Warming up the engine...serious????

...yes serious, doesn't mean you have to wait in your garage but all engines require so basic warm whether it's a honda or a Ferrari..

 

Same thing with my C2 Turbo,first few minutes are very frustrating but after that it's always a BIG GRIN...

 

Oh yea, it's been that way since 1977, brudda.....

Think of the car, like your lover.......don't force it cold.

Price you pay for the engineering tolerances, actually....

Tune the radio, adjust the mirrors, sip coffee......blip the throttle, wave at the neighbors.....then go......

 

I tell this to my customers:
You don't truly care about your car's engine?

Are you willing to deal with the possibility of having to buy a new motor earlier than expected without complaining?

Do you have triple A?

Are you willing to deal with the smoke that's going to billow out due to wear and tear?

If you answered yes to the above questions, then NO, it's not serious 'To You' that you warm-up.

Note: Your Ferrari's engine is made up with exacting tolerances of disimular metals. Those metals have different "coefficients of expansion." That means that Aluminum gets bigger than steal at a different rate. There are other tech variables but I don't want to bore you. I'll just listen to people complain about how much they paid, and why such an expensive car could leak.

Your Ferrari's motor was designed a specific way, so treat it a specific way; or, not.............

 

Still anticipating owning one, I would llike to know roughly, how much time it takes to get to this 150 oil temp. I know it depends on how cool it is when you start, so lets just choose a mild starting point. A nice California fall day, say temp in the 50 to 60's. Are you waiting two minutes, or more like 20 minutes to get to 150 degrees oil temp. I would assume the oil temp lags the water temp by quite a bit, right?
Thanks.

 

It's not a huge deal really...but you do want to wait a few (3) minutes to watch the needles start moving from the pegs..then take it easy for a few more minutes..

Backing out of the drive and dumping the clutch for a smokey burnout is just a bad idea..

Respect the machinery and your wallet will smile........

By the time I make two stoplights and enter the freeway my WATER temp is good to go. Oil system has it's own cooler, and lags behind somewhat..

 

It is temperature and not time, as conditions vary. Always look at your gauge. I am always amazed that most cars don't come with an oil temperature gauge when proper warm up is critical to engine wear. Just cost savings b.s. I suppose.

 

Warm up time is very dependant on the model/year of the Ferrari as well. Early cars with oil coolers that did not have a thermostat, can take a loooooong time to warm up in the fall/winter...like 15 minutes or more. No, you don't sit ideling that long...but you drive off, keeping the rpms below 3500 to 4000 rpm...until oil temps reach 150-170 degrees F. My 355 spider warms up pretty quickly, due to the thermostat in the oil line, so maybe 5-7 minutes depending on the ambient outside temperature.

Many high performance cars have similar warnings...so this is not unusual. BMW has even put warning lights on the tach of some models to warn you not to rev above 4000rpm until the oil is sufficiently warm. It IS important, or they wouldn't mention it....and go to such lengths.

 

Kevin,

Uniform engine temperatures are important.

Remember, your radiators are in the front and there's plenty of hose and pipe from the engine to those radiators. That takes a while to warm to operating temperatures.

Your oil is not kept in the block, and therefore that takes time to warm.

Let the car warm by driving carefully for at least the first 15 minutes.

You'll notice the transmission shifts better after everything is warmed. On the 6 speed, 2nd gear is a bear until fully warmed.

If you want good service from your car, warm it well, change the oil frequently, change the transmission oil yearly, and drive it with honor.

 

I don't know about you folks, but as I toodle through the residential 25mph zones in the local neighborhood, it's easy to stay below 4K and warm the car up. And the neighbors are happier too. So when I hit the state highways a few miles later, she's ready

 

Well, welcome to driving a near Formula 1 car on the street my friend If it's a big problem, I hear Hondas and Toyotas don't require warming up as much

All kidding aside, it's a good idea to keep it under 4000 RPM's for about 2 miles or so - until the engine temps start reading on the gauge. When I fire up my 360, I drive it about 2 or 3 miles pretty tamely. For one thing, if you start the 360 and rev it out right away, you'll likely see the oil pressure needle peg clear to the right on the gauge. You don't want that sort of oil pressure in your motor if you can avoid it (since the oil is still thick).

