umakemekissu

Is it that bad to drive the car right after you ignited the car? I've seen so many ppl do that and wonder what kind of damage it does to the car?
I've never done that myself, I have a remote starter and usually wait at least 2 minutes before I drive, is that too little? too much? does weather have an impact as well?
Any input is appreciated.

wtf8269

It's a lot worse to do it in the winter than it is in spring/summer/fall. In the winter the oil is a lot thicker and takes more time to circulate and thin out/warm up. In the warmer seasons, it's fine to drive it right away, just be easy on the throttle until the car is up to operating temperature (or close).

TLFTW

Ever since I bought my, I always give mine at least 5 minutes to start up. I also have a habit of checking the Temp gauge to make sure its in the middle or where it normally should be

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

too much time, you're idling your gas mileage away.
the short drive around the block to your destination should circulate the oil up to operating temperatures, usually in less than 2 mins.

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

I couldn't care less when it's warm out. I usually give the car a minute or two in winter...mostly for the sake of me not wanting to be cold as fack. Regardless, don't beat the crap out of the car until the temp gauge is ok.

SouthernBoy

It is not good to let your engine idle any more than necessary when doing a cold startup. A good indicator of when it is Ok to begin driving the car is the tach. When engine speed falls down to between 800 and 1000 RPM, which depending upon how cold it is may be around 30 seconds, you are good to go. Driving carefully and not fast initially for the first mile or two is about all you need for warmup.

Letting your engine idle for 5+ minutes is not a good thing.

umakemekissu

so what kind of damage will it do if you drive right away in the winter

And SouthernBoy, why is it not good to idle for 5+? tranny killer?

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

So much mis-information here about cold idle and cold starting. User TLFTW above says he lets his car idle for atleast 5 minutes everytime. You do realize thats actually worse for the car than starting and driving?

The absolute best thing you can do for your car is get in it, start it and drive. The key here is drive NORMALLY. Dont get in your car start it first thing in the morning then go flooring it down the street. Wait till its at full operating temp before you do that. But as far as just starting and driving thats exactly what you want to do. Do not let the car sit and idle for periods of time. Its not doing your engine any favors and your wasting gas.

In the winter season if my car sat outside during work or whatever I like to start it and maybe give it a minute or so for the cold idle to come down just a bit, then drive away normally.

James

veggiemonster

iTrader: (1)

^^^ he's got a good grasp on things

normally, you shouldn't let your car idle more or less than around 1 minute depending on the make/model/engine/and oil viscosity.

on my previous car which was cast block, with 2 turbos (about double the oil and about 1.5 times the coolant) Audi suggested not to drive it for 45 seconds, but not to let it idle any longer than that.

if you don't wait long enough, you will have a "high" viscosity, and you will end up with spotty oil flow to the heads, which can be "damaging" once you get up in the rpms. but this isn't damage, it's merely accelerated wear. just wait for the idle to settle, and that's all you need to do. in summer it drops within 15 seconds, in the winter maybe 45 seconds. the ecu will let you know when it's time to go.

on the other hand, waiting too long, you will have spot heating, which is very bad. trust me when i say this, you can idle a car to death. i've done it (by accident, and it took 3-5 hours) before and had to completely junk a cast block because of the temper change from the heat. obviously this example is extreme.

now, to answer your question, if you have a manual car that's the easiest way to learn when your car has *actually* reached operating temps and until that point where all sluggish-ness disappears you should be driving as if you were in a funeral procession. if you always baby your vehicle for about the first 5 miles you'll never see a problem due to any of this stuff.

also, remember to take it easy the last mile or 2 before your destination so that you can avoid more spot heating once coolant and oil have stopped circulating.

TLFTW

Damn guys I never knew excessive warm up time could be bad. Certain situations when my car is too far away to start up, I just start up and drive. But I drive very moderately till the temp gauge goes to where it should be...Good to know thou

veggiemonster

iTrader: (1)

to be honest it's only the guy/girl's that have owned a turbo car that quickly learn the proper way. you'll be fine, just try to get rid of your habit [up]

TLFTW

Starting from tomorrow that habit is gone. I just got my TL and only recently started doing it because I thought a extra long warm up was good

umakemekissu

Don't you love the OP for bringing this thread up?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

makesmewanttokisshim

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Also sort of related in a way, but the other thing that irks me is when I see posts or see people starting up cars that have been stored. Since I am on the corvette forums lots of those cars get stored winters and you read of guys that start the cars and literally let them idle for 30 minutes. Infact I saw my neighbor doing that with his 08 C6 vette I heard the exhaust just idling for 30 plus minutes and I just cringed. Anytime I store a car or it sits for an extended time I do not start the car whatsoever unless I plan on driving it and allowing the car to reach full operating temp.

Im glad you got the info you were looking for so the cool thing for you is the best way will save you time, gas, and slight wear on your engine. Its a win win. Get in it and go, but drive normally until everything is warmed up completely then lay into it if you so desire :-)

TLFTW

Most definitely lol

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

doesntitmakeyouwantokisshim?

veggiemonster

iTrader: (1)

the glitter and the comments are all too perfect

TLFTW

I think this is enough

umakemekissu

lol yeah that's more than enough

SouthernBoy

More a concern for the engine, but yes, the transmission and other moving parts need to get moving to get up to operating temperature as soon as is normally possible.

