Do you warm up?

[Pauly]

Hi guys and gals,

Just did a quick search but couldnt find any threads on warming up the car before you drive.
I was just wondering if you let your euro warm up before you drive it?? If so for how long??

Every time i start the euro i wait until the tempreture gauge needle is a bit above the bottom white line before i take off.. This takes approx 2 minutes as the needle starts well below the white line.

Also by doing this are there any benefits, such as preventing engine wear.

[akina]

i just wait until my revs drop a little bit.

[EuroDude]

If you keep the revs near the idle speed (around 1500rpm-2000rpm) then its ok to drive off straight away, but its still better to warm the engine up completely before driving off.

The most damage is done when you rev the engine high when its cold.

[Bo0o0ost]

I agree with EuroDude

Its always best to warm up and cool down any car but you have to take into consideration what kind of driving your going to be doing
If you drive normally and sensibly you can take off and turn it off when your finished straight away but when your thrashing it all through the rev range its always better to give the car a chance to come back down to normal temps regardless if the temperature increases or not.

[EuroDude]

It depends, I mean if you drive off straight away and go up a steep hill at low revs, you are putting excessive load on the engine which is virtually the same as revving it high.

If its a freezing cold 3c winter day, you should warm it up for at least a few minutes before driving off.

[Blitzen]

come'on... idling dosn't waste that much fuel...

please warm up, I read some scientific article telling us not to because environmental polution and necessity in question to mechanical damage, but I don't believe them, apparently the Canadian gov dose, and implementing laws to ban engine idling in the snowy alps...

look... you've only got to try it your self, I didn't warm up my dad's big bore V6 Prado and drove it off, and every time I apply throtle, I just feel bad to do such thing to it, the sound is not pleasent, and i'm sure - mechanically, it was not good for it

it's like excercise, you ever do it? you have to warm up first, orelse the next thing you tend to experience is injury

[Pauly]

The way i see it is, its better to wait 2 minutes and warm it up, then driving straight away and run the risk of having engine troubles later on.

2 minutes of idling is not going to cost you in petrol anywhere near as much as fixing your engine will cost.

[Exar Kun]

Everything I've ever read on this indicates that you do not let the car idle to warm up. The idle state of the engine is a compromise - it's much happier being driven under some load - that engineers are essentially forced to include in the engine. You should drive away pretty much straight away but keep revs and load low until the engine reaches normal operating temperature. It will warm the engine up much quicker which is better for it and better for your fuel bill too. :)

[JasonGilholme]

I agree with exar kun.

Just make sure you take it easy until its warm and you'll be fine. prolonged idling to warm the car up can cause glazing of the cylinder bores.

[tony1234]

I agree with exar kun.

Just make sure you take it easy until its warm and you'll be fine. prolonged idling to warm the car up can cause glazing of the cylinder bores.
Agreed.i idle my car for approx.15-20 seconds then slowly accelerate through the gears not taking it above 2.5k RPM until` the temp.gauge has risen 1/4-1/3 of the way from cold.7

[Chi]

Most new cars are recommended to drive straight away.

Just wait 10 mins or so or driving before you decide to floor it hard.

[SPQR]

I'm glad I don't have to waste petrol warming up at any time of the year.

[ACTI0NMAN-1]

Yes, i turn the acc on until the wideband o2 heats up 10sec, then i start and idle for 2min, then i drive.

[assailant]

the mrs only drives 1km to work.. so it wouldnt even be warm by the time it gets there.

i fear the replacement exhaust when this one rusts out :(

when i drive it, like most of you, i just drive like a nana until its warmed up.

[MMike]

Warming up your car is what foreplay is to sex imo.

I occasionally do, otherwise I do as previously stated re: driving it slowly etc.

[minix33]

I usually wait about a minute or so [just enough time to put the roof down and put bags away and chuck plates on the car =D] If you have an info-meter, it is usually good to run the car when it is around 40 degrees

[55EXX]

i give it bout 30 secs so the engine get oil pressure then i let the fit valve do the throttle for me. roll down my hill and outta my street. done it for years won't change doing it for any reason.

i reckon just drive it soft for the first 5 mins nothing past 1/4 throttle and 3-4krevs

[mclovin]

as the above, 20secs to gain oil presure then drive off. its way more efficient to drive and warm the engine up faster. all you really need to worry about is getting oil up to the head then ur right.

[xntrik]

I let my revs drop to 900 before driving. (5-10minutes)
By then my car's warm.
Still drive it slow cause im a turtle.

