I've read in some places that modern cars don't really benefit from "warming the engine up" before you take off, but I've also read in other places (including here) that you should let it sit for a bit before taking it out.

What's the concensus here? Should I warm it up before I take it out of my garage, or just drive easy until it's warm?

Thanks!

 

you'd be better off warming up the car and then driving it...or if you dont have the time to warm it up...drive it easy...go under 3 1/2 k nothing more till the engine is warm.

 

I let it warm up a bit, for 2 reasons.

1. I want to make sure the oil is circulating well, and everything is well lubricated before running it up is RPM's.

2. The supercharger causes the engine to surge more then stock when it's cold.

 

Definantly get at least 2-3 bars on the temp gauge before you start driving. If you drive the car while the drivetrain is still super cold its hard to shift the trans and overall a little harder on all moving parts. just let all the fluids get warmed up a bit so there isnt any unneccesary wear on seals, rings, gears, etc.

not to mention, with my car, if you start driving right after you start it up its kinda jerky and the trans does not like being shifted.

 

Bah, I wish I could let the car get 3 bars in the 25-35 degree mornings we've been having lately! It takes over 5 minutes to get more than one bar while idling. I'm not used to this cold, and neither is my poor Civic

 

That's the problem. I don't necessarily want to spend an extra 5-10 minutes every time I get in my car during this cold weather, but I will if it's bad for my car otherwise...

 

Warm it up

 

If you spend at least 3-5 minutes, you'll be a-ok. Just take it easy and stay under 3k RPMs. It's a newer car, not an old Ford - remember that!

 

I let mine idle for about 30 secs to 1 minute and then take off. I shift at 2k rpms and put it into each gear very very easily.

Letting the car idle too long puts more stress on the engine/trans because they stay colder longer that way.

 

15 seconds is plenty. Drive it easy until it gets up to temp.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dREsTrUcTiON &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Letting the car idle too long puts more stress on the engine/trans because they stay colder longer that way.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I beg to differ man. The reason your car idles so high when it first starts up is because its trying to get up to normal operating temp before any moving parts/gears are fully engaged and moving at a higher RPM.

Everyones going to have their own little theory on this subject, just as it is with the whole break-in method, but the master tech in my service department says to let it warm up with a couple bars then start driving on it.

Whatever floats your boat though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by L-Dawg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That's the problem. I don't necessarily want to spend an extra 5-10 minutes every time I get in my car during this cold weather, but I will if it's bad for my car otherwise...</TD></TR></TABLE>

ALWAYS WAIT LOL your car's life depends on it

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by L-Dawg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That's the problem. I don't necessarily want to spend an extra 5-10 minutes every time I get in my car during this cold weather, but I will if it's bad for my car otherwise...</TD></TR></TABLE> u'd be dumb not to lol again its soo important to let it warm up , what is better leaveing early or shorting the life of your car just for not waiting 5 mins max????

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">15 seconds is plenty. Drive it easy until it gets up to temp.</TD></TR></TABLE>

no offense but i'd be suprise if your civic would last 1/2 the amount of time of mine would wtf 15 secs????? i dont even do that on my dad's 2000 expedition

ALWAYS WAIT always!!! .... i wonder how ur cars worked&gt;???? srry again no offense


Modified by gus738 at 8:49 PM 11/22/2006

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gus738 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

ALWAYS WAIT LOL your car's life depends on it

u'd be dumb not to lol again tis soo important to let it warm up , what is better leaveing earlly or shorting the life of your car just for not waiting 5 mins max????

no offense but i'd be suprise if your civic would last 1/2 the amount of time of mine would wtf 15 secs????? i dont even do that on my dad's 2000 expedition

ALWAYS WAIT always!!! .... i wonder how ur cars worked&gt;???? srry again no offense</TD></TR></TABLE>
wow man, go back to school and learn how to spell.

 

Just go buy a car starter then you can let it warm up while your doing whatever you do in the morning

 

i just usually let it go down to 1k rpm or 4 bars.

 

I just hold my revs at 2k for about 2 mins then take off... sometimes it gets a second bar, depending on how cold it is. I don't always have time to let it warm up well.

 

a fast way to warm up your car is to rev it at 8 RPM

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dREsTrUcTiON &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I let mine idle for about 30 secs to 1 minute and then take off. I shift at 2k rpms and put it into each gear very very easily.

Letting the car idle too long puts more stress on the engine/trans because they stay colder longer that way.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly right.

Letting your car sit and idle for 5-10 minutes is bad for the car. Your letting the car sit cold in a very slow warm up situation with low oil pressure and running very rich. The car will take 5 times as long to fully warm up and all that time your dumping fuel in the cylinder contaminating the oil.

The correct way to start a cold car is to let it idle for 30-60 seconds till you have full oil pressure then drive easy till the car is fully warm. This will get the engine warmer faster and will circulate the oil to all parts of the motor.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TRE_ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I beg to differ man. The reason your car idles so high when it first starts up is because its trying to get up to normal operating temp before any moving parts/gears are fully engaged and moving at a higher RPM.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Your car doesn't idle high to build heat in the transmission. The only way to build heat in a tranny is to actually move the internals which will never happen sitting at idle. You have to put the car in gear and start driving it to build up heat.

 

you'll get a build-up of sludge in your motor in the long run driving your car without warming it up. promotes long engine life from proper lubrication and longer oil life from something. it makes sense hopefully.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxmatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Your car doesn't idle high to build heat in the transmission. The only way to build heat in a tranny is to actually move the internals which will never happen sitting at idle. You have to put the car in gear and start driving it to build up heat.</TD></TR></TABLE>

matt, i wasn't inferring that allowing your car to warm up for a couple of minutes would aid in raising transmission heat(although i can see how it came across that way). obviously the only way to get the juices flowing/warmed in the trans is by getting things moving from driving,,, starting your car up and driving on it right away isn't always the best idea IMO.

i think a lot of it depends on your specific climate zone/conditions but either way i think that letting the motor warm up for a minute or two before initial driving is a good idea

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TRE_ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
i think a lot of it depends on your specific climate zone/conditions but either way i think that letting the motor warm up for a minute or two before initial driving is a good idea </TD></TR></TABLE>

True dat

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gus738 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> i wonder how ur cars worked&gt;???? srry again no offense


</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, my 5.0 Mustang had 200K miles on it the day I sold it, so no offense taken.

It only takes a few seconds for oil pressure to max out. Give it 15 seconds to get the oil through the motor, 30 if you're worried about it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Type-Ek &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">a fast way to warm up your car is to rev it at 8 RPM</TD></TR></TABLE>


OMG LMAO this is the dumbest thing i heard do you want to break your car?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gus738 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">OMG LMAO this is the dumbest thing i heard do you want to break your car?</TD></TR></TABLE>

You do understand the concept of irony right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MonkeyConQueso &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Bah, I wish I could let the car get 3 bars in the 25-35 degree mornings we've been having lately! It takes over 5 minutes to get more than one bar while idling. I'm not used to this cold, and neither is my poor Civic </TD></TR></TABLE>

Walk outside to car, unlock door, insert car key into ignition, turn, start car, walk back inside to get ready. Wait 5 minutes, voila, go to work