warm it up!

[boogz]

Hey Guys,

Just want the general consensus and potentially technical guide on warming up before driving off...

On another thread I mentioned I warmed up my car for about 5 mintues before driving on the road and was kindly told that it was probably doing more harm than good. Probably true, but want to hear from everyone else as well. Plus it's an exuse to get a thread going... hehehe... :biggrin:

Would love to hear your input....

[Manaz]

Interesting question - one I've thought about myself quite a bit.

I generally don't spend a lot of time warming my car up - but I do try to drive sedately until the temperature needle starts to swing upwards.

I don't know that warming up is necessary these days with oil technology being what it is, but I'm no mechanic, and would definitely like to hear the opinion of someone with better knowledge than I!

[Arctra]

My understanding is that with Diesels it's better to do what Manaz said. The diesel engine needs to work in order to not glaze the bore. Start car and drive sedately till the engine is warm before caning it. Usually 5 to 10 minutes of driving depending on ambient temps and how hard the engine is working. The temp needle is usually for your coolant temp, not oil temp, so I wait for even longer than when the needle hits ideal temp.

[WABIT]

lol, there is no need to warm up new cars, some vw models even have pre warmed water flowing through the radiator upon startup!

warming up is old news now

dom

[rayray086]

Yeah I remember reading my Golf's manual and my sister's Polo's manual (both Mk3) and it says in bold writing that there's no need to let the car sit, rather just drive once you started but not to give it stick. Their reasoning was that using the car straight off will help warm up the car faster than if it was just idling away.

[SoVeReIgN]

I usually let car idle just long enough for it's initial high idle to calm(~1minute) and get oil flowing, baby it until it hits operating temp, then drive sedately for 5~10mins after that to get the oil up to temp.

All my cars get treated nicely. :)

[Mrk_Mickey]

I do what most do here..just keep it steady for a few minutes. I turn the car on and turn music on, so I've got around about 20 seconds of idling which I think is more than mandatory before I drive 'carefully' for 5 or 10 minutes.

[Rocket36]

In my R36, I wait for the auto choke to lower the revs back to regular idle and then drive away. Definitely don't drive it hard until it's at 90 degrees but other than that it's all good.

[chris.]

i always let mine warm up to operating temp before i drive but i dont think its nesesary on a non heavily modded car but i just do it because i love her and i do everything else to try and keep her happy & ive been in the habit for years now

[Greg Roles]

Just drive it sedately, and as mentioned the "90" degree mark on the temp gauge is anywhere from about 82 to 98, and the oil takes approx twice as long to reach it's 80 degree operating temps in my oiler. The oil temps only start to rise as the water temp shows towards "90".

Your TSI will warm up quite quickly given the fact it's a gasser, has high boost pressures, and consequently high exhaust temps. As a comparison, on a 10-20 degree day, my diesel has idle exhaust temps only around 100 degrees, and I've seen 70 degrees backed off down a hill. You need to boost it a bit to warm it up, and all turbo's are the same.

All the wear happens on the first few dry revolutions on initial start anyhow, sitting there for five minutes adding to greenhouse gas doesn't help that fact.

[gti]

I think it runs better and sounds better without warming it up but I still wait about 20 secs or so before driving off. :driver:

[mikepologti]

yeps i let her idle till the auto choke backs off then drive her nice till the 90 degree mark

[dubbed]

As has been said, modern cars should be driven moderately until the temp is at operating temperature.

You should never leave a new car idling for long or run it on a light load as you can glaze the bores. I also think this is true to a degree for a car that has been run in but idles constantly.

[brad]

Start car & drive out of garage. Press garage remote & wait at top of driveway long enough for door to close, put on seatbelt, plug in phone, adjust A/C & get comfy. Drive off & try and keep revs below 3000rpm until the temp gauge is halfway.

Sitting in the drive idling might warm the engine but it does nothing for the gearbox oil, wheel bearing grease, brakes, etc.

[Flaps]

lol, there is no need to warm up new cars, some vw models even have pre warmed water flowing through the radiator upon startup!

warming up is old news now

dom

I disagree.

It takes 15mins from start up for my Oil Temp gauge to reach 90-100 degree's where it stays for normal driving. It takes 5mins for the water temp gauge to reach middle(90) and by this time the oil temp still hasn't moved from 60 degrees(bottom of the dial).

I start mine and let the auto choke finish then I move off keeping the revs down for the first 5 mins.

[WABIT]

lol how can you disagree if volkswagen have this feature on there t4 caravelle?

dom

[Flaps]

Is my Polo the same as a t4 caravelle?

[WABIT]

umm.... im sure you can work that out yourself

[brad]

I disagree.

