How long do you let your car warm up

jaybs02

jaybs02

New member
... before you get going?

With the colder moths here, I was wondering how long (if at all), people let their car run before driving it?

I have seen people just jump in and go and others will let the thing run for a half hour.

Personally I let it run for about 5-10 minutes (in the winter months), how about everybody else.

"J"
 
No matter the temperature, I start the car, fasten my seat belt/shoulder harness, tune the radio and drive away. However, I drive very easily and at reduced speeds through the neighborhood for the first mile or two.

Edited to add: However, if there is frost on the windshield, I let the car idle, turn on the rear defroster, and seat & steering wheel heater while I scrape the windows..
 
My dad always use to say a few minutes to let the oil work into the top end of the engine and get warmed up....The new cars today and computers I think have changed that....I wait in the winter a few minutes more to let the heater warm up the inside of the car more than anything...I also drive in a neighborhood so the car warms up slowly...I'm not sure any of this helps but for me it dose.
 
I let it warm up until the the regular warning lights turn off. Then, I drive off. Your engine will get up to operating temparature quicker driving. I take it easy in the throttle until it is warmed up.
 
I'm a wake up and go kind of person. So I start my car when I wake up, get ready for work and hit the road. I'd say all in all, the car is warming up for about 10 - 15 minutes. I do it mostly to let the inside heat up.
 
If there is ice/snow i brush it off then leave like normal. I never take the car above 2K rpms unless it's warmed up.
 
I've got a garage, so it's usually just fire 'er up and drive off. I don't go hard on it till I don't see the smoke from the exhaust anymore. It usually takes 5 minutes or so before it is warm enough. Then I open it up and drive like normal.
 
Scott P said:
I let it warm up until the the regular warning lights turn off. Then, I drive off. Your engine will get up to operating temparature quicker driving. I take it easy in the throttle until it is warmed up.
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WOW, that is spot on! Some people think that letting the car sit until the oil warms up and circulates is the right thing to do, however the longer it takes to warm up the longer the top end will be without oil (driving warms up the oil faster, hence faster oil circulation). So if you dont need to let the care sit and idle before going (snow or temp-I live in a desert) then the best thing to do is start it up and go right away.
 
Frost/ice on the glass...just long enough for the glass to clear, otherwise, start up and drive away taking it easy until the engine reaches full temp.
 
Sometime I have time to let it warm up and sometimes I dont. It depends, if I have time I try to let it warm up until the motor gets warm and the inside temperature gets warm.
 
i have a remote start, 5 to 10 mnts before i'm ready to leave i'll start my car.
i do it this way because i hate to get in a cold car.
 
sharpie said:
WOW, that is spot on! Some people think that letting the car sit until the oil warms up and circulates is the right thing to do, however the longer it takes to warm up the longer the top end will be without oil (driving warms up the oil faster, hence faster oil circulation). So if you dont need to let the care sit and idle before going (snow or temp-I live in a desert) then the best thing to do is start it up and go right away.
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Does anyone here know what they are doing? This quote sounds sensible. I don't know what I'm doing, so I ask.
Usually I do about 5 mins when it's below -10C
 
PEI Detail said:
Does anyone here know what they are doing? This quote sounds sensible. I don't know what I'm doing, so I ask.
Usually I do about 5 mins when it's below -10C
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Excessive idling, when cold, generates excessive moisture which gets into the oil pan, exhaust, etc, which may or may not be burned off (depending on if you drive long enough afterwards to evaporate the moisture) which can cause long-term problems down the road. Too, engines run rich when cold, wasting gas and generating more pollutants (which is why smog tests are done on 'at temp' engines...to give a more true reading of the car's "cleanliness").

IMO (after reading everything I could get my hands on, and talking to anyone I could) The best way is to start the car and drive off immediately, going easy until the engine is up to normal temps for about 10-15 minutes. OR starting the car and letting it idle just long enough to clean snow, ice or frost off the glass.

And definitely NO REVING OF THE ENGINE WHEN FIRST STARTED, most oils simply do not flow fast enough when cold to protect an engine at higher revs
 
5-10 minutes in the morning. 2-5 minutes at other times of the day when cold.

I always keep it under 3k for the first couple of miles or until warm.
 
as long as it has to so i don't have to scrap too much. or i just take my wife's car that gets the garage.
 
with the computer systems we have today 3-5min is fine, but when in extreme cold conditions the oil filter is in By-pass, this means the filter is NOT filtering the oil and there should be a wait time to allow the oil to come up in temp. Remember there is a variable to this and that would be multi viscosity oils 10w30, 5w30 ect the first # is the viscosity at low temps or cold oil and the second # is the oil viscosity at operating temp. in your owners manual there is a oil chart to follow for you veh, stay with in the manufactures specs. it will have normal and extreme driving conditions. extreme driving conditions would be off-road, towing, and some driving habits and driving conditions (cold). but as for a pre-warm up time 3-5min depending on out side temps should be just fine. frost on you windows....now that's just comes down to common sense and safety.
Don did a good job covering it
Don said:
Frost/ice on the glass...just long enough for the glass to clear, otherwise, start up and drive away taking it easy until the engine reaches full temp.
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as for
Don said:
Excessive idling, when cold, generates excessive moisture which gets into the oil pan, exhaust, etc, which may or may not be burned off (depending on if you drive long enough afterwards to evaporate the moisture) which can cause long-term problems down the road. Too, engines run rich when cold, wasting gas and generating more pollutants (which is why smog tests are done on 'at temp' engines...to give a more true reading of the car's "cleanliness").[/COLOR]
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This is not as big of an problem as it use to be for gasoline engines, as I do a lot of Crown Victoria's and even in the hot summer months they will spit out a 3' long water spot after long idling times and have never found water or evidence of water in my oil annalists. Diesels on the other hand run cooler and if they are sold in the "snow-belt" there are options that are sold as an add-on to help prevent this moisture build up, one being a "block heater"...yep a plug in the wall block heater and the other is a "oil pan insulator package".
 
My car is garged so I usually dont start my car early. If my thermo in the garage is reading less than 20 I usually will start it a couple minutes before I leave.

Greg
 
I usually let the SS run for 5-10 minutes in the morning when I leave for work, and when I am leaving work, I will crank it, get comfortable and wait for the idle to come back down and go. Usually takes a minute or two for the idle to come back down. I've got a 160 stat so it takes a little longer to get to operating temp than most other cars I've driven.
 
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