Warming up Engine? Debate here at work...

[Jeepin05]

Hey guys I got a question that I thought you all would have some good input on.

When I jump in my KJ, I just don't feel right starting it up and then immediately putting it in gear and taking off. I like to let it "warm up" for a little bit all year. In the warm seasons, this may only be for 15-30 seconds. Of course in the winter time I let it go for considerably longer (gets friggin cold in Iowa ). Generally in winter I wait for the RPMs to drop to 1000 in park.

My boss here at work thinks its funny and that there is no benefit in doing this. He says this is just for old school cars and that it does nothing for newer vehicles.

It's just kind of a pet peeve of mine, go ahead and joke if you'd like .

What do you think?

 

[ridenby]

Pretty much do the same as you.

 

[Dave]

We are talking cold winter weather here right??

As far as your engine goes, once your oil pressure is up you are good to go. (that said, I don't mean you should put the pedal to the metal so to speak).

As far as heat and a comphy goes you could idle the engine in cold weather, but that just gets you a warm interior and engine. Your drivetrain is stone cold.

The best (and fastest) way to warm up the whole vehicle/drivetrain is to actually drive it. I read somewhere that it takes about 10 miles of driving to warm the entire vehicle/drivetrain in very cold weather.

Just some thoughts.

Dave

 

[bmrrwolfe]

We are talking cold winter weather here right??

The best (and fastest) way to warm up the whole vehicle/drivetrain is to actually drive it. I read somewhere that it takes about 10 miles of driving to warm the entire vehicle/drivetrain in very cold weather.

Just some thoughts.

Dave

I've been told this too, drive is lightfooted for atleast 5-10 minutes before any kind of higher speed or highway driving.

 

[67Customs]

In the warmer months, I give it about 1 minute. In the colder months, I wait maybe two or so minutes until the RPM drops. Most new cars have a warm-up cycle where the RPM will drop when it has ran its course. The warm-up cycle on my old Jetta and my current Audi are very obvious, but my Jeep is less so. But, it still does it as most new cars I have driven do also.

I do like the oil to get somewhat thinner before I start driving.

I know people that let their car warm up while they are getting ready in the morning. If you are letting your car warm up in the morning for more than 5 minutes, you are only causing pointless wear and tear to your engine and polluting the environment. On the opposite side of that, it isn't good to jump in, turn the key and shove it into drive. That is why modern cars have a "warm-up" cycle when they are first started after a few hours. The oil needs to get somewhat thinner before you get the vehicle into the upper RPMs.

I also try not to rev the engine above 2500 rpms before it gets to its normal operating temperature.

 

[Simpleman]

It may sound old school, but today's engines have much tighter tolerances than older cars and letting the oil get to these parts before putting a load on them will definitely extend the life of your car.

 

[kb0nly]

Being a Midwesterner myself, just north of you in MN, i agree with your warmup.

In the summer its usually start and watch the RPM come down to normal idle before putting it in gear and going. In the winter time it's usually go out and start up and then go back in the house and finish getting the kids coats on and such, a good 5-10 min warmup. In really really cold weather i will give it that 10 mins and then drive nice and slow while the rest of it warms up for the first few miles.

I have yet to go through a winter with the KJ since i just got it this summer, but with the wife's car and the past vehicles i have owned i find if i need to go somewhere when its really cold i go start it and get ready to go, then drive slowly across town, by the time i get across town the engine temp is up to normal operating range, then when i hit the highway i'm ready to go.

I don't have a block heater on the wife's car, and my KJ doesn't have one either. The car was starting just fine at -40 this winter so i'm not too worried about it, its been through a couple winters with us no problem. From what i have read on here most KJ owners haven't had any major cold weather starting problems, provided you have a good battery and everything is in order, so i'm on the fence about installing a block heater on the KJ. It's not that expensive, about $30 for a good one. I had a block heater in the minivan the KJ replaced, it was helpful on that vehicle for one reason, it helped it warm up a bit quicker. An extended minivan with rear heat and air has a LOT of coolant to circulate and warm up and it takes a long friggin time to get heat throughout the vehicle when its really cold out. As a comparison the wife's car can run 5 minutes in the driveway and then you turn on the heat and back out and your warm before you get to the stop sign on the corner. It's a 2.4L and warms up nice and fast.

 

[Ry' N Jen]

We let the engine run a couple of minutes before driving.
Even though it really doesn't get that cold here in Southern British Columbia, come mid November, the block heater gets plugged in.
The engine warms up quicker and there is no sick groan from the starter motor.

 

[flair1111]

summer time i warm up for a minute or so. winter 5 min or so. ive seen to many busted radiators in the winter when people just get in and take off.

 

[jnaut]

It's generally accepted that in these here modern times you can just drive your car after you start it. However, there are some issues that you should consider:

If you just start driving it without any warmup, you're not going to get very good gas mileage for the first several miles.

If you like to rev the living crap out of your engine before its warmed up, your gaskets and seals haven't warmed up yet, and you could be in for trouble.

Plus, let's not forget. You sat there and warmed your engine up for three minutes. That says nothing for all the other systems in your car, like your automatic transmission. That's just as cold as it was three minutes ago.

 

[Ry' N Jen]

It's generally accepted that in these here modern times you can just drive your car after you start it. However, there are some issues that you should consider:

If you just start driving it without any warmup, you're not going to get very good gas mileage for the first several miles.

If you like to rev the living crap out of your engine before its warmed up, your gaskets and seals haven't warmed up yet, and you could be in for trouble.

Plus, let's not forget. You sat there and warmed your engine up for three minutes. That says nothing for all the other systems in your car, like your automatic transmission. That's just as cold as it was three minutes ago.

