How long do you wait to warm up the car?

[yellowrs]

no need to warm up

[ChocoTaco369]

I do 85 degrees, but there is no reasoning behind that other than my own head. I've read you should wait 30 seconds in any temperature to let fresh oil cycle through before any movement and to equalize oil pressure. So I always wait a little while from a cold start, even in the middle of the summer.

Back when gas was $1.50/gal in the wintertime, I used to go outside and start it, then go back in and finish up whatever I was doing in order to leave. I'd let the thing warm up til the thermostat opened. Those days are long gone at $4/gal!

[BlueSteele]

I wait for the RPMs to dwindle down to the 600s at start up before driving it then baby the throttle until the engine temp. reaches about 150 before driving normally.

[mikeyg36]

I don't have time to wait for it in the morning so I just hop in and go. I don't get on it until the oil gauge is off the peg.

[mikeinmobile]

Hot Rod magazine covered this extensively not too many years back and their conclusion was the quicker the car warmed up the better...so start up and drive like granny the first few miles and allow all systems to come up to temp together. Drawbacks to long warm ups were that the engine is warm but all other systems are still cold so many will drive normally and put too much wear on tranny, rear end, steering, brakes etc which are still cold.

I have a 75 Cutlass that I put 220,000 of the 300.000 miles that were on the original motor and always cranked and drove easy till warm. When we tore down the motor the bearings were good enough to reuse (of course I didn't). Just my experience.

Hot Rod's only problem with idle warm up was it takes longer to get fluids flowing and the temptation to drive like normal right out of the driveway. Another thing they said was it takes about ten miles to get all systems up to temp, so since I bought my Camaro, I've only cold cranked and drove less than 10 miles maybe 3 times in 54,000 miles. It's a hassle to drive the long way around when I just want to run up to the store (less than a mile away) but I consider it a long term investment in the longevity of the drivetrain.

[Emig5m]

Originally Posted by bansheekilla64

My rule was to always wait until it hits 100 and it seemed to be perfect.

^This.

[tmcclint]

From what I understand (I'm no expert mind you) is that most modern engines allow for oil to sit up high in the block when they are shut off so that the oil pressure doesn't have to come completely up in order for the engine to be lubricated at startup. Now that being said, my Camaro is a garage queen and I let it idle for at least 5 minutes before I pull it out. Now when I drive it home from work, I usually don't wait quite that long but it'll have been sitting in the sun all day so the engine is already somewhat warmed up. Your mileage may vary.

[Algeron]

I normally used the remote start from my bedroom as I am headed down the stairs and out the door. So I guess that would be a minute or 2 depending on who stops me on the way out.

[376LS3]

I wait till the coolant temp gets to almost 1/4. My car runs like piss when its cold because it was tuned at operating temperature. So everything under that is awful.

[honor first]

with the exception of tuned cars, there's no reason to not be able to get into it and drive if it isnt blisteringly cold outside. modern vehicles dont have the same warm up requirements as older vehicles. fluids and lubricants have improved vastly over the years.

[PlainEnvelopes]

On average 30 seconds. Really cold days long of course.

And I also never drive the car hard at first, just let the car warm up.

It is something my dad drilled into me with all motors and it stuck.


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[DennisW1284]

About 5 seconds for me.

[Mr Monte]

Originally Posted by PlainEnvelopes

On average 30 seconds. Really cold days long of course.

And I also never drive the car hard at first, just let the car warm up.

It is something my dad drilled into me with all motors and it stuck.


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Got the same advice from my Dad 35 years ago & I gave the same advice to my kids.

[Baba]

I'll do an "auto start" on my Saturn when it's freezing outside - but that's for my own comfort. "Auto Start", however, is fuel-waster #1.

Virtually every article I've ever read about "warming up a car" have stated that one should just get in, start the engine and drive off - NORMALLY. Don't "gun" the engine - ESPECIALLY if it's a turbo. Always give an engine sufficient time to warm up through normal driving. No need to let it sit and idle.