Warm up method

[3stagevtec]

What is the proper warm up method for your car's engine? Which one do you all use:

1) Just start em up and drive

or

2) Start it and let it idle for a while before driving

[JJ16]

i believe start up and leave for a lil while...so the oil cud lub the engine a lil bit...

one ting i know u DONT DO, is when u start up, alot of ppl do this...they REV....thats a NO NO..dont rev ur car cause remember it sitting dere all de time...the oil drip off...if u do that u cud end up in problems

[bleedingfreak]

Manufacturers insist that you can start and drive off immediately but I prefer to let vehicles warm up a couple minutes at least.

[eitech]

tru dat. let it warm up...bless da remote start...

[pimptacular]

agreed eitech bless remote start

[VWBaby]

What is the proper warm up method for your car's engine? Which one do you all use:

1) Just start em up and drive

or

2) Start it and let it idle for a while before driving

Normally I start and drive off if I am late and in a hurry, otherwise, I sit a few mins before driving off. I also do not rev the engine. Just let it idle for a few mins.

[Pointman-IA]

i start and let the temp guage build to half way.. i does have the a/c compressor off though.

[VWBaby]

i start and let the temp guage build to half way.. i does have the a/c compressor off though.

Yes, I do not turn on anything until the car is warmed up and I can tell because of the sound in the engine, then I drive off and then put on AC etc

[tropi_flakes]

so is it bad to warm up the car with the AC on

[VexXx Dogg]

i let the car idle for the time it takes to smoke a cig, then i go.

but i insist on idlng for a little while.
i also do not pull the car to redline until it has sufficiently warmed up (when the temp guage reaches it's normal mark.)

[larafan]

i does usually put ah candle under de car....or if rain falling and it real cold up here.....and flambo

[Dragsta]

i start and let the temp guage build to half way..

na no need to wait for it to build half way.....ah lil 1/4 mark good enough..by the time u change 2,3 gears it does raech half...

when start, abt 2/3 mins, iz good enough to drive(normall) not redline etc.

but i hear that when the engine iz cold, it burns more gas any1 know the facts about this.

[awesomeandre]

hmm ^^^ i would really like to hear this also

[thegtiman]

This is one of the reasons why OEMs spend a lot on cold start stratergies. I know this first hand.
I tend to start and drive at low revs and low load until oil temp is over 50degC or if the Coolant is over 70degC which in some cars would mean over "C". Then you can give it fully welly. The practice of leaving the car (wid de wata comin out de egguast) idling to warm up is not needed, wastes fuel, pollutes the enviroment. Make sure your cold start device is working and once you do not rag it it will be fine from cold. The negligable engine wear at least will pay for itself as you would have got your mileage worth.

[cinco]

the car should still start for at least a couple secs at least until the revs move down to the regular idle speed
agreed mans do spen time on cold starts which is why thermostats are necessary

[ZanRx8]

Actually warming up depends on the age of your car.

Alot of ppl gave good advice in reflection to what their experience have been.

older cars definetly need to be warm up in this manner
Dragsta,
na no need to wait for it to build half way.....ah lil 1/4 mark good enough..by the time u change 2,3 gears it does raech half...

when start, abt 2/3 mins, iz good enough to drive(normall) not redline etc

thegtiman,
newer car have a lot on cold start stratergies,

yes but what
cinco, said
the car should still start for at least a couple secs at least until the revs move down to the regular idle speed

so to sum it up when you first crank your Engine, your car revs at a higher RPM, wait till it gets to normal idle speed which takes a few seconds, before you drive off, donot rev your engine keep it at low rpms until your termostat reaches the normal temp reading then your able to accelerate and enjoy your engines sweet sound.
this would be the best scenerio for warming up the car that you have.

Hope this helps....

[thegtiman]

...so to sum it up when you first crank your Engine, your car revs at a higher RPM, wait till it gets to normal idle speed which takes a few seconds,

....

Manufactorers (OEMs) have always been trying to perfect the warm cycle of vehicles from the early days of manual chokes.
As said I have first hand experience of implementing these stratigies for you the consumer in the general export markets as well as other markets affected by very cold temperatures and by people who are too busy to wait for a car to "warm-up". So you can do exactly what you see in your owners manual. Millions of dollars are spent to ensure what you see in there is correct. Remember we not talking carburettor cars with a manualy choke that you may forget to pull on first start resulting in a lean out or hesitation.
The higher idle speed is important to fascilitate the extra fuel needed to mixed with more oxygen rich air and cool engine that does not support fuel atomisation. If you attempt to leave the motor on base idle settings it may run lumpy and even cut out when on the run. On start-up the motor will also have contracted parts which increases the load. These are some of the reasons for a fast idle. Most ECUs fast idle speeds are determined by you CLT sensor and your stepper/PWM idle motor (with the exception of heated bimetalic auxcillary air valves as seen on some old A31 RB motors.
Starting your car and leaving idling is doing nothing for the car, its engine or its MPGs. You can drive off straight away providing you do not rag it before the oil or coolant reaches 50degC oil or 70DegC coolant.

