Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Cars aren't meant to be idled for long periods. I just drive mine straight off but limit revs to below 2.5k and only small throttle openings for atleast a few minutes. Wait about 5 mins till you start going much harder than that. I usually let it idle for about 1 min after a trip. But most of the time I take it easy at the end of the trip (coast in neutral down hill or driving quietly through car park) so may not even idle it.

Some say it warms up quicker if you drive it softly for a while rather than idling which can be of benefit, without thrashing it of course..

benl knows the score. everyone has their own thoughts on the matter but i reckon maybe 20 - 30 seconds just to let the oil move around a little then drive off but keeping revs really low and no boost till the oil gauge starts to drop a bit

Well obviously it takes a little time for sufficient oil to reach the top of the engine (Cams etc)

I leave mine untill the revs are in the 800 range then drive it easy till the temp needle is at operating temperature. So probably idle for around 3min.

Sometimes ill idle longer but theres nothing wrong with that, idle is idle, its certainly not bad for your engine :cheers:

yeh i idle untill the revs drop below 1G... u can hear it.

takes prolly around 3-4 mins??

thenew neightbour next door came and complained last week when I was leaving for work telling me to turn it off... wtf

They covered this in a magazine a month or two back. They said that because the block is cast iron and the head is alloy the metals have different thermal properties. They are designed to be at tollereance when hot. So the recommended procedure was to do light driving to warm it up as this was quicker and caused less damage.

and you can't tell an engine is warm by looking at the coolant guage. What you really need to knowis when the oil is warm.

Wasy to spot in a skyline because the oil pressure gets heaps lower once it is warm. When the oil pressure is normal (low) at idle its ready to give it some :cheers:

I previously used to let my engine warm up until the idle drops from fast idle.

Since the new engine build with forged pistons the builder said it is best to drive it gently straight off, don't idle it around when cold too long as it takes way to long to warm up and essentially will do more damage.

Basically idle it for the amount of time it takes to put your seat belt , put the stereo's face on etc..

Short shift and the car will come up to operating temp within 2km's, providing the thermostat is working correctly.

Then drive it normally but wait around 7-10 minutes until you give it a bootfull as that is roughly the time it takes for the oil temp to come up to operating temp and lube properly.

If I sit and idle the car I can still hear a slight piston slap after 10minutes of idle.

Drive the car and the piston slap disappears after the first 1-2km's.

Its only a real real mild piston slap that you would mistake for a slight bit of top end noise.

Any piston slap is slight scuffing piston slap so I would prefer to keep it to a minimum.

interesting posts, i often like to let it sit and idle a few minutes when possible, but i do know that the engine definitly warms up faster when driving it gently compared to sitting idle. It only makes sense that the oil will start protecting best once its in its operating temp, so the method which gets it there fastest is the thing to do. I think i wont be idling it to warm it up anymore, just drive straight off!

as far as getting heat into everything else is concerned, i wonder how critical this actually is? as anyone whos been to the strip on a busy day will know that huge waits between runs will have you launching and running a pass on a pretty much cold driveline!

there was a long thread a while back about this. what i remember and too heed to was that the car is not ment to be left at idle for long periods because "glazing" of the engine might occur. ive stopped warmming up my car in the mornings now and like others just take it easy till the oil guage warms up.

I love whenever there is a thread or discussion about warming up an engine that everyone seems to think idling is bad for your engine :)

All i have to say is you want oil on moving parts before you put load on them :(

Theres no right or wrong way to do it, idle for a bit, then drive. Its that easy :(

Thank god for long gone are the days of carby's and cold mornings.. :(

My injectors have just started playing up big time.