Generally, what I do is this: I shift at 3500 to 4000 RPM's until the oil temp start to come up to the point where it moves the needle on the oil temp gauge at least 1/8 inch or so. The water temp will come up first, but that's not the important thing. You want to wait until the oil temp also comes up. Once that happens, you are good to go.

Even when you let the car sit for an hour or two, it's always a good idea to let the engine oil warm back up. You'll also notice the car shifts a bit better once things get up to temp - since the gear oil probably needs to warm up as well.

anyway, welcome to the club! We all do that

Ray

 

Yes but then how about the car?

 

....Make that a couple more miles for my 12cyl with 18litre (~19 quart) Oil.
This are car to be pampered and spoiled not you "popeveryminutefromthebelt" cars.

 

I let my car run 2-3 minutes before driving it, and then oil temp is usally fine before I get out of my neighborhood. about 5 minutes total.

IMO it's all part of the event.

 

What's critical here is the oil temp and not water\coolant temp. You also cannot sufficiently warm up the engine by idling. As one poster said, the different metallic parts have different rates of expansion depending on their composition.

The right way, is easy driving (depending on ambient temperature) at or below the recommended temperature until everything is warmed up, lubed up, expanded, tires, etc. before pulling her to redline and executing spirited driving maneuvers. Of course, you can pull to redline without warming up the engine, but you won't do the engine or the mechanical drivetrain and transmission differentials any good. If you car lacks an oil temperature gauge, consider getting one installed.

If you want mechanical longevity, durability and lower operating costs, warming up the car properly is the way to do it. You don't have to, but it is better for the car.

 

For us smokers its easy.

1 Start car
2 get out of car
3 Smoke the first camel of the day
4 Get in car and drive

Russell

 

I let my 360 Idle for 3 - 4 minutes, pull out of the garage and never go over 3500-4000 rpms until my oil temp hits 170. It may take 5-6 minutes of driving, but its a small price to pay to keep the engine top notch for many many miles.
The head of my dealers service dept told me to ALWAYS warm up the oil, and, once at 170 degrees, drive the hell out of it!

 

That is the way it is.

My Elise has a rev limiter before it reaches the right temperature & you cannot rev above 5500 until it is ready.

 

+1

There's a 15 mph limit in my housing development anyway, and then a school zone, so ample opportunity to warm things up properly. Certainly worth the wait, IMO.

Yeah but that kind of technology would be far too expensive and sophisticated for a car in the 360's price range <cough>.

 

It takes up to 30 minutes for motor oil to get up to operating temperature. Ninety percent of engine wear occurs in this time period. The reason that many low milage cars have bad engines is because of starting up the car and revving it up before the oil is hot. Cavitation occurs.

It helps some if you use an oil that does not thicken as much after engine shut down, or an oil that is plain thinner. Use a 5W-40 instead of a 10 or 15W-40. Or use a 5W-30 instead of a 5W-40 if you are not using the car on the track.

I do not track my cars, the oil does not get that hot. I used a 0W-20 in my 575 Maranello and am now using a 0W-30 in the Enzo. I test the oil and have found less wear in my engine with the thinner oils. This is reasonable since the cars are not on the track.

aehaas

Ref:
Effect of Break-In and Operating Conditions on Piston Ring and Cylinder Bore Wear in SI (Spark-Ignition) Engines, Schneider et al:
The rate of wear is much higher within 15-20 minutes of start-up than after reaching normal operating temperature. There was a lot of data but I conclude that the initial start-up time period (first 20 minutes) result is 100 nanometers of wear whereas the steady state wear rate was only 4 nanometers per hour thereafter. (Hence we should be concerned about start-up oil thickness more than running thickness. This justifies the statement that 95 percent of engine wear occurs just after start-up).

 

LOL

 

Maybe if you live in the Alaskan interior! Best rule of thumb is avoid long idling to warm up, just drive the car and short shift the first 10 minutes or so. When the thermostat opens is when I figure it's ready to thrash. If that takes a half hour something is seriously wrong.

BTW, shouldn't the oil warm up faster than the water since oil is lighter and cannot absorb as many calories per CC? Or is the route oil takes through the engine less conductive to heat than water (coolant)?

Ken