It takes 15mins from start up for my Oil Temp gauge to reach 90-100 degree's where it stays for normal driving. It takes 5mins for the water temp gauge to reach middle(90) and by this time the oil temp still hasn't moved from 60 degrees(bottom of the dial).

I start mine and let the auto choke finish then I move off keeping the revs down for the first 5 mins.

So are you saying you like to have the car sitting idling for 15 minutes before you drive?

[Flaps]

So are you saying you like to have the car sitting idling for 15 minutes before you drive?


I start mine and let the auto choke finish then I move off keeping the revs down for the first 5 mins.

I was making a point that since I have an oil temp gauge I have noticed it takes 15mins from turning the key in the ignition to 90-100 degrees. Unless it is a very hot day or I am in stop-start traffic the temp never goes up.

[Flaps]

umm.... im sure you can work that out yourself

Exactly. I don't see you point?

[WABIT]

how can you disagree on something that your car does not have? just because your polo doesnt have it, doesnt mean VW didnt put that feature in any other VW, id be almost right in saying the polo is the last thing VW will put any of there new features on......



lol, there is no need to warm up new cars, some vw models even have pre warmed water flowing through the radiator upon startup!

warming up is old news now


you cant just disagree on somthing that isnt related to your polo

ok, you warm up you car, but how do you know that it causes damage to your polo if you dont warm it up? VW techs actually tells you there is no need to warm up their cars anymore, with they technology they have today, they have overridden that process

[Flaps]

how can you disagree on something that your car does not have?

Easy. I disagreed on 'not warming up' new cars. I didn't disagree on VW's fully sick water feature.

I believe in warming the oil before giving it full throttle even though VW say it isn't needed.

[WABIT]

thats good man, congrats :drinkbeer:................

[Flaps]

Thanks.

Does anyone know what a VW Tech's advice would be on giving a turbo 1.5 bar of boost straight after start up??

[Jarred]

Thanks.

Does anyone know what a VW Tech's advice would be on giving a turbo 1.5 bar of boost straight after start up??

depends how long do you want your engine and turbo to last?

there's being stupid, smart and over cautious.

being stupid would be flooring it from cold.

being smart is giving it a few minutes.

being over cautious is waiting 15 mins to use the right pedal. (in a meaningful manner)

technology for engines and oils for that matter have come along way. you don't need to sit and wait before you drive you car anymore. With oils the way they are, I don't even have to wait with my old cars!

hth.

[velly_16v_cab]

you dont need to warm up engines these days....abit like you dont have to run them in either!!!

but there is also nothing wrong with you letting the car warm up, its what ever makes you happy.

Personnally i let my car warm up before giving it some welly. :driver:
also the same how i will let it cool down at the end of a hard drive...

[brad]

I'm not sure about you lot but generally the expression "warm up " means sitting stationary with the engine idling. These days, that's not needed or recommended.

But anyone that thrashes an engine from dead cold is just asking for problems in the future.

[greasykitchen]

The owners manual for my MK1 golf (or for my old '72 beetle) says something like, there's no need to wait for it to warm up - jusr drive off straight away, but don't race the engine for the first few minutes. So if those old cars don't need to be warmed up, then I'd say new ones don't either.

PS the important thing with the golf is to pump the gas the correct way for temperature of the engine. From dead cold it's pump it once and then hold down while starting. That should set the auto-choke properly.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Without closing this thread, I'm going to suggest that everyone keeps their opinions out of their posts, which should only be fact or personal preference of car-starting technique. Keep it dead on track, or it'll just have to go!

sorry op, back on topic.. greasykitchen, what do you mean by pumping the gas the correct way?

[greasykitchen]

greasykitchen, what do you mean by pumping the gas the correct way?

I mean pumping the accelerator pedal before you start. This is just for a MK1 as it's all I know. The owner's manual gives instructions on how to get the best out of the auto-choke (I think that's it) if your engine is cold, warm, hot etc.

I can't remember the other ones, but from dead cold push the pedal down once (and release) and then hold it down while starting the engine. Once I found this out it idled etc much better (except if it needs a tune or it's really cold - those solex carbies can be a pain).

I've been told lately that no pedal pushing is needed for fuel injected cars (an alien species to me ;) )

[Mrk_Mickey]

Ahh ok cool, cheers for the input. You nearly had me wanting to try it on mine, because mine is rough as guts in the morning! ..Probs cos it's ''old'' though (15 years mustn't be too old to you).

[greasykitchen]

Sorry can't help with that one. My Mk1 is the youngest car I've owned!

At least it's not the dreaded 'hesitation' that you get on old beetle engines. You put your foot down and get no power, but not when dead cold, only after 2 or 3 mins of running. Icing up carby of something handy.

I remember though family members driving Datsuns and Mazdas from the '70s and them having to wait for the thing to warm up and futzing with the manual choke. VW must have been ahead of its peers even then.

Chairs.