primer84z

how should the car be warmed up in the morning before driving? or does it have to be warmed up at all? i set the choke and crank it up and let it idle at about 16-1800 for about 4 or 5 mins then pump the gas and then roll out. but after i drive a while the idle hangs at like 1600 untill i pump the gas like the choke is still closed. how long does it take for the choke to fully open? what temperature should the engine be at before i take off for my daily commute?

MikeZ28

iTrader: (1)

i usually wait about 4-5 mins when i start it up in the morning when it idles between 1500 and 2000rpms. then after i pump gas goes to 1000 then i drive. my temp is always at like a 100 now in winter maybe 125 when i drive for 10 mins cause my fan runs all the time.

92RSFivePointSlow

unless you have headers or forged pistons, you really dont have to wait that long. The idea behind warming an engine up before hitting the road is to make sure everything expands evenly. Theoretically a factory engine with manifolds should only need half a minute warm up. I ignore all that and dont drive the car till it hits 140 degrees though. I do it out of preferance, not experiance. I've never blown a head gasket and have never cause any other damage due to lack of warm up, simply because i have never operated a machine that hasnt warmed up.
I used to race motocross, and I felt like throwing up when I see the guys warming up their brand new bikes by reving the innocent little motor to 12000rpm as soon as they kicked it. But I learned to deal with people doing this. I'd hate to have to do wind sprints after I've been woken up, too.

Mark A Shields

Hmm, I disagree with that, what does headers have to do with it?

I think the point of the engine warming up is more of an oil related issue, letting it circulate.

When possible, which is most of the time, I let it get up near 160* or so, then I'll drive it. It's nice to have the tranny fluid circulate as well.

92RSFivePointSlow

Ever have to replace a blown out passenger side header gasket, mark? They make it very difficult on our cars, I think just to tease us. How about ever have to replace a perfectly good set of headers because a mating surface is warped? Again, humiliating. This is why it's more important to let a car with headers warm up slowly. Since they are not a heavy chunk of iron, they have a tendancy to be more maluable and dont take well to heat changes. Also, for the guys with chrome and other raw metal finishes, your headers will discolor very quickly if you dont warm it up correctly. Look at EVERY harley davidson- the pipes are blue at the cylinder, then are gold, then eventually go to chrome. This can be avoided.

camaro6spd

it is a combo of both, he is right about the expansion of parts....think about it, if you have fordged pistons and you start it up and rev it adn drive it hard cold, they are gonna expand more then the cylinder, tolerances will get tighter and possible things will start to damage each other. But oil also need to get around the engine to protect it from itself, but oil starts to circulate almost at start up compared to warming up, just watch your PSI gauge this is also y i use Moble 1 5w-30 in the winter. I just let my TPI motor idle for 3 min or whatever, usally untill it is AT LEAST above 120, but even then i keep the r low, below 2000 and below half-throttle.

Mark A Shields

Wow, never realized that about headers, I never really had a gasket problem due to that though, I think it was because one of my bolts fell out. LOL

92RSFivePointSlow

thats because you let it get up near 160* or so, then you drive it.

Tongi

Well here in Montreal winters are pretty harsh.But usually i'm starting the car and start driving right away almost on idle.It warms up a lot quicker.And last year i read somewhere on this board that there's not much diffrence between driving and waitin if you'll be careful when driving it(low rpm is the key).So i'm doing just that.I don't have patience anyway.Once i sit on the drivers seat i have to drive the car.PLus you have to think that not only the engine has moving parts.So when i'm driving i'm warming up transmissions and drivetrain at the same time.When everything is warmed up you can feel it anyway and then the circus begins.

92RSFivePointSlow

perfect example of machinery, tongi. Your car is bone stock, his has headers and engine mods. Your warm up technique is fine for your car, but wouldnt be the best for him.
I have my modified car as well as a stock truck with a 350. I allow my car a few minutes to warm up, yet when I'm at school with the truck, I feel that a fast idle on the way out the parking lot is sufficient. It's got over 203000 miles on it and when my dad owned it he wasnt **** about warming things up either.
But considering where you live, wouldn you find it more helpful to start the car, turn the heat on, and go back inside for a few minutes where it's warm?

Kingtal0n

I heard the forged pistons need about a minute to warm up and expand before you put any load on the motor.... among other things...

There were like 4 reasons i was told this is important...(warm up)
#1 is the rings... i was told before the piston properly expands there is alot of blow-by because of the extra ring gap... (make sense?)
#2 is the actuall pistons themselves... before they expand they sort of rock in the bore.. (piston rock... heh) and putting load on a rocking piston isnt a good idea im told...
#3 is the tendancy for fuel to simply puddle under heavy load in a high performance ("racy") engine before reaching operating temps... The raw fuel will then complicate matters by destroying piston rings and eating pistons.. or somthing... I was told raw fuel has a negative effect on engine longevity when it reaches the cylinder without properly vaporizing...
#4 of course is oil. would you drive you car without oil? me either... And if you start up and go, (mainly older engines i suppose) the oil would not have completelly circulated and certain engine parts will wear quickly. One of the most common in a stock engine I was told, is the rockers. Stock non-roller rockers generate heat quickly without oil... and running the engine to 4-5K rpms before the oil has a chance to get through the pushrods can cause rocker failure...
(anyways) just thought i would share my slight enlightenment, and give insight so that I may better understand.. uh.. stuff... If im wrong about anything, correct me.
Im going mostly by what my machine shop dude and some books I read told me. I know everything I read/hear is not true however, so feel free to critisize my in-experience.

Viprklr

iTrader: (5)

having stock longblocks in all 4 of my cars......
When it's warm outside I let the car idle for 30 seconds.
If it's cold outside I'll let it idle for a minute.
My reason is only for oil circulation. Racing an engine dry is just asking for trouble.

83CAMAROMAN

think about it this way.....how many mornings can you jump out of bed and run a marathon....im talking jump out of bed and just run for 22 miles..........well your car doesnt like that either....give it a few minutes......let it wake up......so she wont be grouchy


yeah im really into cars

slow305

iTrader: (2)

I read the same thing a few years ago from those brothers who have a syndicated automotive column in newspapers (Click and Klack, I think). They said it's OK to just hop in and go -- just keep the RPMs low until it gets up into the normal range.

MdFormula350

well i wait about 2 minutes, before i move in the morning and i never ever go over 3,000 rpm untill warmed up to 220 completely.... once warmed up about 6 to 8 minutes of driving then i go at it espically if i am late for school or work..

Tongi

Ofcourse i'm not saying move right away.MY car usually starts idling around 2000 rpm.In 1 or 2 minutes it drops to 1500 rpm.That's when i start driving.

breathment

your car is gonna warm up quicker when u put a load on it (drive it)... u can let it just sit there and warm up, but then the only thing that is gonna be getting warmed up is ur engine.. you don't wanna wait 10 min for ur engien to be a norm operating temp. and then go out and do a huge burnout, cause ur tranny and rear end are still cold.. i usualy start it up, give it about a min or two. and start to drive it slowly to get everything warmed up evenly. its alot quicker and i don't waste as much time\gas as just sitting there.. plus i don't think my neighbors would enjoy the rumble of my car for 5 min every morning