i agree with TOked...i usually let my car idle in the winter and wait till warm air comes out.....then i start to drive...it seems like a simpler system than timing it..

CEO

engine warmming up is not needed for cars from 89 and up.
they started making engines better on most cars.
i notice that when i start my car, my rpm just chills at 1500, then 2 mins later, it drops down to idle rpm at 650-700.

With newer oils like Mobil 1 0W-30, warming up is not as important as it used to be. Also, the alloys in construction have much less tolerances so not as much expansion, contraction with heat, so yes engines are better. But warming up an engine to optimal temps and getting the oil to parts is still valid, and this is not instantaneous, even with the newer formula synthetics. The main advantage to getting the car moving quickly is to get the cats up to optimal temps so to decrease pollutants. So I warm up the engine, no matter what the manual says.

We only need to wait about 10 seconds from start up, just enough time to get the oil pressure up and flowing. The car will warm itself up naturally if you drive it normally. Now don't go hammering it untill everything is up to operating temp.

I will just hop in the car, and start it; even before closing the door. Then close the door, put on the seat belt, play w/ the A/C and radio- then drive off. That whole process takes about 10 seconds anyway. So all is good.

Though not necessary, I too, fall prey to the pshchology of letting her warm up in the winter....even though I live in florida and the coldest winters are usually in the upper 30's to lower 40's.....for maybe a few days at the most. But I just feel better doing it. Hey, old habits are hard to break!

I'd have to be with Keith on this one. Ten seconds or so. Little to no throttle, slowing rolling at idle down the residential street. My car warms up quickly this way. I can not image any damage resulting to an engine running clean 5w-30 oil doing this. I am glad that the areas I've lived in allows me this warm up routine. I would hate to find myself jumping on the engine while it is cold.

94 SC300 5 speed, 84,800 miles, no oil consumption.

welcome SCoupe....i got the same car 94 sc3 but only i dont have a stick. mine has 857xx something miles. how much did you pay for yours if you dont mind my asking?

I can't take it anymore! I'm losing the battle of knowledge over ignorance, i'm outnumbered. T0ked, first of all, nice to see you using 0w30 oil, that's like molasses when it's cold, I could see maybe a 5w30 in winter. Second, the alloys used to construct blocks and heads are basically the same as they have been for quite a while, and synthetics don't reduce the amount of time an engine needs to warm up, although the viscosity can. Where do you get this stuff from? I give up trying to help, go ahead and drive away with no oil in the valvetrain.
- LL

10 seconds is not enough time for the oil to reach its full operating potential and ideal. you NEED to let the car warm up before driving. i mean its an engine. think about mechanically. when parts are cold and not lubricated. that increases wear and tear SIGNIFICANTLY. anyway IMO its best to let the needle climb its way up past the first hash mark AT LEAST before i even shift into D. but you can do whatever you want to its your car :rolleyes:

Hey lex, if you haven't noticed, I'm on your side on this little discussion we are having. But first of all, 0W-30 oil is LESS viscous when cold, meaning not as thick, meaning less protection, BUT freer flowing at lower temps. Molasses, last I remember, is pretty thick. I really don't know what to make of your analogy because I'm sure you know that the lower the number goes, means thinner the oil. The higher the number, higher the viscosity, basically meaning thicker oil, meaning better protection. Ideally, you want something thinner when cold and thicker when hot so it gets circulating quick at startup or cold temps, but provides enough protection at higher temps. But enough of a SAE classification freshen-upper. So, in this case, the oil is getting to the different parts of the engine quicker. Also, if you're saying that the materials and alloys used in engines over the last several decades, has not improved... well, then that's a shame. You don't need to sit there and wait 10 minutes for a modern engine to warm up is all I'm saying. 10 seconds is too short a period of time. The reasons I mention above have improved engine wear and performance and allowed people to get moving quicker, but not 10 seconds. The reason car manufacturers keep saying that warming up an engine is not neccessary at all, and mention a 10-15 second period, is for environmental reasons only. Because, which you have pointed out, the oil still needs time, and is the reason why I warm up my car until the temp needle begins to move (about 1-2 minutes). Hope this clears everything up.

BTW, I use 5W-30 in the winter and 10W-40 in the summer. 0W-30 was used as an example.

DOH!:egads:

Well we are all about to beat ourselves silly over our opinion on warm up routines and related what oil viscosity is best. For those of us who may be facinated by the topic (me), check out this website from the Oil Analysis.com, they actually have a Lubricants and Oil Analysis Message Board (can you believe such a site exists??): http://www.oilanalysis.com/message_b...agenumber=1%20

They've got into all kinds of stuff, "Thicker is better" is addressed as well as a bunch of other things we are careening into with less than perfect knowledge (speaking for myself anyway ):) I think I came away from this site believing that you will not gain much benefit from using a thicker viscosity oil if it is not needed and may in fact cause damage. Of course, what's needed is entirely your decision, we don't drive our cars by committee.

A gem from this site from someone named Chris: "If the viscosity is too low, it will not provide enough film strength, increasing the incidence of metal on metal contact, increasing the temperature of the lubricant, increasing the oxidation rate, decreasing the useful life of the oil. If the viscosity is too high it will have a higher internal friction (by defintion, viscosity is a function of the internal friction of a liquid), increasing the temperature of the lubricant, increasing the oxidation rate... Get the picture - two different effects, same end result."

Exactly, hence multigrade oils, ie 0W-30. You're absolutely correct. Viscosity is essentially a measure of a liquid's resistance to flow, in this case, oil. The viscosity index improver... it shows that an oil's viscosity improves (gets thicker) with higher temps and at lowers temps, it doesn't increase as much. Newer cars usually come with 0W-30 or 5W-30 which essentially provides optimal viscosity at higher and low temps. There are also special race oils in grades such as 15W-50 for engines that run at much higher temps, which most people would not need.

But back to the meat and potatoes of this thread... warm up your engines and don't believe everything you read in your manuals.

I notice my transmission makes more noise when it hasn't warmed up yet. My engine usually takes 5-10mins during the winter, but it always seems to take the transmission a bit longer to sound more smoother. At least I hope this is what's happening? anyone got any thoughts?