[VWBaby]

so is it bad to warm up the car with the AC on

I dont know but I would assume it will slow down the warming up process

[cinco]

its bad to start a car with the ac on if you switch it on after the car is started it is fine.
the sc puts more strain on the electrical system than the actual engine

[Anil_Sooknanan]

well the way they build car now is way diffrent from long ago what happens is that when the car is cold and being started the ecu has a wire connected to the start wire to let the ecu know that you are starting the car signaling it to take a reading from the coolant termperture sensor to know the temperture of the coolant in oder to set the acv (air control valve) to intake more air in doing this the pulse in the injector is widen and more gas is used ( this is why it uses more gas to warm up the engine) this is just like tipping the gas but the electronics in the car does it for you if this system is not working properly your car will never idle when starting on mornings also when it is warm and put on the ac the idle will drop a lot or maybe the car will cut off ......... and (yes) you can put on the ac when you start and yes you can drive your car as soon you start but as some one said only wen the oil light cut off and the rpm drops back down your safe thats why they keep upgrading technology to save time ....... and remember time is money

[Strugglerzinc]

its bad to start a car with the ac on if you switch it on after the car is started it is fine.
the sc puts more strain on the electrical system than the actual engine

true for older cars. the ac compressor is much more load for your starter to turn.
in most modern cars the ecu will turn on the compressor only after the engine has started.

[Zh@ne]

well the way they build car now is way diffrent from long ago what happens is that when the car is cold and being started the ecu has a wire connected to the start wire to let the ecu know that you are starting the car signaling it to take a reading from the coolant termperture sensor to know the temperture of the coolant in oder to set the acv (air control valve) to intake more air in doing this the pulse in the injector is widen and more gas is used ( this is why it uses more gas to warm up the engine) this is just like tipping the gas but the electronics in the car does it for you if this system is not working properly your car will never idle when starting on mornings also when it is warm and put on the ac the idle will drop a lot or maybe the car will cut off ......... and (yes) you can put on the ac when you start and yes you can drive your car as soon you start but as some one said only wen the oil light cut off and the rpm drops back down your safe thats why they keep upgrading technology to save time ....... and remember time is money

Nice didn't know that!

So if i may i would like some light shed on a this
I have heard that for the older cars and the older tyranny that u should move the shifter back and fort to get the tyranny oil going how true is this?

[eliteauto]

^^not sure about that so I'll leave that to those with more experience, but as per the original question it seems that it comes down to personal choice, if you've got the time, you allow it to warm up but start and drive is ok particularly in the newer cars

[Strugglerzinc]

^^^ only if you intend to check the tranny oil level. other than that i've never heard of that at startup.

[redsupra101]

meh
i warm up for a few mins when i can...

cuz vtec doesnt work when the engine is cold

[venum]

it makes sense to start and drive-off just don't overload the engine before the oil warms up sufficiently (first couple of minutes)

[cinco]

all this talk
but i am guessing most guys out there maintain their cars regularly with 10-50 oil? or some twin body oil which offers sufficient cold starting protection its not like everyday you bounce starter and take off racing

[thegtiman]

well the way they build car now is way diffrent from long ago what happens is that when the car is cold and being started the ecu has a wire connected to the start wire to let the ecu know that you are starting the car signaling it to take a reading from the coolant termperture sensor to know the temperture of the coolant in oder to set the acv (air control valve) to intake more air in doing this the pulse in the injector is widen and more gas is used ( this is why it uses more gas to warm up the engine) this is just like tipping the gas but the electronics in the car does it for you if this system is not working properly your car will never idle when starting on mornings also when it is warm and put on the ac the idle will drop a lot or maybe the car will cut off ......... and (yes) you can put on the ac when you start and yes you can drive your car as soon you start but as some one said only wen the oil light cut off and the rpm drops back down your safe thats why they keep upgrading technology to save time ....... and remember time is money

[3stagevtec]

The proper way to warm up your car is to begin driving immediately after startup and not letting it warm up through idling. no more than ~2500rpms should be used during warm up.

An engine under load (i.e. being driven) warms up drastically faster than one that is idled. Therefore the engine would spend less time running in its cold state. Remember that when your engine is cold, your oil does not lubricate the engine internals nearly as well as when it is hot.

Also, your coolant temperature gauge is not the same as your oil temperature gauge, so even when your coolant gauge reaches normal operating temp, your oil still has a way to go before it reaches optimum operating temperature.

[cinco]

ent
if you livin up here yuh coolant doh warm up until you drive almost a mile on some mornings especially when its nice an 0 degrees c