Or should I just start her up and drive?
Just wondering if I should warm up my car a little before driving her. I know turbo cars are supposed to run a while and let the oil pressure drop before driving.

What about blown cars? I live in Delaware where it can get pretty cold.
I'd be interested in any opinions you may have on the subject

------------------
91 Formula
305 TPI 5speed
1LE/G92/WS6

Paxton SN93, SLP airfoil, ported/polished plenum, March pulleys, Crane AFPR(43psi),Crane Gold 1.6rrs,MSD coil,MSD6AL, Holley 9mm wires, fastchip, Bosch O2sensor, Bosch in-line pump(w/stock pump), SLP headers & catback,short shifter,3:73s w/Auburn posi,170* t-stat,JET 195* fan switch, Macewen white face gauges, Autometer gauges, Zoom hi-performance clutch.

[This message has been edited by theformula (edited February 15, 2001).]

 

No. Only do this if your car is carbureted, and that is only to help prevent the car from stalling while driving on colder mornings. I heard from somewhere, dunno where, that it is bad for the engine over time. Driving the vehicle warms it up faster than idling in a driveway.

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--Steve S--
1984 Trans Am 305 LG4, 5 speed
Daily Driver, Flowmaster 80 Series

 

I would recommend warming up the car, especially when it is cold out. Make sure the car has adequate oil pressure, give the oil time to get flowing throughout the engine. Also, when your engine is cold, it is struggling to keep running, so the computer makes the fuel mixture very rich. I don't think that warming it up by driving it is a good idea because you are putting a load on the engine, it may warm it up faster but I think the no load condition is better. Just my $.02

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Shaun
92 B4C 350TPI
AFPR, Underdrive Pulleys, Hypertech Thermomaster, Dynomax Cat-back, K&N's, Airfoil, Ported Plenumhttp://www.angelfire.com/wi/lhelm99

 

I have always been told to never just start up a car and drive, the oil needs time to circulate thru the engine.

 

My neighbor does this all the time in his Acura Legend, Start it up, Reverse and go full throtle all with in about 5 seconds of staring it up. I told him it is bad for the engine. Well, now he has a massive oil leak and it doesn't run for crap. All in about 11 months.

My dad always told me to never do that to a car, ESPECIALLY if it cold out (30 or below) He machines cam shafts for Cummins Diesel and my father in law used to be an engineer. I said the same thing, then he got all into how a cast iron block can't be stressed that way or it wont last. I trust these guys, they know their stuff.

SO...should you start up and go, go ahead. But I would say no, if you want your car to last a long time. AT LEAST let it run about 30 seconds. Give the oil a chance to move around. If you are that last to be somewhere, don't take it out on your car and then try to make it up on the road.

 

i remember hearing that 30 seconds is all you need to wait, then drive. just dont smash down the gas or anything.

 

I've seen a bunch of people where I live just fire it up and take off like a jet whether it's 80 outside or 20 (F). Hell, they practically have it in gear before the engine turns over, and the result is that they all have cars that sound like thrash machines. If you want a car to be a complete POS eventually, abuse it like these people do.

My old man used to have a fullsize chevy P/U with the inline six. He let it warm up for 10-15 minutes every morning depending on how cold it was outside. Kept it for 25 years and over 200,000 miles with no engine trouble whatsoever and the damned thing would still burn rubber and didn't smoke when he got rid of it for a new one. Letting them warm up gradually gives a chance for the oil to circulate and reduces thermal stresses on engine parts. It doesn't matter if it's got a carb or FI, it's still the same engine and parts you're warming up.

 

I let all of mine warm up to at least 100* (F) before I leave the driveway.

 

Put it real simple. There is an optimum operating temperature, correct? I'm not sure what the optimum range is, but I know it's not cold. Usually around 180* or so. If everything worked better when the engine was cold, the cooling systems would be very aggresive in keeping the temp low. Fact is that as things heat up, the oil loosens up as well as everything else. Runs smoother, more effecient and longer.

It's very logical to warm the engine up before driving. If warming the car up while driving, better do it slowly. Sure you'll save yourself a few minutes everyday, but if you're concerned about your car, go outside a few minutes earlier.

As far as idling being bad for an engine, it can be...if your engine is a 2 stroke, gasoline or deisel or mixture. 2 strokes don't appreciate setting at idle for long periods of time. They usually will have a lot of junk blown out of the exhaust afterwards.

However our lovely 4 stroke engines are more effecient at removing all of the spent charges.

 

The 30 seconds I see above IMO is fine.

I have a friend who literally drives the living crap outa his car (5.0 GT) and it now has 360,000 miles on it. The most that has been done to the engine was valve cover gaskets, one was leaking a little. He never let his car warm up... explain that.
Another friend would let his cars warm up every morning. One he bought new, and it didnt even last 100,000 miles under his light foot. He never drives cars hard... explain that.
Both of them take good care of their cars otherwise, maintenance and everything.

