How long do you wait before you drive?!

[eLtrix]

I was just curious.... How long do you guys let your engine idle on first start up before you start driving your car? a minute or two? or even longer??

What are the effects of starting and driving straight away and starting then waiting a while???

:confused::confused:

[FAITHLESS]

15-30 secs

[sensei_]

i dont idle, but i dont go all out on the pedal either. for the first 5 mins its usually easy going. once i see the temp reaching normal operating i will resume normal driving.

[2MPRS]

I wait like a few minute before I start driving but even then I baby it because the gearbox is still cold.

[ceekay101]

Ideally the engine should be 70 degree's plus for abit of spirited driving. Which without an oil temp gauge is hard to judge. Apparently idling the car to warm it up is worse than babying the car. I normally baby it till it warms up. I just wait atleast till the coolant is showing warm, then give it a few more minutes and its probably as hot as it will get while babying it.

[Jasemas]

Wait about two minutes at a 6am start (5 days a week) just idling and then drive by babying it... Then after a few more minutes (at temp) ill drive normally
Gearbox is too cold to be doing 0-60 in 5 secs when cold lol

[Latino CRX]

just chill and relax in bed press a button car starts .. go to sleep for 30 mins
then press the button again .. go take a slash and off and i go ;)

[joeyybruh]

I wait 2 - 3 mins till it gets a decent warm .. facebook a little and head off :)

[EKVTIR-T]

Some interesting theorys above..


Its not advised to warm up or idle a car before driving away,just dont rev the hell out of it until its at operating temp.

Even the owners manual tells you do not sit there idling to warm up engine

[bennjamin]

Some interesting theorys above..


Its not advised to warm up or idle a car before driving away,just dont rev the hell out of it until its at operating temp.

Even the owners manual tells you do not sit there idling to warm up engine

Agree.
Lets define "warm up" - this means reach optimum operating temperature - this will take 10-15mins if the car is stationary from a dead cold start - longer if its a cold morning.
This is not recommended and should be avoided.
But , most people (common sense) should imply by "warming up" - is to sit for a minute , then drive off with no major load on the engine until optimal temp. is reached.

[curtis265]

start the engine, select a song, drive off.. so no more than 20sec. then drive gently so everything warms up at the same time.

I like to avoid that cold engine rich mixture fuel wash.

[Jasemas]

I'd like to wait for the oil pressure to build up a bit...As well as got to the head - Just a couple of minutes
As i'm running 20w-50 - bit thick lol

[charliebrown]

i gotta hit vtec to get out of my street in the morning cos too much traffic. what should i do? cuz if warm up den needle high but gbok temp not high

[curtis265]

charliebrown, i'd suggest installing a dyno in your garage so that you can run the engine gently for a while.

[trism]

Common topic. Lots of threads already.

Do a search.

In short, idling more than 30seconds is bad.

[sensei_]

i gotta hit vtec to get out of my street in the morning cos too much traffic. what should i do? cuz if warm up den needle high but gbok temp not high

if it is what im picturing, then shouldnt be a problem because you have to wait for a gap, so your doing just fine idling and waiting.

[Fredoops]

Common topic. Lots of threads already.

Do a search.

In short, idling more than 30seconds is bad.
*Disclaimer? for Fuel injected engines only, carbies follow the regular warm up process

[ctx]

Hmm..I guess similar along the lines, but if I may hijack this thread for a bit. I only use my car every few days; is it good to warm it up for a few minutes after I haven't used it for 2-3 days?

[xclusive_eg8]

Usually start, get hose to get rid of dew. And drive, so about 1 min max. And before turning car off leave it idling for about 30 sec.

[HondaTurboVtec]

I wait like a few minute before I start driving but even then I baby it because the gearbox is still cold.

^ exactly right!

[Indie]

I don't know why people still idle their cars. As someone else said, even the owner's manual advises against it. I certainly don't rev my car for the first, say, ten minutes of driving, but I don't sit there for minutes at a time idling. I've not had anybody knowledgeable advise me to, but several advise me not to.

[Fredoops]

^^^^ some people still drive around in carbie EG's tho.

[bennjamin]

I don't know why people still idle their cars. As someone else said, even the owner's manual advises against it. I certainly don't rev my car for the first, say, ten minutes of driving, but I don't sit there for minutes at a time idling. I've not had anybody knowledgeable advise me to, but several advise me not to.

We all (on average) here are doing basically the same thing - start, let sit for a bit then go.

