arch

Just wondering everyone else's habits out there. Im picking up my TSX on friday. Goes directly down the street to a shop for a clear bra until saturday when I finally get to have the car to myself.

So how long do you guys let your cars warm up before you put it in drive and head off into the sunset? Is this an important issue during the break-in process? It was never mentioned in those imformative posts.

On my Honda, when it was new I used to warm it up until the temp guage moved up 1/4. It now has remote start on the alarm, so sometimes I start it and let it run to cool down the interior (houston climate) first. Other times I just jump in, start, and drive off in about 5 seconds.

Just wondering what the best thing for a new car to do is. Im in Houston, so our summers are pretty warm, and cars heat up faster. So it is better to warm up for a couple of minutes before driving off? Should we wait until the temp guage reaches 1/4 or higher?

jlukja

about 30 sec.

g35doc

Same here. About 30s. Waiting too long is just a waste of gas.

euroStyle

0 seconds.
warming up your engine actually isnt good for the engine and emissions.

moda_way

I don't let it warm up per se, however I'll keep the engine under 4k rpm until the engine is up to normal operating temperature.

DaveWhyman

About long enough to do up my seat belt.

sauceman

No need to let it warm up. Like moda_way said, just don't over-rev it while it's cold and you'll be fine.

LoveMyTL-S

I never warm it up..........by the time I get outta the neighborhood, it's probably pretty warm...............

leftride

iTrader: (1)

x 3

GIBSON6594

just until the navi is on and operational, so about 20 seconds...

Like everyone else said, keep the revs low until it gets warm. If you've ever driven an M3 you would see a series of lights going across the RPM band and the lights turn off when its safe to rev to that point on the tach after starting the car...pretty sweet feature.

TSX.Fury

Yeah, 0 secs right now. But in the winter its a different story. Half of it in the winter is to get the inside warm but the other half is to let the block warm up... at least that's always what my father taught me.

scl23

0. Engine warms itself up. Normal operations of an engine is ok w/o "warming". If you are overly worried, just keep the speed low for the first 30 seconds.

gmfreed

I remote start my car every morning it runs for approx. 5 minutes before i get out there and go

spc

Simply take it easy before the engine reach the optimize temperature. Warm up only produce pollution and waste energy. Just my .

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Actually, I've heard that warming up the engine is not necessarily bad for the engine, but rather bad for the transmission. Since your engine is warming up with the transmission disconnected from the motor, the tranny is not warming up like the engine.

GIBSON6594

I've heard something along those lines too

Something about engine warm up is less important than tranny warm up...you should be really easy on your tranny until it has warmed up properly

arch

I guess growing up and listening to my parents "warming up" thier cars influenced me.

Now I just realized the purpose. My parents used to drive carburated cars, before fuel injection. I'll just go by the time it takes for the navi to load.

keg1997

I'm another one of these.

I'm still trying to get my wife to understand this concept with my car and her SUV- especially in the wintertime. The stores won't close before she gets there...

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Well, not try to be technical, but you should at least wait until the oil has a chance to circulate the entire engine before driving. It usually takes a second for the oil to reach the oil pressure switch to turn off the dash light, but it takes a few more seconds to go through the filter, varuous bearings, valve train and up the oil squirter for the underside of the pistions. I would say 30 seconds should be fine.

CJams

I timed it the other day....almost 30 sec. exactly till the "ok" button comes up.

As far as warm up goes. I crank it up, put on my seat belt, hit reverse, turn the car around in the driveway and roll down the driveway forward in neutral (about 150'). I stop at the road and put it in gear, then i'm light on the engine for a little bit.

vwong

I warm up until the needle on the temp guage starts to move up.

itrhybrid

iTrader: (1)

except 3k rpm here

matelot

heheh you're one of those.

CJams

I have a long steep driveway that bends like an S. I have to lay on the breaks the whole way down. It's kinda like a lil roller coaster ride.....get it COAST er ride.....hehehehe...oh I kill me!

nahooneyya

i warm it up until the navi map pops up...then i put it in to drive..

tsxgirl

So I'm a geek and listed to the car show each weekend on NPR.....I think that might win the geek award on this one.

Old car = carberator...it's a good idea to warm it up until it won't stall....so however long that is...then drive away and have fun.

New fuel injected cars....no need to warm it up unless it might stall which might happen in freezing sub zero temperatures....

But warming it up there is kinda a given....it will take that long before the window clears to actually drive it.....

In warmer climates - there isn't a need to warm it up since it's fuel injected, and all it will do is waste gas and create more pollution....the best way to warm it up is drive it gently for 5 to 10 minutes.....then go have fun : )

mg7726

i wait one minute then drive off.

DaveWhyman

Actually, now that I think of it, sometimes in the morning when I'm in a rush, I start it is rolling down the driveway backwards and then go from there.

jlukja

CJams

I thought about this thread when I got in my car this morning and here my updated response.....

I get in, crank it up, open the garage door (via) home link, settle in my seat, put on my seatbelt, plug in my cell phone, by this time the OK button is on the screen and I hit it (or not sometimes), turn the lights on, reverse and turn the car around, roll down the driveway (like a roller coaster), put it in drive when I hit the street. Then I take it easy for the 4-5miles it takes to get to the freeway. Once on the freeway I drive like a bat out of hell for an hour through Tacoma to Seattle!

Viking

Funny, I thought about this thread this morning too. I wasn't sure how long I waited, timed myself to more like 15 secs, but I keep the rpms below 2500 until I see the temp gauge go up. This morning I waited for 30 secs, b/c I remembered JTso posts

Belzebutt

I don't let it sit there and warm up, even in the dead of winter. But I make sure to keep the RPM very low until the temp needle goes up to normal levels (usually a couple of minutes).