I think people try to attribute warming up an engine to service life. I dont think so. The oil needs to be something other than a gel, and it needs to be up to pressure. Beyond that, all letting it sit there and idle is doing is build up carbon. Less carbon will be built up driving it at a steady speed rather than at idle, where just about every car tends to run rich.

Anyway, thats my .02

 

Warm it up.

I like getting in a warm car on a cold morning.

 

I prefer to let mine warm up until I see the temp gauge off its peg. That takes anywhere from just a few sec to 3 min depending on how cold it is. Letting it warm all the way up to operating temp IMHO is excessive, and wasteful; but revving or loading it when it's too cold is destructive because the oil pump can't pump parafin through filters, passages and bearings.

------------------
"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

in the summer time i just wate bout a minute or untill my car dosnt want to die(damn holleys) and take it easy untill it getts up to 180 or so

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when the green flag drops the bull$hit stops

Curent: 350,performer RPM intake ,650dp, 700r4, headers, 3inch exhast
Spring 01: 406, Comp 282 solid cam, 2400 stall converter, every thing else the same.

 

I like to wait from 30 seconds on a warm engine to 90 seconds on stone cold motor. This if fuel injection. With carbs, I was like RB and give it up to 3 minutes as carbs like a little heat. Beyond that, I am in agreement with RB that you are just wasting gas.

In fact, on a stone cold motor, after 90 seconds with FI, it actually warms up faster by driving slowly with a light to moderate load on the engine. But I don't believe that you should "get on it" until the engine is fully warmed. That is a sure fire way to shorten your engine's life, especially in a colder climate.

I normally agree with Madmax, but I have seen more people get short engine lifes (generally rings and bearings), that just fire up a stone cold motor and get on it.

BTW, the 30 second (warm) and 90 second (cold) were per my original owners manual for my car.

 

I think warm-ups are one of the reasons why FI engines last significantly longer. It's not so much on engines with pre-heater tubes for the cars as it is for us running open element aircleaners. The whole fact that you take a dead cold engine, then start it up and rev it to 2000 - 2500 for 3 -4 minutes under a terribly high rich condition (gas then enters and pollutes the oil but is needed to prevent a lean conditions at times, but you can't be out there adjusting the choke plate daily).If you think about it, there is an offset. The only reason I could see why you would want your car to warm up to operating temp is so the metal would expand and fill the gaps, however, the cold motor oil is thicker and fills it itself. I'm still thinking of implementing a block warmer because of the cold morning start-ups.

------------------
1984 WS6 Trans Am Hartop
Former L69 Car under restoration
1984 Trans Am T-tops
4-bolt main 350, performer intake, headers, Holley 650, T-5, hayes clutch, dual elec. fans and 3.23's.
Daily driver and restoration
13.98 @ 101

 

on your fuel injection yes, maybe 1 minute or so just enough to get the juices flowing but, if tis carbed they need to warm up for about 3 or 4 minutes if your engine is really hot and also carbed let it warm-up for about 5 or 6 minutes i let mine for about 2 minutes usally!

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1989 firebird formula

Mods: converted from T.B.I. to a carburator 305 to a 350. Flowmater exhaust,hedman shortie hedders,202 160 (882) heads,.447/.447 lift 222@.050 duration speed pro 327/350hp cam 350 .40 over (356) edlebrock performer rpm intake and a 600 edlebrock manual choke (1405) Proform H.O. distributor

Future mods comp extreme energy roller cam, world products sportsman 2 heads, msd 6al ignition, billet distributor, blaster 2 coil and a 406 engine is in the works soon!!!!

 

Ok, I too, have read the following, and I am trying to find the bloody reference, but that is kind of hard considering the volume of books I own.
On FI cars you can start the car, warm it up for a fwew seconds intil the oil pressure gets up and off you go. The reason for this was that in FI cars the mfg.s designed the cold start cycle with gobs of fuel that will wash the oil right off the cylinder walls. That being said, anyone know how long it takes 10W30 to flow in 30ºF temps throughout the engine? For that matter anyone know how long it takes the oil to coat the cylinder walls, or... Aw hell, I'll let someone else play Devil's advocate.

------------------
"Perfection is a trifle dull. It is not the least of life’s ironies that this, which we all aim at, is better not quite achieved."

-W. Somerset Maugham

 

I would definitly let your car warm up before driving it.
Call me crazy but I can feel a huge difference in the car when you let it warm up for at least 5 minutes rather than starting it and takling off. I agree with a bunch of people also on the fact that it puts a bigger load on the engine when it is cold.
Do yourself a favor and let that badboy warm up for a few minutes.

Later bud,

John

 

I warm mine up when I start it. I usually wait for the first stage of choke to disengage before taking off, though on colder days, it usually makes it down below the second stage (an even lower idle) before I leave. As for FI, I've heard from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes, but since I'm no engine expert, I'll leave that to you guys!

