CobraGSF

iTrader: (2)

One of the main reasons I did not hesitate to purchase a RWD sports car as my daily driver while living in the northeast was that i work roughly 2 miles from my house. On a daily commute between work and the gym i put 8-10 miles on my car daily. The funnier part is my Gym is right next to my job so the car is never really fully warmed up during the week, which i know put more wear on the engine. Friday-Sunday i usually take the car out on much longer drives and it does get fully warmed up then, and i occasionally stretch the engines legs if you know what i mean . My main concern is the longevity of continuing to do this. I know its not good, but im assuming these modern engines must be built better to withstand these things.

Now that its much colder out, im a bit more concerned about it. I have been doing oil changes every 2,500 miles.
Any advice or words of wisdom would be welcome. Should i assume in 5 years with this type of driving pattern my engine will be shot?

OUGrad05

You really shouldn't be running the car hard until there is heat in the oil. If you're getting some heat in the engine and oil before beating on it, even if its not fully up to temp you'll be fine. I've always told people that until your temperature needle moves you shouldn't exceed half your engine speed. So about 3600 rpm until you get some temp on the gauge. Once your oil temps are to 160 you can run it harder and at 180 degrees I'd not hesitate to beat on it.

CobraGSF

iTrader: (2)

Thanks! Yeah I never beat on it until the car is fully warmed up.

Also a side note, Every 1,000 miles I use Lucas Fuel injector Cleaner and Cylinder Lubricator as a preventative measure. Not sure if that's enough to combat all the short driving I do. Should I maybe put the cleaner in more often? since the car is running rich since it spends a lot of time in the warm up state.

OUGrad05

Engine will be fine if you're not beating on it while cold. Once or twice a week go for longer drives to help burn off some of the deposits. You'll get 300,000 miles out of it...

Autobacs

iTrader: (1)

As long as you are changing the oil in shorter intervals and follow the RPM limits when cold, you are fine.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Exactly. If you really want to do something nice to help your engine last, buy a block heater and plug it in so the oil is up to temperature right away, even in the summer. This will put you in closed loop faster, save fuel, minimize wear, and you won't need to waste money on injector cleaners or other fuel system chemicals.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Standby generators use a full cooling system heater and they keep their cylinder heads at 180F so they minimize start up smoke and so they're ready for full load in a minute or less.

If anyone in Canada can find out what Lexus is selling there for the GS F, it would be very helpful for the later generation of 2UR engines. The IS F uses part number PU14000902, and it is very possible this same unit will work with the RC F and GS F as this is a fairly common part. It's 400W, so if your electricity is expensive, you might want to put it on a timer with a heavy duty switch.

I have thought about this many times when I used to commute because it takes about 25 minutes of driving in 35F (2C) weather to get the oil to three bars. With a block heater, you'll be there in no time, and you won't have to wait long at all if you like to hammer the throttle. Now that I don't commute (WFH), I drive very little except to the airport or to local customers, but even so, I know it would be a big help if the oil were at 160 - 180F on startup regardless of the weather.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Necro thread revival - any Canadian owners put a block heater in their GS F? I don't want to assume the IS F unit will fit, but I have one for my IS F showing up next week and will check it if no one knows which unit fits the GS F.

charley95

Start taking the long way to work so everything is at full operating temperature.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

It takes me 30 minutes in Atlanta winter to get the oil up to full temperature. Hope your long way is pretty long.

Teutonic

iTrader: (1)

Just a data point on this subject:

This morning starting it up in a 55F garage and then traveling in 35F weather taking it easy (~50mph backroad for about 8 miles, one traffic light, then entering a 65mph highway), it took 7 minutes for the water to get up to temp (mid point on gauge). At that same time the oil temp gauge was starting to move and the redline on the tach was now displaying 7300rpm. 8 minutes later (15 minutes from start, probably 12 miles in) the engine oil was up to temp (a tick or two from center on the gauge). In colder weather it usually doesn't hit the midpoint (where it usually is in warmer weather).

I'm curious how the trans temp is at this point. I imagine it probably tracks closely with the engine oil, but not sure.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Both the engine oil and transmission oil go through water/oil heat exchangers, so the coolant actually warms up the oils when they are colder than the coolant. Coolant heats up fastest because the radiator isn't in the circuit until the thermostat opens. That might take quite a while in cold weather. Also, the transmission oil heat exchanger is in the radiator, so it will be much slower to gain heat. The engine oil gets the same coolant running through the block to get it warmer faster.