How long do you let your car warm up?
 

Hey guys, just out of curiosity, if you do warm up your car, how long do you let run before driving?

Personally I wait 30 seconds-ish, or wait for the operating temps to fall, then get to the top of the street (residential, so not too fast) then the water temp is usually at operating, not oil though... But that's the extent that I care

Depends on the temperature when I start it. Really cold...a few minutes. Really hot...not so much.


Clear as mud.

i typically let the car idle until the rpms fall to normal idle speed, then drive and keep rpms under 4k until the oil temps start to rise

Umm about 5-7 minutes since sometimes I don't turn my car on for like a week. ;p

Damn you all, vote on the poll, lol

Untill temp is about half way to normal running temp...

how long does that take? ...

Crap... I wanted to add the choice "about 5 minutes"... And modify the 6th post to take the "(30 seconds)" part off

Mods? Help?

I usually let my Z idle for a good 5 minutes before I start driving. I then keep RPMs under 4k until my oil temps build up, which sometimes takes forever when its cold out since I have an oil cooler. Even with a block off cover, I can drive around for a good 10-15 minutes until I reach 180f.

I voted "I wait for the water temp to move off the bottom"

My car is in the garage so this is what usually happens on cold start:

- wait for idle to drop to normal
- pull out of garage
- wait for water temp to move 1 dot up (might as well do a walk around/QD while this happens)
- drive away

That's what I pretty much do, warm up anywhere up to 5 minutes or so then drive and keep low rpms and accelerate slow. 10-15 mins later I am at around 180f .

Floor the accelerator for 30 seconds and I am good to go.:driving::tup:

[QUOTE=6MT;2174781]Depends on the temperature when I start it. Really cold...a few minutes. Really hot...not so much.


Clear as mud.[/QUOTE:iagree:

Yeah, and i try to stay off the freeway until my temps build up. So I'll drive around on side streets which has alot of stop go traffic. If I get on the freeway before I reach 180, I may never even get there.

until there are 6-7 bubles on the water temp gauge

Once it moves off the bottom, to the 2nd or 3rd light, then I back out the driveway and idle in neutral all the way down the street. It's a good 1/2 mile downhill to the main street and I get up to about 25 mph. The water temp is usually at operating temp by then.

The 7th is operating temp

I actually listen for the choke to regulate, or I time the lopes. With a stock exhaust it's not to hard to tell. I expect with a modified exhaust it's even easier.

/Although, I have to say, for those in colder temps, and with the choke engaged, they must get a "good-morning" run for the first few minutes with that extra throttle response! Ihave had to run out of the house in cold weather, as many of us have, and kinda like the extra 'urmph' it gives us. :excited:

[X] Warm up?!?!?! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WARM IT UP? THIS AIN'T NO 1920'S CAR, modern technology FTW!!!

works for all the toyotas we've owned, and nissan is similar enough :tup:

From my understanding, car heats up when driven so for me, 30sec to a minute unless the windows are frosted. Ive always done this on all my cars. One time I had to get in my car, start it up and move it asap. I felt so bad i wanted to cry. I hate dropping it off at the dealership overnight cuz im sure they just start up and take off.

:icon18:
lol. You can never ride one of my modern technology bikes. (if the fiance would ever let me have another):shakes head:

Poll question: none of the above.

What do you do?

See above ... Second post.

Lol, my bad, didn't pay close enough attention. My bad :tiphat:

Your poll is like a build a burger. Lol

:iagree:

and that is what i voted

Idle until water temp gets to ~110F and RPMs drop to ~1050. Keep RPMs below 2500-3000 until oil temp moves off the peg. Keep RPMs below 3500-4000 until oil at 160F. WOT when oil temp gets to 175-180F.

I'm not sure how that fits into your poll. :(

You need an option in your 'build-a-burger-poll' for:

"You let the choke regulate, then drive it safely, responsibly, and like a matured individual"

EDIT: and an option for:

"You don't drive it, you're in jail in Tijuana"

and

"I use SouthArk370Z's method, which is too complicated to explain in a poll option"

:rofl2:

[QUOTE=Illmatic370z;2174806]:icon18: Me too!

Either wait for water to move off the bottom or let the juices flow then drive like a granny

I ignore the dash water temp gauge (it's even more worthless than the fuel gauge). I use my ScanGuageII to monitor water temp.
The main thing I'm looking for is RPMs to drop before moving. After that, oil temp is what I'm looking at.

What exactly does "let the juices flow" mean?
I do drive like a granny until the oil temp comes up.

Welllll... What I mean is you just let the oil lube up the top half of the engine

:iagree:
Exactly. Once the choke comes off, we're just about good to go. I trust the engine mgmt system. Not that I could fight a case of cracked rings or hairline cracks in the cylinder walls with the dealership, but manufacturers 'generally' test the engines and program the CPU to act accordingly.

She hasn't let me do that in months....

we're still talking about cars, right?

The choke in my car is only engaged for... 30-45 seconds, then the RPMs drop
And the garage is... 60-ish degrees

During the summer I let the juices flow a bit and then drive like a granny. When it's colder like beginning of spring or end of fall. I let it warm up for 5-10 mins. I have a starter installed.

Nice!
At my townhouse, there's no garage. So, the choke runs for a good long time and is already adjusted to the ambient outside temps by the time the RPMS calm down. I walk back in the house if it's cold enough anyways, and the engine is good and warm while I feed the dogs and kiss the fiance.

I expect that the block sitting at ~60 would be ideal for me. I miss my garage. Probably getting another property in a year or two and a work garage in the year after where I'll rest the Z.

I do somewhat the same, oil temp dictates when I can be naughtier with the throttle. Plus I don't want the cold oil to cause excessive oil pressure (read somewhere our engine oil bump max at 100 psi or something?)

Keep Your Engine Alive: The Importance of Oil Temperature | Tuner University