 

In butt-cold weather I let it go until the closed-loop rpm drop but if I'm in a hurry I give it few seconds and keep the rpms low for awhile. Even in summer I let it go 5 or 10 seconds before taking off.

------------------
Base: 89 Iroc-Z LB9 auto 2.73 posi
Exh: 3" Dynomax muffler, 3" Pipe in place of cat
Ign: GMPP 8MM wires, Accel cap&rotor, AC Plugs
Fuel: Cleaned and flow-matched injectors, afpr, !air pump&diverter valve
Sound: Clarion deck, Kicker speakers and amps
Suspension/Drivetrain: KYB Shocks, TPIS Struts, BMR Strut Tower Brace
Misc: TB Bypass, All synthetics, Flexlite Transmission cooler
On the way: homemade 51.5mm tb and ported intake parts,
3-4 upshift valve, acc. spring, etc.

"You say turn that volume down? Well all I gotta say to you is NO, no no no no...
I want to Rock - ROCK - I want to Rock - ROCK - I want to Rock with you..."

 

I let me rpms drop also...i usually warm up the car anywhere from 5-10 minutes. I was always told to wait till the car drops to a normal idle, so that what i do, unless im in a hurry, then i only let it warm up for a minute or so. Call me crazy i guess.

 

Iuse 0-30 Mobil-1 in my CT cars in the WINTER and let them run for about a minute before driving. Helps a lot to use any synthetic in the Winter. Ever set a quart of synth and a quart of non-synth outside overnight and wait for a5 degree am and pour them out at the same time??? you'll never use convertional oil in the Winter again!!! It's like ketchup, at best whereas the Mobil1 flows like water.

 

...Not in any of MY cars, you won't!

I'm in agreement with RB. I like to see the coolant temperature rise off the cold peg before the engine gets any load. And until the oil pressure and temperature stabilize, I try to keep the loads as light as possible. Once the coolant is warm and the transmission and rear axle have had a chance to get warm and wet, I start putting dents in the floor.


Then maybe I should get a better car, like a Honda Accord, so I can floor it before I let go of the key. Then I'd have something really nice, right?

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Later,
Vader
------------------
"No matter how hard you try you can't stop us now..."
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

[This message has been edited by Vader (edited February 18, 2001).]

 

LOL! Right, just like the clunkers all these hippies drive around here, most of the cars not a day over 5-8 years old and already beaters .

 

Interesting responses, thanks for the replys guys. Well for the 5 years I've owned my car, I've NEVER had any problems with the engine.

For 5 years, I've just started my car up and drove. No warm up time. I take it VERY easy until the car reaches full operating temperature. I never take it past 2500RPMS until the engine is 170degrees. The car is now around 11 years old. I'm the second owner. The first owner was a 50 year old lady who changed the oil VERY VERY infrequently. It was filthy when I got my 1LE.

My car now has 101,000 miles on it (mostly city). I live in temperatures that get as low as 10degrees some winter days. All those 101k miles had no engine warm up time before driving . Absolutely no engine problems to date. It's a daily driver and runs beautifully.

Oh yea, I have a 10lb supercharger too


------------------
91 Formula
305 TPI 5speed
1LE/G92/WS6

Paxton SN92, SLP airfoil, ported/polished plenum, March pulleys, Crane AFPR(43psi),Crane Gold 1.6rrs,MSD coil,MSD6AL,MSD boost-master,Holley 9mm wires, custom fastchip,Ford SVO 24# injectors,Bosch O2sensor, Bosch in-line pump(w/stock pump), SLP 1 5/8" headers,SLP catback,short shifter,3:73s w/Auburn posi,170* t-stat,JET 195* fan switch, Macewen white face gauges, Autometer gauges, Zoom hi-performance clutch.



[This message has been edited by theformula (edited February 18, 2001).]

 

I'd say keeping your rev's below 2500RPM for so long played the entire part in your success story.

 

I agree.

 

Vader,

About 100 years ago, when I worked for an Oldsmobile dealer, it was evident that about 1 out of every 200 new car buyers used the following method for "warming up" their cars:

Hop in drivers seat, insert key, pump gas pedal (they were carbed back then), and rotate key to "start" with the gas pedal mashed to the floor.

They would then rev these poor, ice-cold motors to valve float, leaving the pedal mashed with absolutely no mercy at all. All the time with a stupid grin on the face, whilst playing with makeup or chatting with friends.

I witnessed two ladies puke the guts out of Olds valvetrains when they picked up their cars after service and used the above Nevada-lake, area 51 test site rocket science method of warming up a motor.

Hey Marge, do you hear a funny sound ???

Yeah, that's the sound of our service writer ringing up the register with another CE block sold. Putz meisters.


BOR

 

here's another 2 cents: got an '89 305 TPI, have to wait 5 minutes before i go (in winter) or else it'll buck and run like absolute crap for the first 2 minutes of driving. that makes me a strong advocate of warming ANY car up.