[Limbo]

i've let all my cars warm up before driving.
Can tell you i've never had a problem with any of the cars. ALso i've noted that the car drives alot better when it is warmed up before driving.

At worst i let it idle for 30sec, but normally about 2min - 5min, once the temp goes up then i drive and do not floor until the temp reaches the half-way mark

[z3lda]

the mrs only drives 1km to work.. so it wouldnt even be warm by the time it gets there.

i fear the replacement exhaust when this one rusts out :(

when i drive it, like most of you, i just drive like a nana until its warmed up.


i win, i drive 500 metres to work. literally.

turn on car and im out of the drive way in under 10 secs then 1min later im at my destination.

[Elwood]

I agree with exar kun.

Just make sure you take it easy until its warm and you'll be fine. prolonged idling to warm the car up can cause glazing of the cylinder bores.

:thumbsup:

Unburnt fuel and oil residue, too.


win, i drive 500 metres to work. literally.

turn on car and im out of the drive way in under 10 secs then 1min later im at my destination.

Why don't you walk to work?

[z3lda]

:thumbsup:

Unburnt fuel and oil residue, too.



Why don't you walk to work?

driving takes less than 2 mins, walking will take 10mins.

extra 8mins to sleep in haha

[minix33]

^ the man is smart.
+ walking requires energy
so you wake up earlier so you get less sleep [8 minutes in the morning feels like an hour] and then you spend more energy walking
why not drive and gain energy as well as conserve it =p

[dc2dc2dc2]

+ his already skinny
he doesn't want to lose any more weight.

[philBo]

i win, i drive 500 metres to work. literally.

turn on car and im out of the drive way in under 10 secs then 1min later im at my destination.

you mean like less than 1 min? you just practically go one block!!! laziness..

btw yer i warm my car up for a lil bit, not that long though. maybe 10-20 seconds max...i just like doing it, besides it gives me oppourtunity to tie my shoe laces in the morning. LOL

[mrwillz]

i do a bit of stretching

[jas_kidd32]

So if it is more sensible to drive the car "lightly" to let the engine warm up for a couple of minutes, then what is considered driving it hard? For example, I have to rev my car to 4000rpm on a cold morning just so I can engage 2nd gear smoothly. Either that or let it warm up for 2mins or so.

I know most of you have heard of the 2nd gear notchiness on the Integra's.

[TheGoodDeal]

Let do quick calculation for Idling 10min every day to see how much will cost you per year

* 10 min Idling consume 0.5 L of pettrol (From Trips Display of Holden Vectra show 3 L /hour when warm up Idling)
* 365 days/ per year
* $1.40 / L of petrol

Cost ~= 3 / 60 * 10 * 365 * 1.40 = $255.50 per year

[hondajazz2005]

good calculation you have there !! btw, i did warm my car... :P

[TheGoodDeal]

This topic has been post up many times. Here is one of them if you interesting to read http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72499

[mrwillz]

So if it is more sensible to drive the car "lightly" to let the engine warm up for a couple of minutes, then what is considered driving it hard? For example, I have to rev my car to 4000rpm on a cold morning just so I can engage 2nd gear smoothly. Either that or let it warm up for 2mins or so.

I know most of you have heard of the 2nd gear notchiness on the Integra's.

i try keep the revs as low as possible when cold starting and drive off

[omgzilla]

Just wasting fuel letting it warm up. Drive away normally but do not push it until it's up to temperature and everything will be fine and you will be doing your part to prevent unnecessary use of fuel.

Here here!

An engine is pretty much at its most inefficient at idle. The way I see it is if you're just sitting there letting it idle you're wasting fuel. I believe that it's better to start driving straight away (again, not pushing it) and the engine will reach optimal operating temperature sooner.

I do however, tend to let it cool down for a minute or so after a 'spirited' driving session.

[minhkore]

my car doesnt have an engine, so it cant be warmed up nor cooled down =) . But it has 4 wheels =) guess what it is ;)

[sassy_fit_vtit]

err warm uP.. i take it easy until the temp goes up, which means the end of my street

[TECBOY]

it takes about 20 seconds for oil pressure reach optimum and about 5 misn for your car to warm up to proper operating temp.
If u can, its well worth the wait.

[Crapdaz]

yeh, i dont bother idling the car unless it is fully freezing.
drive the car without accelerating too much or in simple words sensible driving until needle gauge is up to standard temp range.