To Socal Car Owners: Do you warm up your car?
#1
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Hey,
I was wondering today if anyone in Socal warms up their car (idles) before driving, and if they take it easy for a few min before upping the RPM.
I recently got a new car, and for some reason, I just never warm up anymore. I hit start, let it start, 10 sec or so, back up, out of my garage and drive. I take RPM up to about 4-5k somtimes, never redline, when the engine is still cold.
My dad saw me do this the other day, and hes told me its bad for the engine if I dont take it easy before driving the rpms up to midrange like that.
The cars a Infiniti G37 c, just wondering if I am going to cause long term damage doing this.
I never hear anything werid nor do I feel my car struggling if I do this so I thought it was ok.
Thanks
I was wondering today if anyone in Socal warms up their car (idles) before driving, and if they take it easy for a few min before upping the RPM.
I recently got a new car, and for some reason, I just never warm up anymore. I hit start, let it start, 10 sec or so, back up, out of my garage and drive. I take RPM up to about 4-5k somtimes, never redline, when the engine is still cold.
My dad saw me do this the other day, and hes told me its bad for the engine if I dont take it easy before driving the rpms up to midrange like that.
The cars a Infiniti G37 c, just wondering if I am going to cause long term damage doing this.
I never hear anything werid nor do I feel my car struggling if I do this so I thought it was ok.
Thanks
#2
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I usually let it warm up for about 15-30 seconds before I reverse. Someone told me before it's better to let it warm up so all the oil and such or whatever gets into place. I think it would be better if the car was warmed up instead of hitting start and then go.
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#10
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Warming is a good thing for your car. I'd say at least 1 minute for new car and 3 minutes for old car. The reason for warmng is to allow the oil pump to get the oil to lubricate the gearing. This will prevent friction and wear on your engine. Image metal to metal contact without oil at several thousand rotations per minute...But if you use full synthetic oil, the oil viscosity is always present on the metal. That's for engine, but the tranny requires even more lubrication than the engine and the tranny fluid doesn't use synthetic oil. There're some new partial synthetic tranny fluids on the market, but I don't see any car factory recommend using them.
The next thing is fuel and engine control. The sensors will send the signal to the computers if the engine is hot or cold. When the engine is cold, it consumes a lot more fuel than when it's warmed up. The sparkplugs on properly warmed up engine are always cleaner than the ones without getting warmed up because they burn fuel more efficient. When it's warmed up, the piston rings expand and seal the cylinder tighter for better combustion. Also, if you notice when you shift the tranny if it's cold, it jerks. This will cause wear on the flywheel or clutch.
The result for not warming up is you'll lose power over time. If you drive a turbocharged car without warming up for at least 1 minute, 3 is better, your turbo will be gone quickly. I don't trust any car manufacturers about not warming up the car. They want you to come back for car repair or for new cars. I play and build engine so I know how the engine is structured.
The next thing is fuel and engine control. The sensors will send the signal to the computers if the engine is hot or cold. When the engine is cold, it consumes a lot more fuel than when it's warmed up. The sparkplugs on properly warmed up engine are always cleaner than the ones without getting warmed up because they burn fuel more efficient. When it's warmed up, the piston rings expand and seal the cylinder tighter for better combustion. Also, if you notice when you shift the tranny if it's cold, it jerks. This will cause wear on the flywheel or clutch.
The result for not warming up is you'll lose power over time. If you drive a turbocharged car without warming up for at least 1 minute, 3 is better, your turbo will be gone quickly. I don't trust any car manufacturers about not warming up the car. They want you to come back for car repair or for new cars. I play and build engine so I know how the engine is structured.
#11
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I always warm up my SC3 for 1-2 mins.
My cold RPM's start at 1500, and slowly drop until the tack reaches 1K.
At 1K RPM I back her out, and within 2 mins of easy driving, she will be shifting and idling normally at 400 RPM.
When my Starion was my daily driver, warm up was 3 mins, and cool down was whatever the turbo timer thought best.
EDIT: My SC3 is right at 90K miles, so warming up the 2J is essential IMHO.
My cold RPM's start at 1500, and slowly drop until the tack reaches 1K.
At 1K RPM I back her out, and within 2 mins of easy driving, she will be shifting and idling normally at 400 RPM.
When my Starion was my daily driver, warm up was 3 mins, and cool down was whatever the turbo timer thought best.
EDIT: My SC3 is right at 90K miles, so warming up the 2J is essential IMHO.
Last edited by emoshun; 08-04-08 at 10:52 AM. Reason: Mileage edit
#12
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I do not warm up or cool down the motor. I usually just take it easy with the throttle until the engine gets hot. Since I am not running a turbo, I have no need to let the engine idle after I get to my destination.