Warming-up Car Engine Is It Necessary?
 

i have lexus LS400 model 2000

Is it really necessary to warm up your car's engine before you drive it? If so, why?

because normally i warm up my car' s engine for ten minutes of idling evey morning before start driving to my work.
Weather temperature in my town is around 30°C

guys share your opinions and advices with me...

Don't let it sit and idle for ten minutes. Waste of fuel. On a cold start, just let it warm up for 30secs to a minute or so and go. Take it easy on the car for about the first~15 minutes or until the engine and transmission reach their operating tempature. Then you can drive the car harder, or in other words, if you're late you can floor it :D.

you are doing more harm to your engine idling that long, and please think of the environmental impact on that. Modern engines do not need to be warmed up like the old carburetor engines.

start the car, watch the RPM drops in about 15 seconds, then off you go. Drive moderate RPM (3k less) for 15 minutes then the engine oil should be at operating temp for full own driving.

here are some facts about warming up car
•An idling engine releases twice as many exhaust fumes than a vehicle in motion.
•If every driver in Canada avoided idling for 5 minutes a day, we could prevent 1.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted.
•No more than 30 seconds of idling is needed for oil to circulate through your engine. Many components, such as the wheel bearings, tires and suspension system will only warm up once the vehicle is moving.
•Restarting your car many times has little impact on engine components, adding only around $10 per year to the cost of driving, money that is recovered in fuel savings.
•Ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting the engine.
•Idling can damage your engine since it is not operating at its peak temperature where fuel is completely burned. Fuel residue from incomplete burning can damage engine parts.
•Idling a vehicle for 10 minutes a day uses an average of 100 litres of gas a year. If gas costs 70 cents a litre, you will save $70 per year, just by turning your key.
•During the winter, Canadians idle their vehicles for a combined total of 75 million minutes/day. This is equal to a vehicle idling for 144 years. Although we idle our vehicles about 40% less in summer, we still waste an enormous amount of fuel and money.
•A block heater warms the oil and engine coolant, making it easier to start your vehicle and improving winter fuel economy by as much as 10%.

i only idle mine for like 12-20 seconds, before i drive the first tiime of the day.

didn't know most of those facts posted.. but i just don't have the patience to wait in the car for 10 mins.. the most i wait is like 20 seconds

i just wait for my pc to boot up then im off and about.

^yeah, i know. 10 minutes, wtf i'm gonna do for 10 minutes.

environmental impact.......ppppppppsssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh

10min is way too long for anything.

I wait TOPS 1min, and of course drive it easy until it's at normal operating temp.

While im all for the environment, but having changed the starter on my LS... I say your looking at 2-3days or $2000 worth of labor to replace the starter. Search for my thread for pics on my starter replacement on my old 98LS.

Now about warming up your car, I would wait until oil is up to pressure, about 30-45secs. In the winter, might wait for 2-3mins. But at 10mins in 30C weather is overkills. I'd hate to see how much carbon build up is in that engine.

Usually I start the engine when i get into the car before i do anything (put away whatever stuff I was carrying, change the radio, get comfortable etc.)...so max 10-15 seconds and I take it slowly til it warms up

Edit...I thought I read that 30C as 30F...at that temp, it's warm. The A/C will cool the car faster once moving.

Unless using dino based oil, a synthetic will easily maintain viscosity at that temp. Once oil pressure is up and that is nearly instantaneous on modern cars...within a few seconds. Warming up serves minimal to no purpose except to use more gas.

If you are in - temps or where you have lots of ice to deal with getting the defroster warm may help the windsheild. Otherwise, the engine will come up to operating temp faster by driving it. Do the experiment yourself. It takes mine about 2 -4 minutes or 3 miles of driving at 45MPH to be at normal operating temp (That is with ambient temps of 60-90F/16-33C.) The temp comes up faster if I make the lights and am on the freeway. Idle...I haven't tried though I would estimate it would take about 6-8 minutes. I'd rather use that gas getting somewhere than sitting.

Is there some reason why you feel a 10 minute warm-up is necessary?

I have owned a VW, BMW, and now a Lexus. Every one of their manuals has recommended driving (lightly on the throttle) when to engine is cold to warm it up. They all clearly mention what others have said here. Idling just wastes gas.

http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n...n/th_NoRLY.jpg


Interesting!!!

the canadians are single handedly responsible.