we only get as low as 5 odd degrees here on a really cold morning. so its not that cold.

 

[ants_oz]

I don't work the engine hard until it is up to operating temperature.

By warming up the engine, you are doing nothing for your other running gear - which in my opinion is just as important.

My opinion (one of the many varied ones) is that the best thing you can do is drive your vehicle sensibly, not rev it hard, not let it lug either....once it's started, let it come to a smooth idle (which can take as little as a few seconds depending on ambient temperature) and off you go at a nice sedate pace, while ALL your running gear comes up to operating temperature.

Take my opinion or leave it as you see fit - I'm a qualified mechanic and have never had a vehicle of mine experience a failure related to premature wear characteristics of the driveline.

 

[Krankin]

Horses for courses,
I have to warm up engine prior to leaving as i cant sit on 60k out on the Hume Hwy with all the interstate trucks commimg down to Melb.

As for driveline, the manual has its input shaft spinning at engine speed thus warmming oil somewhat,
and the auto trans the same deal the input shaft, converter and oil pump are creating friction, thus heat,
as for the rest I've never seen a drivline failure in 28 years of driving, race engine building and drag racing or in the drag racing fraternity i belong to since the early eighties.
But then i'm not the average mechanic who just plays with everyday common cars.

 

[ants_oz]

You don't like anyone having a different opinion to you, do you Krankin.....

As you said in your original post - many opinions will be posted, and it's up to the individual to decide what is best for them. Of course, you can take it to heart and go against every person that disagrees with you, but that is your choice too.

Out of interest....a good friend of mine is not your average everyday mechanic either. He works for a little race team you might have heard of. They are called the Red Bull Formula One team. We did our apprenticeships together and keep in rather close contact.

But what escapes me is your logic about drag racing engines and everyday vehicle engines - the comparison between the two. The two are built to entirely different tolerances (as are formula one engines, which wont even rotate - they are completely locked up - until they are approaching operating temperature) and specifications. But then it's your logic, not mine - it doesn't have to make sense to me.

Anyway, my opinion is my opinion. Disagree with me if you like. Contradict me if you like. You only make yourself look foolish when you say on one post "you will get a sh*tload of answers...make up your own mind" and then take it upon yourself to try to belittle my experiences. You amuse me.

 

[Old.Tony]

I live in the middle of suburbia, it's a slow drive for some 10 minutes before you can find an 80km/h zone and at 50-60km/h even driving gently, by the time I reach those areas the car is up to temp.

I tend to start mine and warm it up for about a minute before moving off slowly. If I'm towing, I let it warm up for about 5 minutes while I go over the whole rig to make sure it's all hooked up, lights are working etc before moving off.

I find that my engine temperature doesn't rise very quickly when stationary, I have to get moving and work the diesel to get the temp up - so rather than waste fuel doing nothing, I just gently take it out onto the road and don't push it until it's warm.

I would have to do things differently if I was living at Krankin's place, with a freeway just outside it'd be a pain - I'd definitely warm it up longer then, and still not push it too hard for the first few km until the drive train was warm.

I'm not a mechanic, although I do understand the basics, like which way you should bolt in seat belt anchors to bull bars and what kind of oil to put in your rear view mirror.

 

[Krankin]

You don't like anyone having a different opinion to you, do you Krankin.....

As you said in your original post - many opinions will be posted, and it's up to the individual to decide what is best for them. Of course, you can take it to heart and go against every person that disagrees with you, but that is your choice too.

Out of interest....a good friend of mine is not your average everyday mechanic either. He works for a little race team you might have heard of. They are called the Red Bull Formula One team. We did our apprenticeships together and keep in rather close contact.

But what escapes me is your logic about drag racing engines and everyday vehicle engines - the comparison between the two. The two are built to entirely different tolerances (as are formula one engines, which wont even rotate - they are completely locked up - until they are approaching operating temperature) and specifications. But then it's your logic, not mine - it doesn't have to make sense to me.

Anyway, my opinion is my opinion. Disagree with me if you like. Contradict me if you like. You only make yourself look foolish when you say on one post "you will get a sh*tload of answers...make up your own mind" and then take it upon yourself to try to belittle my experiences. You amuse me.