Ain't that the truth!
I've seen "Brand" new cars blowing blue here in town.

 

[kb0nly]

I always laugh at the argument that its soo bad emissions wise letting your vehicle idle in the cold to warm up before going, whats the difference between letting it run rich in the driveway or driving around slowly for a while as it does the same thing? It's going to use that extra amount of fuel when its cold regardless so whats the point in their argument against letting it warm up?

 

[lil black liberty]

Here in Oklahoma during the Summer of 105 degrees or so I usually turn off the AC first before I start it.. Roll down the windows and start it, when it's on for about 1 minute I start the AC..and then I buckle up and gently drive off my curb and I'm gone.. for a total of 5 minutes.. Now during the winter I usually start up my vehicle with the heater off, gently move the transmission into reverse and throw the parking brake on it to let it warm up a little bit. I go inside and get ready and then come back drop the parking brake and go like normal.. Don't seem to bother it, I did it all the time in a 95 Neon and never once had an issue..

 

[kb0nly]

Here in Oklahoma during the Summer of 105 degrees or so I usually turn off the AC first before I start it.. Roll down the windows and start it, when it's on for about 1 minute I start the AC..and then I buckle up and gently drive off my curb and I'm gone.. for a total of 5 minutes.. Now during the winter I usually start up my vehicle with the heater off, gently move the transmission into reverse and throw the parking brake on it to let it warm up a little bit. I go inside and get ready and then come back drop the parking brake and go like normal.. Don't seem to bother it, I did it all the time in a 95 Neon and never once had an issue..

HA!! Funny you mention that man.

We had a 95 Neon and did the same thing with putting the trans into reverse and putting on the parking brake to warm it up. But that was mainly because when it got good and cold it wouldn't shift right. We tried everything, flush and fill, filters, valve body kit, you name it. That trans just wouldn't behave, it would go, it would just stick in first gear sometimes until it got warmed up then it would shift. So unless you wanted to drive around town really slow or wind up the motor you had to get it warmed up first, and letting it idle in reverse with the parking brake on always did the trick.

That Neon had so many problems though after a while it wasn't even funny anymore. In the first year the list of parts i replaced would take two posts here.

 

[lil black liberty]

HA!! Funny you mention that man.

We had a 95 Neon and did the same thing with putting the trans into reverse and putting on the parking brake to warm it up. But that was mainly because when it got good and cold it wouldn't shift right. We tried everything, flush and fill, filters, valve body kit, you name it. That trans just wouldn't behave, it would go, it would just stick in first gear sometimes until it got warmed up then it would shift. So unless you wanted to drive around town really slow or wind up the motor you had to get it warmed up first, and letting it idle in reverse with the parking brake on always did the trick.

That Neon had so many problems though after a while it wasn't even funny anymore. In the first year the list of parts i replaced would take two posts here.

I didn't have any problems with my neon well til my sister got ahold of it that is.. I had put abunch of racing parts on mine and my stupid sister instead of like not going through the water on the road she goes through water that is up over the engine.. next thing I know BOOM... I was like WTF was that! My neon started smoking from the engine bay and we some how got it home.. She had vapor locked my engine.. dude I was so mad.. I replaced the engine and still had problems with it..

 

[kb0nly]

Your lucky then... I had overheating problems, electrical problems, fuel system problems, i fixed them all one by one but it was draining money out of my wallet.

I sold it to a guy and three days after he bought it he calls me and asks if i ever had any troubles with the gauge cluster, i asked why, he says he was driving down the highway when all the gauges dropped. Turned out to be yet another electrical problem in the dash, he got it fixed after a few hours and more than a few dollars.

 

[Marlon_JB2]

Warming up engines is so old school. I give it a few seconds to build up some oil pressure at most, then leave. I do not drive like a bat out of hell though. Oh and regarding the "not very good gas mileage"... well... you don't get very good gas mileage by letting it sit there either.

 

[jnaut]

Here in Oklahoma during the Summer of 105 degrees or so I usually turn off the AC first before I start it.. Roll down the windows and start it, when it's on for about 1 minute I start the AC..and then I buckle up and gently drive off my curb and I'm gone.. for a total of 5 minutes..

I do the exact same thing, but I don't have any empirical evidence as to why. I guess I just don't like my engine starting cold with the extra strain of the compressor on it. kopkrab.gif

 

[jnaut]

Warming up engines is so old school. I give it a few seconds to build up some oil pressure at most, then leave. I do not drive like a bat out of hell though. Oh and regarding the "not very good gas mileage"... well... you don't get very good gas mileage by letting it sit there either.

Very true, but if say you're getting 80% poorer gas mileage before its warm, you're going to burn a lot more gas at 20% efficiency putting a load on the engine than you will just idling.

I totally admit that when idling, warm or cold, you're gettin 0 mpg. But my general understanding is it takes very little gas to keep an engine idling as opposed to lugging it up a 15% grade. That's why most people will find their worst gas mileage occurs on tanks when they do a lot of short trips which start and end before the O2 sensors warm up enough to run in a closed loop.

 

[tjkj2002]

Me personally I let my KJ fully warm up in the winter months(I have a remote starter).That way if fully defrosts my windshield(I hate scrapping ice) and my trans is also warmed up since I have a in the radiator cooler before the AUX cooler.If you ever noticed when it's like -10 degrees out and just start your KJ and then take off your trans will not shift very well,it's a limp mode that locks out gears until your trans fluid temps increase to near normal operating temps.Before my KJ growing up in South Dakota sometimes I would not shut my vehicle off for days at a time,just let it idle all day and night when it was -35 degrees out as a high temp.

In the summer months I generally remote start my KJ when I'm walking to it(I have a 1/4 mile range on my remote starter) and when I get in I just put the key in and go then.