Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hey All,

Well I’ve heard a few mixed stories...

I've been told that I should be warming up my car for around 5 mins or so when my car is cold..

I've also been told that warming up a car is bad, And can fowl plugs and eventually damage rings etc..

Can someone please give me a straight answer?? As I want to do the right thing by my car.. But all these stories are confusing me.. ;)

Thanks

Beck

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/240585-warming-up-your-car-right-or-wrong/
Share on other sites

Just turn it on and start driving, however drive it at low revs below where your turbo boost starts to develop until the water/coolant and the engine oil has warmed up.

Once they are warm, boost away!

Cool! Thanks heaps hey,

So is it true you can hurt your car (fowl plugs etc) by letting it sit running for a while?

Just turn it on and start driving, however drive it at low revs below where your turbo boost starts to develop until the water/coolant and the engine oil has warmed up.

Once they are warm, boost away!

What he said

Cool! Thanks heaps hey,

So is it true you can hurt your car (fowl plugs etc) by letting it sit running for a while?

I can't confirm the fouling plugs, etc... but when you warm up by just idling, different parts of the car warm up at different rates (i.e. the engine itself may warm up, but the gearbox, diff, etc will not as they're not doing anything). Gentle driving until everything is up to temp is much better as all of the parts warm up together.

On a cold morning I just let it idle for about 2-3mins, just to get the fluids circulating.

Then start driving it keeping off boost. Till about 5 mins of driving, it should be fine to hit boost.

I don't see how starting your car and letting it idle at any time could possibly be detrimental to your engine. A waste of fuel maybe. but yeah, what they all said re running off boost for a few minutes. I usually wait till engine temp gauge hits mid point.

Its true that modern cars can be started and driven straight away; i start my car and let the fluids circulate for about 1minute then drive without too much load until all the drivetrain, coolant and oil has reached operating temperature.

think about it; you warm your car up for 5 minutes so the coolant and oil is at operating temp but gearbox and diff are still cold so you may be actually hurting them if you drive it hard straight away.

I don't see how starting your car and letting it idle at any time could possibly be detrimental to your engine. A waste of fuel maybe. but yeah, what they all said re running off boost for a few minutes. I usually wait till engine temp gauge hits mid point.

ive heard somethings about glazing that my occur if you just let it idle for prolonged periods.

i do as everyone else, used to let it warm up, not any more.

OK. now is there a difference between auto's and manual's?

auto g'boxs fluid runs through the bottom of the radiator to warm it up,but how long

till it's warm? from start up to not causing damage whilst driving difference between auto and manual?

yeah glazing. thats what ive been told too.

i just start it, wait 30 secs, and drive off nice and easy till the oil pressure settles. then i absolutely smash it !!! ;) sometimes.

Edited by Munkyb0y

^^ Lol, Im just saying...

I don't really get into traffic jams, but at times where your driving to say the city and there is part were there can be a jam.

Not saying deliberatly drive to one.

Just turn it on and start driving, however drive it at low revs below where your turbo boost starts to develop until the water/coolant and the engine oil has warmed up.

Once they are warm, boost away!

Spot on couldnt have put it better my self

Surely our cars are "hi tech" enough that when left idling (eg. waiting for the missus at shops with air conditioning running!) to not fall apart if left just idling! Just doesn't make sense if it's true.

Mine is auto and won't change up to 4th until gear box is nice and warm.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • After my last update, I went ahead with cleaning and restoring the entire fuel system. This included removing the tank and cleaning it with the Beyond Balistics solution, power washing it multiple times, drying it thoroughly, rinsing with IPA, drying again with heat gun and compressed air. Also, cleaning out the lines, fuel rail, and replacing the fuel pump with an OEM-style one. During the cleaning process, I replaced several hoses - including the breather hose on the fuel tank, which turned out to be the cause of the earlier fuel leak. This is what the old fuel filter looked like: Fuel tank before cleaning: Dirty Fuel Tank.mp4   Fuel tank after cleaning (some staining remains): Clean Fuel Tank.mp4 Both the OEM 270cc and new DeatschWerks 550cc injectors were cleaned professionally by a shop. Before reassembling everything, I tested the fuel flow by running the pump output into a container at the fuel filter location - flow looked good. I then fitted the new fuel filter and reassembled the rest of the system. Fuel Flow Test.mp4 Test 1 - 550cc injectors Ran the new fuel pump with its supplied diagonal strainer (different from OEM’s flat strainer) and my 550cc injectors using the same resized-injector map I had successfully used before. At first, it idled roughly and stalled when I applied throttle. Checked the spark plugs and found that they were fouled with carbon (likely from the earlier overly rich running when the injectors were clogged). After cleaning the plugs, the car started fine. However, it would only idle for 30–60 seconds before stalling, and while driving it would feel like a “fuel cut” after a few seconds - though it wouldn’t fully stall. Test 2 – Strainer swap Suspecting the diagonal strainer might not be reaching the tank bottom, I swapped it for the original flat strainer and filled the tank with ~45L of fuel. The issue persisted exactly the same. Test 3 – OEM injectors To eliminate tuning variables, I reinstalled the OEM 270cc injectors and reverted to the original map. Cleaned the spark plugs again just in-case. The stalling and “fuel cut” still remained.   At this stage, I suspect an intermittent power or connection fault at the fuel pump hanger, caused during the cleaning process. This has led me to look into getting Frenchy’s fuel hanger and replacing the unit entirely. TL;DR: Cleaned and restored the fuel system (tank, lines, rail, pump). Tested 550cc injectors with the same resized-injector map as before, but the car stalls at idle and experiences what feels like “fuel cut” after a few seconds of driving. Swapped back to OEM injectors with original map to rule out tuning, but the issue persists. Now suspecting an intermittent power or connection fault at the fuel pump hanger, possibly cause by the cleaning process.  
    • For race cars, this is one part where I find having the roll cage bar having gone through a hole in the floor better than the build it up on a ledge inside... The Merc I help on, the main hoop ends are marked on the car, and the jack is marked... Jack goes under a few inches and lifts one whole side of the car up... Removes that fight for long slim jacks for race car duties!   My biggest issue for the daily drivers I work on, is my jacks don't go high enough. The jacks start out on a few blocks, jack it up, then start a second jack under it on more blocks, and then I can get an axle stand under it. My axle stands are presently in use, and are nearly fully extended. The car is sitting with barely more than a cm of clearance to get the wheel off the studs! Sarah's Kluger is the same, as it has an ungodly amount of droop available in the suspension and a distinct lack of good jacking points!
    • Happy? Yep, my to do list is getting shorter and shorter. Either this light approaching is the end of the tunnel, or I'm about to be hit by a train... Ha ha ha   Also, Duncan isn't that far out of town that you need to make a multi day drive out of it. 😛
    • Sorry I meant that we are building the EH for a client.
    • LOL, when one "money pit" is never enough Noice, and excellent work mate
×
×
  • Create New...