Well not at all.
It seems you are not liking other opinons.
Im not telling anyone how to do what, just experience.

But then no more posts..."God has Spoken"

 

[ants_oz]

Well not at all.
It seems you are not liking other opinons.
Im not telling anyone how to do what, just experience.

But then no more posts..."God has Spoken"

When did I criticize you Krankin, except in response to an obvious shot? Well...obvious to me anyway....

Enough from me anyway.

 

[jayk]

gday anthony, do red bull realy treat mark webber and vettel equaly?

james

 

[Leprechaun]

I like the idea of just driving nice and gently for the first few minutes too, My feeling is with the modern lubricants, and the high quality tolerances and material of the modern motor car, the warming up period isn't so critical.

I won't demand anyone to take my advice. I'll leave the FIGJAM to others.

 

[heata]

My mechanical knowledge is zero. I warm up the d22 to let the heater warm up! I figure it can only help the engine. It seems logical that its better to drive with a warm engine. Besides, when else would you get to use the you-beaut fast idle switch???

 

[Leprechaun]

While this threads name dropping, I once had Kylie Minogue lying on top on me.
The story goes.
I was walking through Dimmeys Harris Scarfe in Melbourne back in the late 80's, I turned around a corner and was bowled over by Kylie running flat chat straight into me, ended up sprawled on the ground with Miss Minogue staring straight into my eyes. She leapt up with out a word of sorry and took off again. This was back in the days when she was on Neighbours. No one believed me at school on Monday but I swear it is true.

It's being my greatest story to spruik to the boys at the pub.

Now back on topic!! LOL

 

[tweak'e]

I find that my engine temperature doesn't rise very quickly when stationary, I have to get moving and work the diesel to get the temp up - so rather than waste fuel doing nothing, I just gently take it out onto the road and don't push it until it's warm.

thats it in a nut shell.

diesels run cold at idle so it takes ages to warm up. to get them to warm up you need to be able to poor fuel in. you can only do that when your driving.

as per the handbook, just leave i idle for 30sec or so. just ot get oil around everywhere before driving. anything more is just wasting fuel.

only tip for really cold weather, is to leave it idle for a little bit then turn engine off. that lets the heat soak through the motor and it usually starts easier and runs better the 2nd time.

 

[KraftyPg]

I live in the middle of suburbia, it's a slow drive for some 10 minutes before you can find an 80km/h zone and at 50-60km/h even driving gently, by the time I reach those areas the car is up to temp.

I tend to start mine and warm it up for about a minute before moving off slowly. If I'm towing, I let it warm up for about 5 minutes while I go over the whole rig to make sure it's all hooked up, lights are working etc before moving off.

I find that my engine temperature doesn't rise very quickly when stationary, I have to get moving and work the diesel to get the temp up - so rather than waste fuel doing nothing, I just gently take it out onto the road and don't push it until it's warm.

I would have to do things differently if I was living at Krankin's place, with a freeway just outside it'd be a pain - I'd definitely warm it up longer then, and still not push it too hard for the first few km until the drive train was warm.

I'm not a mechanic, although I do understand the basics, like which way you should bolt in seat belt anchors to bull bars and what kind of oil to put in your rear view mirror.

While I subscribe to a similar theory I'm now a bit more worried about my rear view mirror oil. I must be missing the temp gauge for that one (and scangauge doesn't have it I'm sure) so how do I know if that oil is up to temperature before I over use the rear view mirror? Dammit Tony you've got me too scared to use my rear view mirror now, I'm never going to look behind me just in case it's not up to temperature.

 

[Dion]

She leapt up with out a word of sorry and took off again.

What a rude b****

 

[sypher]

What Id give to have Kylie lay on top of me!......

Shaun

 

[Brodie]

ok then thanks for the feedback fellas!! i normally let it warm up for a minute or so at the end of my drive way then take it easy for a bit till she warms up. sure i get tailgated but meh, life goes on

 

[DVR]

I like the idea of just driving nice and gently for the first few minutes too, My feeling is with the modern lubricants, and the high quality tolerances and material of the modern motor car, the warming up period isn't so critical.

I won't demand anyone to take my advice. I'll leave the FIGJAM to others.

What he said!