Extended idling from a cold startup promotes condensation in the engine and crankcase. This is a normal byproduct of combustion in a cold engine but you want to get past this quickly. This extended idling, again from a cold startup, also increases acids in the crankcase. And then there is the exhaust. If you spend too much time idling a cold engine, there will be quite a bit of condensation buildup in the exhaust. If you couple this with a short trip to work or slow traffic, you will not burn off this moisture completely and the result in the onset of rust.

Best to start the engine give it a moment for it to wind down to around 1000 RPM or so, then start moving. Driving though a neighborhood before hitting a highway is a very good idea. And if your commute is short and close, consider taking a round about way to give your engine a little more time to warm up completely and for it to help burn off moisture and other contaminants.

The worse thing you can do on a cold morning is to start the engine, run the defroster on high (to remove frost on the windshield), then go back inside for a cup of coffee or two. You engine and other parts will not like you for this.

jda123

The transmission and engine are fully lubricated in about one second. Feel free to drive easily after that. If you need to get on the pedal instantly, then little bit of time until the HU comes down is probably a good idea.

The high idle is not for reciprocating assembly lubrication.

umakemekissu

How do you drive if you windshield is all frosted ...I'd rather idle until it's defrosted than drive into a tree

jda123

Scrape it off.

1995hoo

Either scrape it or avoid the problem altogether by putting a cover over the windshield during the night. There are a variety of these things on the market; in the morning, you simply remove it, throw it in the trunk, and go on your way (having the trunk tray is advisable due to the possibility of ice melt). This particular device has probably been discontinued (my parents gave me one back in the late 1990s and I still have it....works pretty well in the rare event I park outside during the winter), but it will give an idea of the type of product I mean:

http://www.brookstone.com/review/pwr...NOW-SHADE.html




Regarding the original question, I saw a recommendation somewhere once that you not rev above about 4000 rpm until your engine warms up as seen by the temperature gauge and by the tach needle dropping to a regular idle speed when you're stopped. I recall one time before I saw this recommendation I had gunned it getting on the highway during the winter before the engine warmed up and I noticed a coolant leak from one of the hoses when I parked the car (so I got back in and took it to the nearest service station for repair). I don't know whether gunning the engine in the cold could have caused that, but I've always been careful since then and the problem hasn't repeated....

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

I usually try to wait and drive after the nav system comes up. In the winter, I just watch the temp gauge until it starts moving to it's normal temp before I open it up.




.

umakemekissu

I'll wait until next summer to see if scraping works, I just dont wanna scratch the windshield!
That item is a good idea if you live in a good neighborhood! It'd get stolen in a second where I live

SouthernBoy

Put something over it, park under cover, or buy a house with a garage.

You can put a large plastic trash bag over the window and you'll find that helps a heck of a lot.

But there is this. It's your car and you have every right to do as you see fit, regardless of whether or not it benefits your machine. Your money, your property, and your decision to take.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

you must havent lived long.
you and retardedO are banned from having babies

1995hoo

Scraping in summer won't tell you a thing. You're scraping to remove ice and frost. Surely you meant this post in a TIC manner?????

Just buy an ice scraper at any auto parts store.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

yeah but you have to buy the ice scraper made for the 3G acura TL. otherwise it won't work right.

1995hoo

Easily the post of the week, if not the month. Outstanding job.

TLFTW

IT'S SUMMER!!!! Why are we worrying about ice?!?!?!?

veggiemonster

iTrader: (1)

you mean at the highest temp on your climate control. if you leave it at the lowest temperature, like say 60*, and have the defroster on you are extending the high load warm-up cycle. turning the heat on to suck heat from coolant is bad, but high load is good. thats the BEST way to avoid anything bad in that situation. for automatic cars, this is a great idea since the trans fluid needs to be pumped to get up to its own viscosity in winter. without a good fluid flow you could end up wearing your clutch packs out.

when i was in WY going to tech school i was driving a '98 v6 accord with 225k miles. i had to warm that car up for 5-10 minutes every morning or the transmission would clunk and slip on my 5 mile commute to school. i'd hand off a trans failure for accelerated wear and more frequent oil changes

umakemekissu

lol I mis-typed.. I meant next winter
you have part number?

Acutron

Cars these days are designed to withstand this type of habit. If you wanna play it safe then I would say about a minute on a normal day, maybe 5 on a cold day.

sodaks2k

iTrader: (4)

I used one of these on both my car and my wife's before we purchsed our house with a garage. They work great! I didn't use it so much for snow coverage, but used it to have to scrape the windshield. OP, as you can see in the pictures you open the doors and put the material not covering the windshield inside the car and close the doors on it so it's stays in place. This will also keep thieves from removing it from your car.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Snow-Windshi...item53e7a75a8a

umakemekissu

^ Thanks for the info, I'll try scraping first to see if I have the patience.. It's cold as fack in the winter here Northern Mass..

1995hoo

That clarifies quite a bit, then! I was wondering if it was TIC or if you were just smoking some good stuff.

(I did wonder if you had mistyped it but by the time I thought of that, the time to edit a post had expired.)

sodaks2k

iTrader: (4)

Spend the $12 and save yourself the headache of scraping. I wish I had bought one 20 years ago when I started driving.