Opinion on warming up

I've never given it much thought, I just take it easy for the first while, its almost daily driver (in summer) so its gets a mix of street and highway on start.

 

I think that what's important is going easy (under 4K RPM) until engine is warmed up. I don't think highway vs. local matters really.

 

I always let the 360 warm up before driving off and when I do the shift point is between 5000 and 5500 rpm according to the manual. For sure no harm in shifting sooner and sometimes I will, the 5500 is just the max the manual recommends until warm.

The manual for my E60 M5 V10, said start and drive off immediately and keep the revs below 5000 rpm until the car warmed up. BMW never liked the cars to idle to warm up. I was thinking the same for the Ferrari, but every authorized mechanic I know says let the car warm up first.

Happy motoring!


Robert

 

I don't have a Ferrari so what I'm about to say may mean nothing, but I let my car idle to operating temp before it even moves. I do this more for the transmission rather than the engine. Having a shift take place with ice cold trans fluid in there isn't the best.

 

I give the car about 30 seconds or so after I start it, then I just make sure to drive at 4K RPM's or lower until the oil temp comes up to normal. I also am very gentle with the car until the water temp comes up, which is about 1 mile.

Ray

 

Ofcourse its always best to keep everything easy, these are expensive automobiles that cost a ton of money to service and should be treated very well. But from what I understand, warm-ups are for carburated engines. Correct me if Im wrong but with today's FI engines, Its recommended that one should start and drive off almost immediately. Maybe its different on newer F-Cars!?

 

In the morning let the car idle for 3 minutes, then when driving shift between 3K and 4K until the oil temp gets to 160-170. This comes from a 15 year Ferrari mechanic whom works for an authorized dealer. Remember, these cars take 12 quarts of oil, and that much oil takes longer to heat up.

 

What I have heard is consistent with the prior post. Several minutes of idle, then easy driving until oil temp and water temp are up.

 

Let it idle for 2/3 mns , then shift at 4k until oil temp is warm.

 

For me the big problem with driving off after two to three minutes is it takes a good 20-30 minutes for the oil temp to get up and that is maybe half my drive. If I spend half my average drive under 3K RPM it is unexciting. If I allow the car to warm up in the driveway, I get to drive at much higher RPM right away, joy.

I believe best for the car would be a three minute warm up followed by moderate drive, but best for me is warm up in the driveway and enjoy the drive.

Generally I take the car out often but for an hour or so. If I only drove special occasions it would be easier to put those restricted RPM miles on it.

 

My old man is a mechanic and insists to this day that anyone who tells you to get in a car and drive it just wants you coming in for an engine / gearbox rebuild earlier than would be normal. He always likens it to getting up and suddenly doing a 100 metre sprint. Ain't gonna happen for most of us. Cars need the fluids to warm a wee bit. 2 minutes is better than nothing in my opinion, so I always give it a minute or two. When you live in a cold country you really feel the difference between the car being stone cold or SoCal mild.

 

I've been in the same situation as you... I like driving my 360 every day, but I'm at work before the car even warms up. It's the most excruciating wait period. How long does it take for your car/oil temp to be up warmed while sitting in the driveway?

 

I turn it on, back out of garage, get driving, shift 1-3 because 2 doesnt like to engage when cold (stick shift box) and I keep it under 4-4500 RPM. After about 2-4 miles I hop on the highway, keeping the RPMs still below the 4500 RPM range but I will slowly bring the RPMs up as I see the engine oil temp rising- also noting the temp of the engine coolant too- still not really going beyond the 4500 range but now with higher constant RPM until I see the needles in the middle of their ranges and then shes good to go. By then 2nd will engage- the car just likes to be warm.

best regards,
Jerry

 

letting the car run on idle us the baddest thing you can do for an engine
the oil reaches the most'difficult'places in the engine very slowly so much more wear and tear than normal
the best way is drive away immeadiatly and take it easy untill the engine has completely warmed up(oil and water)
sorry for my bad english

 

btw i m a mechanic too
you WILL get more wear in your engine by letting it idle for the gearbox it doesnt matter

 

The manual makes this statement in the "Breaking in the Car" section. This applies to new car with less than 600 miles.

The manual only states on page 3.6 for mechanical trans and page 3.13 for F1 trans, "Do not run the engine at high engine speeds until the oil temperature has reached at least 150-160 F approximately.".

Having only been around Ferrari's for the last 2 years I am new to the game, but I have rarely met an owner or authorized mechanic that has not believed in allowing the engine to idle to warm up. This includes FOW championship challenge team. Remember these are dry sump engines, thats lots of oil to get moved around.

Robert

 

Logically, I would think in your case the highway warm up would be better for the tranny because you are allowing it to warm up with fewer shifts.

As for the engine, most likely every car model will vary to a degree. But I would be willing to be that it does not matter all that much whether you let it idle, drive in traffic at low RPM, or drive on the highway at low RPM. There are parts of the engine that will not be lubricated properly during warm up if you let it idle. There are other parts of the engine that will probably wear prematurely if you drive when the engine oil is not fully warmed up. Choose your poison.

This brings me to two extreme observations about the engine.

In a perfect world, you would preheat the oil before even turning the engine over. That would do the least damage. I am not aware of any way to do that. However, in a really cold climate, a block heater might be a good idea because it could keep your oil at SoCal cold (rather than Canada cold) which might be beneficial at start up.

One more point to consider when trying to figure this out. The two worst things you can do for your engine, in order of damage done, are (1) start it and (2) drive it. Bottom line, engines parts do wear over time. if you use the car. So, even if letting the engine idle for 10 minutes first (or vice versa) is 5-10% better than warming it up while driving under 4K RPM, will it really matter that much in the end? Probably not.

Just my $0.02.

 

For a modern one that is left in a Garage with radiant floor heating set to 70F start, let oil PSI stabilise for 30 seconds move off gently until oil reaches 160F.

For a 412P that is stored in the same garage. Gently warm engine with a hair dryer. Crank with ignition kill switch off until dry sump pump is filled. Plug in, in tank oil heater for a few minutes while gently warming engine. Blowing hot air up the exhausts is a good idea. Unplug oil tank heater. Crank without starting for 30 seconds. Pump throttle twice. Start. Keep at idle for 3 minutes. Raise to 2.5K once Oil Temp moves off peg for 3 minutes until Oil Temp reaches 160F. Rap throttle sharply to 4.5K to clear plugs. Move off and drive gently until the box warms up about 15 minutes. You are now ready to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Do not start in Garage unless you have exhausts hooked up to outside and a good CO alarm.

 

+1

 

mild streetuse is best for warming up so everything gets to the good temperature at the best time
greets

 

Also when you are about to stop driving, dont floor it 5 minutes prior as the engine and tranny overheats and a sudden shut down does not cool it down properly.

 

I let it idle for around 5 minutes, sometimes only for 30 seconds. I don't care what anyone says and that is that on a stick/manual Ferrari the car will shift gears smoothly, specially second gear if the car is let to warm up properly.