View Poll Results: Do you Warm Up your Lexus ???
What does Warm Up Mean ???
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Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 62. You may not vote on this poll
Do you Warm Up your LS ???
02-01-10, 04:58 PM
#16
I don't warm up my car. My car was made to serve me, not the other way around. And gas is expensive.
And the engine is worthless. Seriously - go on ebay and look for an engine for these cars. $200 for one with 100,000 fewer miles than mine! So cheap I can't even justify changing the timing belt.
Procedure:
1) Get in, start the car
2) Slam it into gear IMMEDIATELY
3) Drive mellow until I get to my destination (or until I lose my temper, whichever occurs first)
And the engine is worthless. Seriously - go on ebay and look for an engine for these cars. $200 for one with 100,000 fewer miles than mine! So cheap I can't even justify changing the timing belt.
Procedure:
1) Get in, start the car
2) Slam it into gear IMMEDIATELY
3) Drive mellow until I get to my destination (or until I lose my temper, whichever occurs first)
02-01-10, 07:01 PM
#17
I agree with Pure Drifter: 10-20 seconds before I put it in gear, then drive ~20 mph until I see the temp gauge move. I've got 222K on my `96 LS400. My `98 GS400 (243K miles) won't go into 3rd gear until the temp gauge moves (which is about 20 mph). Depending on the temperature, this usually translates between 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Between where I live and where I work, this warm-up period doesn't pose a problem.
02-01-10, 10:53 PM
#19
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Thankyou
Mine sleeps outside. I'll give it at least 10 seconds or so, but never much more than that unless it's freezing outside. If it's snowy or icy and i need to scrape & brush her off, I'll start the car and let it idle as I'm doing that.
For the most part, 95% of it is choosing the right oil for your climate and keeping it changed. Since the 1UZ-FE specs for 5w30 to begin with, if you stick to a quality 5w30 you're well set all year round. If you live in particularly cold climates a 0w30, (that is much thinner than a 5w30 when cold) isn't a bad idea.
It only takes a Couple Seconds at most to get full oil pressure, but it's how rapidly that oil gets where it needs to go that really counts. Generally speaking, thicker oil moves slower. Also, thinner oil tends to get up to operating temp faster.
Last summer I worked on an SC400 belonging to a friend's mom. It had almost 240k miles on the original engine & trans, and apparently it's never seen anything but Mobil 1 5w30 every 5k miles with a new Napa Gold (Wix) filter. I was doing some simple stuff, I replaced a seeping valve cover gasket and when I got the valve cover off, it looked like a 30k mile motor tops. Just a light bronze patina and all the bearing surfaces on the camshafts, etc looked great.
The fact is that the 1UZ-FE is an outstandingly engineered engine with tolerances intended for thinner 5w30 oil from the get-go. Warming up is generally more critical with older engines or built engines that require thicker oil due to specific bearing/ring tolerances. I'm no professional, but I've worked on several 1UZ-FE's and I've seen an example that literally didn't have oil changed for over two years of daily driving, possibly as much as 30k on the same batch of oil. It must have been good oil because the inside of the engine looked nasty but no worse really than most older engines. Once the basics were replaced like the oil, sparkplugs, air filter, etc, it ran smoothly and quietly. I was shocked, considering it had around 130k and hadn't seen an oil change in two years.
So, all that being said, I think a brief warmup isn't a bad thing, but so long as you have a quality oil appropriate for the climate you're in, it isn't nearly as harmful to the engine to drive while it's still cold compared to most other cars.
For the most part, 95% of it is choosing the right oil for your climate and keeping it changed. Since the 1UZ-FE specs for 5w30 to begin with, if you stick to a quality 5w30 you're well set all year round. If you live in particularly cold climates a 0w30, (that is much thinner than a 5w30 when cold) isn't a bad idea.
It only takes a Couple Seconds at most to get full oil pressure, but it's how rapidly that oil gets where it needs to go that really counts. Generally speaking, thicker oil moves slower. Also, thinner oil tends to get up to operating temp faster.
Last summer I worked on an SC400 belonging to a friend's mom. It had almost 240k miles on the original engine & trans, and apparently it's never seen anything but Mobil 1 5w30 every 5k miles with a new Napa Gold (Wix) filter. I was doing some simple stuff, I replaced a seeping valve cover gasket and when I got the valve cover off, it looked like a 30k mile motor tops. Just a light bronze patina and all the bearing surfaces on the camshafts, etc looked great.
The fact is that the 1UZ-FE is an outstandingly engineered engine with tolerances intended for thinner 5w30 oil from the get-go. Warming up is generally more critical with older engines or built engines that require thicker oil due to specific bearing/ring tolerances. I'm no professional, but I've worked on several 1UZ-FE's and I've seen an example that literally didn't have oil changed for over two years of daily driving, possibly as much as 30k on the same batch of oil. It must have been good oil because the inside of the engine looked nasty but no worse really than most older engines. Once the basics were replaced like the oil, sparkplugs, air filter, etc, it ran smoothly and quietly. I was shocked, considering it had around 130k and hadn't seen an oil change in two years.
So, all that being said, I think a brief warmup isn't a bad thing, but so long as you have a quality oil appropriate for the climate you're in, it isn't nearly as harmful to the engine to drive while it's still cold compared to most other cars.
I can see why Warming up the Car is Important.
but the TIME of warm up for me Living in So. Cal.
by Everyones Experances seem to be Only Seconds...
I think for a Lexus 10 minutes is Excessive for my Climate,
Even when I was told 10 minutes for
Most Older German Luxury Cars (Benz /BimmeR) is the Norm...
02-01-10, 11:02 PM
#20
Pole Position
02-01-10, 11:25 PM
#21
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Wait for your car to Warm Up before you Drive.
