Engine warm-up time

[GTIR]

I'm a firm believer in letting an engine warm up before driving off, and especially giving it some beans.
It seems bikers all let their engines warm up before riding off but I often see my neighbours, even in winter, jump in, start the engine and then they're off!

So, what do you do and why do you leave it idling or why do you not bother?

[kambites]

It's bad for modern engines to warm them up at idle - oil pressure is too low. Far better for the car to drive off straight away and warm the engine up under moderate load.

[Dave Hedgehog]

i follow the guidelines in the book, i dont let it idle stationary, but keep engine load low until the oil temp is at 60c and only give it beans when oil is 90c+

[Dangerous Dan]

Perhaps 1-2 minutes (max!) whilst I'm scraping the stuff off the windows.

It's better to drive and take it real gentle until warmed up. Plus, it'll warm up quicker as well.

[the_scorpion]

I jump in and drive.

[GTIR]

I've often read the "modern engines don't need to be warmed up" thing but I don't accept it.
Besides, it's not the engine but the oil surely?

Are these manufacturers guidelines on actual real world evidence or lab testing?

[Willy Nilly]

Once I've started it up, by the time I have minced about putting my seat belt on and fiddling with the radio I'm off. This warming up bks makes me laugh. Getting an engine warm ready to put it under full load or spanking it around the track is one thing, but a car, driven anything like legally on a public road is never going to need to go through a warm up cycle.

My bike doesn't register temperature below 25 degrees, I'm half a mile down the road before she starts showing temperature.

I will let the tractor idle if I know it is going to get given the beans straight away, but if not, just drive off gently.

[kambites]

We've not saying they don't need to be warmed up - we're saying it's BAD for them to warm them up at idle. You certainly shouldn't thrash a cold engine, but neither should you let it sit there idling.

[Dave Hedgehog]

GTIR said:

I've often read the "modern engines don't need to be warmed up" thing but I don't accept it.
Besides, it's not the engine but the oil surely?

Are these manufacturers guidelines on actual real world evidence or lab testing?

they just guess, after all they don't have a clue how the actual engine they spent 10s of millions developing actually works do they

Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Saturday 6th October 17:42

[jeremyc]

Remember there's a whole load of other (just as important) stuff you can warm up by driving off immediately: transmission, tyres, diff, brakes ...

Much better to get it all done at the same time.

[Si_steve]

I like to warm it up simply because of the turbo...same when I'm parking up, let the engine idle for a bit.

[otolith]

I am unsure whether the owner's manuals advise not idling because it is bad for the car or because it is bad for the environment. The RX-8 manual advised idling for (if I remember rightly) 30 seconds in very cold weather, but cautioned "(not in Germany)". In very cold weather I start the engine and allow it to idle while I defrost the car and ensure that the interior will not mist up once I start driving.

[DrTre]

GTIR said:

I've often read the "modern engines don't need to be warmed up" thing but I don't accept it.
Besides, it's not the engine but the oil surely?

Are these manufacturers guidelines on actual real world evidence or lab testing?

What are you meaning by warming up?
Leaving the car static?
Or moving off?

The oil warms up more quickly by getting the engine and gearbox moving but not placing them under massive load.

[GTIR]

I've owned my merc from new and I've always warmed it up for 2 mins before driving off. Without fail.

In the booklet it says "Do not warm the engine up while the vehicle is stationary"
What "warm" actually is may be open to debate.

It's a known fact on PH that my car has now got 420k miles on the same engine without any issues.
So, I'll stick to what works for me!

What happens to engines that are warmed up?

[Mr2Mike]

GTIR said:

I'm a firm believer in letting an engine warm up before driving off, and especially giving it some beans.
It seems bikers all let their engines warm up before riding off but I often see my neighbours, even in winter, jump in, start the engine and then they're off!

Seems your neighbours understand a bit more about cars then you do

[folos]

I wait for it to stop over-revving at 1.2k and drop down to idle at 600rpm and then drive off. Most people on r32oc tend to do the same I think, waiting for it to fully warm up before going over 3500rpm

[Alex@POD]

What is the difference, in real world terms, between leaving the engine to idle and driving off gently?

As long as you're not driving hard from the start, there is no need to let the engine warm up at idle, as far as the engine is concerned anyway. If you want to warm up the cabin or demist the windows it's a different discussion...

As for bikes, I used to let mine warm up at idle, but only while I was putting my gear on...

[kambites]

GTIR said:

What happens to engines that are warmed up?

It just causes a lot of wear.

[sparks_E39]

Jump in and drive off regardless of outside temperature. Will always wait 10-15 mins before giving it the beans, which isn't very often as usually in 15 mins I'm at my desk.

[otolith]

kambites said:

It just causes a lot of wear.

Must be an issue for the many cars that warm up in standing traffic!