Average Warm up time.....

[Lozza150]

So... how long do you guy's let your car(s) idle before you head off.....

1-2 min's

3-4 min's

Longer...??

Loz

[UR2EZ]

start and go

hahah na usually a 1-2 mins

[TTT]

I drive away straight away.

But I will stay off boost and below 3000rpm until the engine temp is at half way where it stays...

Usually takes about 3 - 5 minutes.

[croat]

I usually just drive off, for the first 5-10 minutes i keep boost pretty low (if any)... Why do you let it idle? is that necessary or a lot better for the car?

[Lozza150]

It's something that I've heard along the grapevine.... but i know it's good for all cars to have a little idle warm up, to help the oil wind through the motor....

[Pva_Glue]

when ever you start to see the temperature move up...

then drive off

[predator]

0secs when i take off usually, 1-0mins stopping

any cars its a good idea to run up and run down, but still, they're modern cars I am sure they can handle it. Oil can start to solidify in the turbo apparently if you just turn straight off, but i'm not sure how true that is... and whether for daily driving (not a track) that it matters who knows.

Anybody regularly pull turbos off skylines regularly? Do you regularly find bad oil deposits?

[akeenan]

sometimes i let mine idle for a bit and sometimes i dont. when i dont i always drive it soft. however if im running late to work or something i'll run outside and start it up and come back about 7 minutes later then i can drive it harder sooner and get to work on time.

[ed]

I let mine idle until idle RPM hits 1,000 mark....

Hard for me to drive and stay off boost as I'm on boost just a touch over 2,000RPM

[blind_elk]

I usually drive off (reverse out of driveway) within about 10 secs of (cold) starting the engine, but never pull more than about 3000 rpm, and never pull boost, until the engine is up to full operating temp.

[whistla]

personally i do what most do, start, wait a min or two then drive off and stay off boost till water temps get +60degrees celcius

i read in a recent Merc users guide for a car that i dont remeber, and it said

"dont let the car idle to warm it up in the one spot...start the engine, let idle for a min, then drive but keeping the rpm's low. this is a more effective method of warming up all engine components"

or something along those lines

[Zahos]

In the morning I'll start my car, put the turbo timer on 5 mins, then lock and arm the car (car alarm detects TT). I never usually let it warm up for less than 5 mins, but about 2 mins cold start is ok. If the car was driven within a few hours, about a minute does it for me.

As for cooling down, i leave it for 1 min, or if I have REALLY been caning it, about 2 mins.

I dont give it any stick either until temp is half way, and oil preasure is down to 2bar on idle.

This was the approach I took on my R31, and after 7 years (and i used to cane the crap out of it when it was warm), I never once got anything repaired (except fan clutch), and compression was almost the same as it was when i bought it. Hardly ANY noticable power loss.

What i do may be overkill, but if you really take care of your car, chances are it will be a lot lighter on your wallet!

my 2c

[ed]

Originally posted by whistla

personally i do what most do, start, wait a min or two then drive off and stay off boost till water temps get +60degrees celcius

i read in a recent Merc users guide for a car that i dont remeber, and it said  

"dont let the car idle to warm it up in the one spot...start the engine, let idle for a min, then drive but keeping the rpm's low.  this is a more effective method of warming up all engine components"  

or something along those lines

do you drive a merc? :alien:

[Zahos]

Originally posted by whistla

i read in a recent Merc users guide for a car that i dont remeber, and it said  

"dont let the car idle to warm it up in the one spot...start the engine, let idle for a min, then drive but keeping the rpm's low.  this is a more effective method of warming up all engine components"  

or something along those lines

Thats b/c some people assume that if you warm it up for 10 -15 mins at home in the garage, its ok to thrash it afterwards.... you also need to consider the gearbox, the diff etc. I agree 1 or 2 mins is sufficient, but then you still gotta take it easy...

I got a mate who couldn't give a rats arse for his R31, in the morning he starts the car with the clutch in, and ready in first gear. As soon as it has cranked over, he floors it and lets one rip down his street to warm it up. I keep telling him off, but he seriously couldn't care less for his car...

He also does this b/c his choke is wrecked, so this prevents his car from stalling at the first set of lights...

[skylark]

Set timer for 5 mins, turn alarm on when I'm at work then come out and drive away almost immediately.

Don't thrash it for a minute or two.

[Airzone]

I normally kick it over as soon as I get in the car, then let it idle while I get myself ready - normally between 30 and 60 seconds. Then not go over 3K RPM until the engine is nice and toasty. Depending on how I drive it, I may turn it straight off (like a trip up the road to the shops) or leave it running for up to 7 minutes (long trip on the open road draging off everything I come across). Normally I leave it for about 3 minutes after an average drive. Listen to some music, check the mailbox, clean off the mats, or just admire my toy :-)

[Guest nismogtsx]

Same as the rest.... Let it idle for a minute while i get my glasses out and light up a smoke... then im ready... But i find the car produces more power prior top the TT reading an air/fuel ratio...

This week end im gonna d/c the O2 sensor from the ECU and see what happens.... Should go hard but i believe it will chew fuel...

Might be a good drag racing technique....

Will post the results...

[ed]

doesn't ECU go into limp home mode if the O2 sensor is not giving an appropriate reading?

[Tosh]

I usually drive straight away and keep it off boost until the temp gauge reads normal driving temps

[MrR33]

yeah-i read in a bmw manual that the most efficient way to warm up the car was just to drive off, going easy on the accelrator for about 5 mins-seems easy enough to me, and better than sitting round waiting for a car to warm up... so yeah, just stay off boost (if u can help it) for like five mins