did you guys warm up your car? if you do how long?

 

1 minute should be enough...then drive, keeping the revs low till normal operating temperature.

 

about 30 seconds.... drive slow (low revs) until you see the needle start to move. then gradually bring up the revs.

 

Agree! However, I only warm up 0 second, no matter how cold it is outside. If it is very cold, the first one or two miles will be very slow too.

 

I concur.

 

I think this really depends on how cold it is , and how long the car has been sitting.
If the car has been sitting all night in -40, I would argue that 30 seconds is not enough.

 

The coldest it's get here is about -10 f (in which case I let it warm up for a little longer)... the average is much warmer. It's around 20 or so. If it's colder than this, I would give it more time. Above freezing... I don't wait at all. I just turn the key and go as spc does. I still keep the revs low until the temp needles starts to budge.

 

Warmup = the length of time it takes me to scrape the overnight frost off the car

edit: then I drove slow for a couple minutes

 

1. Some claim that up to 90% of engine wear occurs during warm-up. (Rich fuel mixture washes oil from cylinder walls, causing increased wear).

2. Your engine will warm up *much* faster if driven conservatively under a light load than idling.

Conclusion: Start your engine, wait a few seconds -- 30 seems like more than enough but I won't quibble -- for the oil pressure to come up, and go.

Folks who live in very cold climates (-40F ) might consider a block heater.

 

WOW! That is all you guys let the car warm up.
I must be old school cause in the winter when the car is sitting over night i like to start it and let it warm up for 3-5 minutes while I go do other things inside where its warm.

Is this bad? According to rb1, I am causing wear...

 

Only one thing is sure, which is you are wasting some gas.

 

Running a cold engine is bad. Your engine will warm up much quicker when driven as opposed to just sitting there. Drive it at light throttle until it warms up.

 

Well i just start it cause I live only 1 minute from the highway. Hard to keep it at light throttle once i am on the LIE

 

having read this post I went out and tried it--turning the key foward and waiting, like 5-10 seconds. Maybe it was just me, but it started way quicker rather than just jumping in and turning the car over.

 

Yeah, that's old school when cars used to have manual or automatic choke on carburators, and heat duct from the exhaust manifold to the air cleaner. Those cars would easily stall if not warmed up properly. However, with modern ECU and fuel injection, all you need is to run the engine long enough for the oil to circulate the engine and drive. 30 seconds should be sufficient.

Btw, I used to drive cars with manual choke. I think that gives away my age.

 

agreed. scrape and leave keeping it under 4k until its warm.

If theres nothing to scrape off I'm gone in the time it takes me to put my stuff down and buckle up.

 

Okie, I guess I'm in the minority here.

I warm up my car until the Climate Control kicks in full gear. . . about 2 mins in winter. (For those unfamiliar with the TSX or CC in general, the car intentionally suppresses the CC until the car is semi-warmed up so that it doesn't blast you with frigid cold air when you start the car).

It might be more psychological than scientifical but the car seems to have more zoom (not just during the warm-up period but rather pretty much the entire duration of my driving) when I warmed up the car. If I don't warm up, the acceleration seem harsh and forced.

Even before the TSX, I've always let my car warm up before driving off. Just my preference.

 

Same here. I wait about 30 seconds, then press the accelerator softly for a few minutes.

Another good thing about the Nav system is I usually wait for it to boot before I put the car in gear. That's usually about half a minute.

 

How long I warm up the car generally depends on what it is that I'm late for...

 

You are right. What you describe is 100% psychological. Once your car is warmed up the engine and transmision have no "memory" of the length of time or the maner in which you warmed it up.

 

I usually wait a minute, leave, then slowly creep to the first main road. This is where I usually have to hold 1st pretty long because it's a hill and the oncoming traffic is whipping towards me to beat the nearby light. Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...up and through the light, then to 2nd as I turn on the level intersecting street. Now you're all saying that this is probably not good at all....(head down, shaking lightly)

sometimes, yet very rarely, I hate coming on here and reading stuff.


I thought I knew stuff about cars...:'(

 

It's not that hard. You just can't drive 80 the second you hop on. And if the traffic on the LIE is anything like I remember it, it REALLY shouldn't be that hard to go slow.

 

cmf,

I do this if the car has been sitting for a while or on really cold days. I let the car turn over once, then I turn the key to off. Then I start the car like I normally do and the car starts up right away. If I didn't do this the car will still start but it sounds like everything is in slow motion (everything is frozen). The reason this works is that the fuel injectors are now primed.

 

Actually, the fuel system is primed when you turn the key to the ON position without starting the car. The fuel pump will turn on for about 2 seconds to presurize the fuel system. You can turn the key off and on again to pressurize it a second time before starting the engine if it has been sitting for awhile.

 

The main reason people let their car warm up for 10 minutes is because they can't take sitting and a cold car for two minutes while they drive around waiting for it to warm up. They want to be able to get in the car and have the heat blasting right away.

 

I usually let it warm up for about 30 seconds when its below -10 C, and 1 minute when it gets really cold (-25 to -40 C) and is sitting for a while. I have friends that warm up their cars for like 20 minutes when its really cold!!! I tell them they are just wasting gas and all they need is 30 sec to 1 min but they don't care.

 

Just curious, but why not? I mean I wouldn't use WOT to get there, but you're talking say 3400 RPM or so, and road horsepower of say 20-30 hp max. Seems like this is still being pretty easy on the engine.

(I take my time getting up to speed on the freeway when the car is cold, too. But once I've seen any change in the coolant temperature I've always felt free to go the speed limit).

 

Ok guys, I know I'm wasting gas but I leave the car run for at least 10 minutes before getting out of my house (remote starter). I just can't live with the leather seats freezing my a$$. The heated seats are just too slow.

No flames please.

 

I usually try to let my car warm up to the point where the temp needle moves above the white line. If I am late, I usually wait two minutes. I was under the impression that a car should warm up to the point where all the oil that has settled to the bottom of the oil pan has a chance to circulate throughout the engine. I also understand the impression that low or no oil circulation will wear an engine/engine parts, so it'd better to get the oil running. Am I wrong?

 

i dont know about the TSX but i know my old prelude had the fuel cutoff lowered to 5k rpm if the engine wasnt at operating temp yet.

 

Unless I'm chipping ice off or sweeping snow off, I just start n' go. I drive relatively slowly through my neighborhood, about 2 minutes, just like I do in July.