Your Laughing but I Live in So. Cal and
someone had to Explain to me Yesterday what "Warm Up" was ...
I still dont "Really" know How Long to Wait before I Drive...
someone had to Explain to me Yesterday what "Warm Up" was ...
I still dont "Really" know How Long to Wait before I Drive...
02-02-10, 12:26 AM
#22
It is seriously not a good idea to idle your engine for extended periods in the cold.
Cold engine operation dumps acidic combustion byproducts down the cylinder walls and it acidifies the oil. Condensation (just like the outside of a cold beer on a humid day) adds water to the oil as well. Likewise, the catalytic converter is hating the rich mixture demanded by a cold engine, you can cause a substrate to buckle due to localized overheating inside the catalytic converter.
The general rule is to only give your engine enough time to get pressurized oil to the ends of the galleries. This may take 30 seconds on a cold subzero day.
Once you have oil coursing in the galleries, the best thing you can do is to drive gently out of the neighborhood and down local surface streets. You want a nice light load on the engine until the pistons have expanded to their usual dimensions in the cylinder walls between 1,200 no-load, 2,000 rpm partial load. Your engine will be ready for freeway onramps within 5-10 minutes or as soon as the temperature gauge has climbed and you feel good heat. Kickdown 4,000-5,000 rpm shifts should not be allowed until a good ten minutes or more has heated the transmission and differential and power steering and brakes from their usual work. If it is 20 below zero, don't even.
Colin
Cold engine operation dumps acidic combustion byproducts down the cylinder walls and it acidifies the oil. Condensation (just like the outside of a cold beer on a humid day) adds water to the oil as well. Likewise, the catalytic converter is hating the rich mixture demanded by a cold engine, you can cause a substrate to buckle due to localized overheating inside the catalytic converter.
The general rule is to only give your engine enough time to get pressurized oil to the ends of the galleries. This may take 30 seconds on a cold subzero day.
Once you have oil coursing in the galleries, the best thing you can do is to drive gently out of the neighborhood and down local surface streets. You want a nice light load on the engine until the pistons have expanded to their usual dimensions in the cylinder walls between 1,200 no-load, 2,000 rpm partial load. Your engine will be ready for freeway onramps within 5-10 minutes or as soon as the temperature gauge has climbed and you feel good heat. Kickdown 4,000-5,000 rpm shifts should not be allowed until a good ten minutes or more has heated the transmission and differential and power steering and brakes from their usual work. If it is 20 below zero, don't even.
Colin
02-02-10, 06:13 AM
#24
Ill give my car at least 5 minutes in the winter with these 30 and below temperatures....here in long island, ny ull wake up sometimes and its like 12 degrees outside.....summer time, ill let it run for a minute or 2 tops....just to let the ac circulate a lil....those leather seats fry u up in the summer
02-02-10, 07:45 AM
#25
Lexus Test Driver
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they say to warm it up but i only do when its cold outside just because i want heat, but they have a rev limiter when its cold so that you cant go past 5k rpms or something close to that until it warms up so you cant cause any damage to the engine
02-02-10, 11:59 AM
#28
Lexus Test Driver
I think my LS warms up exceptionally fast. I also have a GX470 and it take a long time to warm up. Pretty sure the GX has a cast iron block with aluminum heads as opposed to the LS which is all aluminum. The coolant capacity is probably higher on the GX as well, so there's more coolant that needs to be heated up.
02-02-10, 12:40 PM
#29
It is seriously not a good idea to idle your engine for extended periods in the cold.
Cold engine operation dumps acidic combustion byproducts down the cylinder walls and it acidifies the oil. Condensation (just like the outside of a cold beer on a humid day) adds water to the oil as well. Likewise, the catalytic converter is hating the rich mixture demanded by a cold engine, you can cause a substrate to buckle due to localized overheating inside the catalytic converter.
The general rule is to only give your engine enough time to get pressurized oil to the ends of the galleries. This may take 30 seconds on a cold subzero day.
Once you have oil coursing in the galleries, the best thing you can do is to drive gently out of the neighborhood and down local surface streets. You want a nice light load on the engine until the pistons have expanded to their usual dimensions in the cylinder walls between 1,200 no-load, 2,000 rpm partial load. Your engine will be ready for freeway onramps within 5-10 minutes or as soon as the temperature gauge has climbed and you feel good heat. Kickdown 4,000-5,000 rpm shifts should not be allowed until a good ten minutes or more has heated the transmission and differential and power steering and brakes from their usual work. If it is 20 below zero, don't even.
Colin
Cold engine operation dumps acidic combustion byproducts down the cylinder walls and it acidifies the oil. Condensation (just like the outside of a cold beer on a humid day) adds water to the oil as well. Likewise, the catalytic converter is hating the rich mixture demanded by a cold engine, you can cause a substrate to buckle due to localized overheating inside the catalytic converter.
The general rule is to only give your engine enough time to get pressurized oil to the ends of the galleries. This may take 30 seconds on a cold subzero day.
Once you have oil coursing in the galleries, the best thing you can do is to drive gently out of the neighborhood and down local surface streets. You want a nice light load on the engine until the pistons have expanded to their usual dimensions in the cylinder walls between 1,200 no-load, 2,000 rpm partial load. Your engine will be ready for freeway onramps within 5-10 minutes or as soon as the temperature gauge has climbed and you feel good heat. Kickdown 4,000-5,000 rpm shifts should not be allowed until a good ten minutes or more has heated the transmission and differential and power steering and brakes from their usual work. If it is 20 below zero, don't even.
Colin
02-02-10, 07:51 PM
#30
This is one of those situation that is 50/50 damn if you do damn if you dont. Mine serves me well as I don't have to come and freeze myself up in an ice box... in the summer is not bad I normally let the car run for a minute or two then roll the windows/sunroof down.