The term "idling" seems to be thrown around , and should be followed by "....for more than a minute or so..." to imply overly idling , or that which the workshop manual and many smart people suggest against !

[DakDak]

I did a search on google.

The main problem with letting your car idle too long seems to be the fuel consumption?
I let my car warm up for 1 min before driving everyday, might chop that to 20 sec now.

[mocchi]

i gotta hit vtec to get out of my street in the morning cos too much traffic. what should i do? cuz if warm up den needle high but gbok temp not high

hey bro, install turbine hurricane intake and performance chip so you can vtec at lower revs
killester hotties snappin necks at bus stop

[Raztaz]

hey bro, install turbine hurricane intake and performance chip so you can vtec at lower revs
killester hotties snappin necks at bus stop

lol this

[eLtrix]

hey bro, install turbine hurricane intake and performance chip so you can vtec at lower revs
killester hotties snappin necks at bus stop

Good thing i live across killester baby :D


I personally wait about 30seconds to a minute depending if i can be bothered waiting at all, then i drive off like a baby until the temp gauge goes to where it belong then i drive like normal.

[aaronng]

Start engine, wait 30 seconds. Drive off gently. Drive sedately like an old nanny while keeping throttle low and engine revs between 2000 and 3000 rpm, never lugging the engine. Once the temperature needle hits the warm mark (just before the middle), I wait an additional equal amount of time before I start using full throttle.

Using an oil temperature gauge, I only hit it once the gauge reads 80 ºC.

[xenonkuraz]

I use remote start and leave it for about 7 mins before I hop in for a nice warm engine...

[EKVTIR-T]

I use remote start and leave it for about 7 mins before I hop in for a nice warm engine...
Do you go through lots of sparkplugs?

[xenonkuraz]

never had a problem, i have an uber spark system

[PHO]

never had a problem, i have an uber spark system

Allspark system
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20071229155626/transformers/images/e/e4/Allspark_movie.jpg

[xenonkuraz]

yeah man how'd u know? i got bumblebee to resize it for me, compactness

[PHO]

fuarrrrrk, gib me some of these connections you has

[blaze92]

As per before, even the workshop manual says not to let it sit and idle. The idea is to get the engine to heat up as fast as possible (but not trashing it) since engines need to be at a certain temp to be efficient and use less fuel

[FAITHLESS]

I don't understand how this thread is still active. You let your car idle for 15-30 secs to get the fluids moving and baby it until the gearbox and engine is warm. It's incredibly simple and only takes common sense. Anyone who does otherwise and thinks this is good is an idiot.

[dougie_504]

Don't idle it. Just drive gently, rev to 2,500-3,000 max while cold.

[mocchi]

lol drive gently
love me tender bra
love me true ay
all my dreams come true
straya kunt

1 min idle is good, no wot, no rev above 4k ay

[Indie]

Okay, for those who idle their cars for 1 minute or more, please tell me what you believe the benefit to be.

[curtis265]

why is this thread still going

[xenonkuraz]

Okay, for those who idle their cars for 1 minute or more, please tell me what you believe the benefit to be.

its not about the benefits

I just enjoy being able to get in and drive it at operating temp.

[EKVTIR-T]

its not about the benefits

I just enjoy being able to get in and drive it at operating temp.
This is why I asked you about your plugs,I dont think you understand some of the points made so far



Excessive idling can actually damage your engine components, including cylinders, spark plugs, and exhaust systems.
An idling engine is not operating at its peak temperature, which means that fuel does not undergo complete combustion.
This leaves fuel residue that can condense on cylinder walls, where they can contaminate the oil and damage parts of the engine.
For example, fuel residues are often deposited on spark plugs. As you spend more time idling, the average temperature of the spark plug drops.
This makes the plug get dirty more quickly, which increases fuel consumption by 4 to 5 %.
Excessive idling also lets water condense in the vehicle’s exhaust, leading to corrosion and a reduction of the life of your exhaust system.

[mocchi]

idle more than 1 minute is more jdm bro
you dont understand

[Evok]

No time to idle when your late for work in the mornings.

[migoreng]

Not long.. 30 secs or so...take it easy on the throttle for up to 10 mins and don't rev past the mid rpm range..

[PHO]

1 min idle is good, no wot, no rev above 4k ay

wot if toda vtak killer cams from adrian tuned by adrian

need to rev to 5krpm to have enough talk to get moving.

dat 11krpm redline