Large cold fronts are bringing this topic to the forefront. Temps are below freezing, are you starting your engine and off to the races or giving it time to warm up?

 

I don’t warm up for very long. Maybe a minute or so. I just go.

I have a remote start on my 08 Matrix and 21 4R. I only use the remote start on the matrix on the odd occasion

 

Start and go, but not driving aggressively until oil is up to temp. I want all the fluids at operating temp as soon as possible, including those in the transmission & differentials. Driving is the best way to accomplish this.

 

Cars warmup best when driven. However in boosted cars if I’m in a rush when it idles down after the cold start is when I start driving. And I will drive normal (try to stay out of boost) until there’s a few notches on the temp gauge. After a few notches on the temp gauge

In our hybrid and NA cars, crank and go My truck will not go into top gear until the transmission is up to temp which can be a mile or 2.

Disclaimer: I’m no mechanic but this has worked for me. I rather not waste gas letting it warmup (idle).

 

do you even live where it is cold? My SUVs won’t go into 5th gear in the cold. You can definitely feel it when it does go past 4

 

Depends, I actually did have to start my D4 W12 and 4.0TT in -3/-7 and the former didn't seem to care whatsoever and I just let it sit for 3 min so I was sure oil bypass was closed etc. That car doesn't even need 2000 rpm to move itself ahead of most traffic so it was uneventful.....I was honestly scared to start it and had a friend start it while I had the hood open to listen for any abnormal lifter tap/chain noise etc. It's my least weather sensitive engine apparently, normally it's always started in a garage.

The 4.0 had like .3 sec chain tensioner rattle and louder than normal lifters for 15 seconds and would not move redline up over 4k for like 10 min driving low rpm and off boost.

For all cars that I care about I wait 3 min or so to make certain the oil system is not in bypass and had all lifters etc primed fully. Then I keep rpms under 2500 until coolant temp is up fully, then it's normal driving until oil temp is good. Then hammer down as usual.

Jeep? Slam key in and be shifting to D before the engine fully finishes cranking and use whatever throttle you want from there.

 

It may not be cold to some but it’s supposed to be -4C by morning. My truck sounds similar to your SUV.

 

In general, start it up and let it idle for maybe 30-60 seconds, depending on how cold it is. No matter how long you let it idle, with automatic transmissions, do not shift it into gear until the fast-idle, when cold, drops back down to about 1000 RPM or below.....that's much easier on the transmission. Then drive off slowly, and use the gas pedal very gently, until it gets to about a quarter or so on the temp gauge...which is around 140 degrees F. An engine is considered warmed up at 140, although full-operating temperature is 195-200.

 

Personally i follow what i derived from the Toyota long term storage guidelines.

i start moving when they say its safe to engage the ac compressor, which is below 1000 rpm.

I respect the start and go procedure, but usually the cold run procedure makes everything slow to respond; it holds the lowest gears acceptable.

 

Yes, some automatics will not upshift beyond a certain point until the engine temperature is around 140. My 1Gen IS300 was like that.....drove me nuts. I never did like that feature, which is done mainly for emission purposes. As I see it, it just places unnecessary added RPMs on a cold engine, when you should be trying to keep the cold RPMs down to start with.

 

‘yeah true. My sister in Savannah gets some cold night in the winter. I just get going as soon as I can.

 

idle for maybe a minute or so max then very gentle driving for the next 10 minutes or so, no serious throttle until 15+ minutes... anything longer than 1-2 min idling and you're basically just wasting gas without actually heating up the engine very much

 

That really depends on the engine/car, some cars have 3-5 stage coolant systems that progressively open areas to allow heat to build for the block. Many have electronic controls for all the cooling loops

If I leave my 4.0 idling it will come up to 160* oil temp in about 25 minutes in normal temps, the W12 has so many cylinders close together it will generate enough heat to open the mechanical thermostats for the trans/oil/etc. If I leave the LS460 at idle it won't warm the trans but will get the engine itself up to 170* oil fairly quickly, the Jeep will not build temp in winter, the Diesel will not build temp in winter.

 

It gets down into the 20's and 30's here in the winter. I just generally get in and go. Maybe I'll wait for the idle to drop because i'm messing with my phone or something looking for a playlist or podcast.

I generally don't go hard on it until the temp gauge has moved a bit. The BMW can do all of my daily driving without ever breaking 2,000 RPMs lol. The F-150 is a bit more rev happy.

If I'm up in Utah in the winter where it's colder, I'll sometimes let it run longer while I wait for the windshield to defrost.

 

I remote start the Yukon and will go out and start the LX and let it warm up if it's cold. The Merc is in the garage but I let it idle for 45 seconds or so when I start it. Which is overkill but it's just my baby. The LS430 I'd start in -40 degree weather and floor it lol (jk).

Yes, I absolutely let my cars warm up... always have always will. It doesn't do a damn thing to the car except provide a warm interior 5-10 minutes later.

Lol when I was growing up on school/work days my stepdad would go start the car when he woke up, it would idle for at least 45 minutes every morning. Never any problems from it.