Massive hessitations on a free rev from idle. :)

It is very very noticable when cold, smoothing out when 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

    • Who did you have do the installation? I actually know someone who is VERY familiar with the AVS gear. The main point of contact though would be your installer.   Where are you based in NZ?
    • Look, realistically, those are some fairly chunky connectors and wires so it is a reasonably fair bet that that loom was involved in the redirection of the fuel pump and/or ECU/ignition power for the immobiliser. It's also fair to be that the new immobiliser is essentially the same thing as the old one, and so it probably needs the same stuff done to make it do what it has to do. Given that you are talking about a car that no-one else here is familiar with (I mean your exact car) and an alarm that I've never heard of before and so probably not many others are familiar with, and that some wire monkey has been messing with it out of our sight, it seems reasonable that the wire monkey should be fixing this.
    • Wheel alignment immediately. Not "when I get around to it". And further to what Duncan said - you cannot just put camber arms on and shorten them. You will introduce bump steer far in excess of what the car had with stock arms. You need adjustable tension arms and they need to be shortened also. The simplest approach is to shorten them the same % as the stock ones. This will not be correct or optimal, but it will be better than any other guess. The correct way to set the lengths of both arms is to use a properly built/set up bump steer gauge and trial and error the adjustments until you hit the camber you need and want and have minimum bump steer in the range of motion that the wheel is expected to travel. And what Duncan said about toe is also very true. And you cannot change the camber arm without also affecting toe. So when you have adjustable arms on the back of a Skyline, the car either needs to go to a talented wheel aligner (not your local tyre shop dropout), or you need to be able to do this stuff yourself at home. Guess which approach I have taken? I have built my own gear for camber, toe and bump steer measurement and I do all this on the flattest bit of concrete I have, with some shims under the tyres on one side to level the car.
    • Thought I would get some advice from others on this situation.    Relevant info: R33 GTS25t Link G4x ECU Walbro 255LPH w/ OEM FP Relay (No relay mod) Scenario: I accidentally messed up my old AVS S5 (rev.1) at the start of the year and the cars been immobilised. Also the siren BBU has completely failed; so I decided to upgrade it.  I got a newer AVS S5 (rev.2?) installed on Friday. The guy removed the old one and its immobilisers. Tried to start it; the car cranks but doesnt start.  The new one was installed and all the alarm functions seem to be working as they should; still wouldn't start Went to bed; got up on Friday morning and decided to have a look into the no start problem. Found the car completely dead.  Charged the battery; plugged it back in and found the brake lights were stuck on.  Unplugging the brake pedal switch the lights turn off. Plug it back in and theyre stuck on again. I tested the switch (continuity test and resistance); all looks good (0-1kohm).  On talking to AVS; found its because of the rubber stopper on the brake pedal; sure enough the middle of it is missing so have ordered a new one. One of those wear items; which was confusing what was going on However when I try unplugging the STOP Light fuses (under the dash and under the hood) the brake light still stays on. Should those fuses not cut the brake light circuit?  I then checked the ECU; FP Speed Error.  Testing the pump again; I can hear the relay clicking every time I switch it to ON. I unplugged the pump and put the multimeter across the plug. No continuity; im seeing 0.6V (ECU signal?) and when it switches the relay I think its like 20mA or 200mA). Not seeing 12.4V / 7-9A. As far as I know; the Fuel Pump was wired through one of the immobiliser relays on the old alarm.  He pulled some thick gauged harness out with the old alarm wiring; which looks to me like it was to bridge connections into the immobilisers? Before it got immobilised it was running just fine.  Im at a loss to why the FP is getting no voltage; I thought maybe the FP was faulty (even though I havent even done 50km on the new pump) but no voltage at the harness plug.  Questions: Could it be he didnt reconnect the fuel pump when testing it after the old alarm removal (before installing the new alarm)?  Is this a case of bridging to the brake lights instead of the fuel pump circuit? It's a bit beyond me as I dont do a lot with electrical; so have tried my best to diagnose what I think seems to make sense.  Seeking advice if theres for sure an issue with the alarm install to get him back here; or if I do infact, need an auto electrician to diagnose it. 
    • Then, shorten them by 1cm, drop the car back down and have a visual look (or even better, use a spirit level across the wheel to see if you have less camber than before. You still want something like 1.5 for road use. Alternatively, if you have adjustable rear ride height (I assume you do if you have extreme camber wear), raise the suspension back to standard height until you can get it all aligned properly. Finally, keep in mind that wear on the inside of the tyre can be for incorrect toe, not just camber
×
×
  • Create New...