Best warm up procedure?

[Paul V]

What do people use to warm the cars up? I've been backing it out the garage as soon as it's started, then leave idling while I lock up, after that I normally drive off slowly with revs kept between 1800 and 2500 rpm until oil temperature hits 70.

Reading these forums someone stated in the book it says not to drive the car until 45 degrees is reached, that doesn't sound very good for the car to be left idling that long with no air flow and with the revs low the oil pressure will be much less.

[kevin63]

There is one guy i have heard of that made a transparent cover for the top of the speed six engine to see where the oil goes, he found out that there was no oil getting to the top of the engine for up to 10-12 seconds, so even before you start to think about the warming up process I would say to anyone with a SP6, don't blip or rev it when you first start up.
I know this doesn't answer your question, but I thought it was a useful thing to know.

[Paul V]

might be interesting to find out what revs the oil pressure starts builds up, it might be better to run the engine at say 1200 rpm when first started if the pressure is that much higher it would get to the head a lot quicker.

Could be better to have 1200 rpm for 3 secs without oil on the head rather than than 800rpm for 12 secs.

[kevin63]

You could be right, I know this guy has made a pre oiler system which via an electric pump, sends oil to the top of the engine before it is started, once pressure is up, the engine can then be started.
I wish he would get on with advertising and selling these kits, sounds great to me, looks neat too.

[Paul V]

That does sound like a good idea, will be keeping a eye out for the later them, did the later heads improve oil feed from cold? Mine is a 2004 spec engine.

[Paul V]

Just been and started the car, noticed at 1200rpm the oil pressure is higher than at idle, so think slight throttle but not too much is probably best idea to get the oil up to the head quickly.

[custardkid]

ever one has different views
her my 2pence worth

rev gently to get oil pressure up (1000-1500 rpm)
when 30 plus degree water temp drive < 3000rpm,
when oil temp >60deg increase revs

the issue isn't the amount of oil that gets to the head, it's that it doesn't go to where its needed!



custard

[FLAT 6]

I'm with Custard on this. The guys who service most of the TVRCC cars in NI advise running at 1200 revs for 5 mins initially and then driving gently until operating temp is achieved. It's the oil temp that's important though, not the water temp. 55 degree oil temp is considered warmed up so may 3000 revs until then.

[Paul V]

I've been waiting for oil to reach 65-70, may be being a little over cautious but that's probably a good thing.

[southgate]

Lots of discussion on this already.

Think custard is on the money. Oil doesnt get to the bits it should at v low revs/idle.

I normally warm mine up on fast idle, round about 1500rpm til ive got about 30 degrees or more, then drive off keeping revs below 2500rpm til oil temp gets to 60 degrees

[davido140]

on a cool day with no sitting in traffic and doing 40-50mph+ my oil temp will only just get to 65 degrees (sometimes a little less) without going over 3000rpm.

[Fimbo]

the wisdom I received from the previous owner seems to have preseved the components on my 2003 Tuscan - it's now on about 25,000 miles with no oil useage at all between services, and I have continued to treat it the same:

I start her up, fast idle at 1200-1300 revs for 30-secs or so just to get the juices flowing, then drive off keeping revs below 2500 until oil temp gets to 60; above 60 i run it to 3000 revs and above 70 the rev range is mine. In the winter it is more difficult to gauge when temp is up and you will notice that sitting in traffic the oil temp will be higher than when on the move - that is, I am told, caused by the position of the sensor being affected by the cool air flowing over it. I would think that after 15/20 mins of driving the engine is probably up to temp and I therefore tend to work on time rather than temp in the winter. I am no engineer, but the last thing I would do is leave my car on the drive idling away until the engine gets up to temp - I would imagine that it takes longer for the engine/0il to warm up this way, as you say oil pressure will be low the whole time, it doesn't warm the gear box and it's a total waste of petrol. Oh, and leaving your Tuscan to idle on your drive in the early morning is likely to make for interesting conversation with your neighbours! Hope this helps.

[b2tus]

With Fimbo on this one (and Custard)
Precisely the same advice I received from the first owner of my Tuscan.....followed it exactly for the last 2 1/2 years......now 24K untroubled miles, hardly use any oil and great oil pressure even when really hot.

[andyoleary]

wot they said....never leave it to idle when cold, hold the rev's at around 1500 for a few seconds to get the top end lubricated and then drive off keeping rev's below 2500 until over 40C and then below 3000 until over 60. Cruising speeds when hot, my oil pressure stays around 50psi (rises to around 60psi when accelerating) and sits around 18psi when idling (and well warmed up).

Andy

[Tuscan_RR]

Previous thread (pretty much agrees with the last posting as well).
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=5&t=369065 

Cheers

D.