Warming up your 360

RTFM

 

You could try following greyboxer's helpful and considerate suggestion, but I've heard for years that it's best to warm up an engine by driving it gently rather than letting it idle.

 

I start the car and wait for the initial "noise" of the extra fuel being added to the pre-cats to quiet down.

About a minute or less. The longer the car has been sitting the longer the wait.

Then drive off slowly, sometimes skipping second gear (manual) and keep the revs under 3000 until the OIL not the water is up to temp.

Yours,

Tom

 

RTFM
what does that stand for?

 

Paul, I am with you, have no idea what RTFM means........ Guess we are north of 50 and don't have all the internet and social network jargon committed to memory. Have to ask my 17 year old.........

 

I looked it up and it means "Read the f-----g manual". How eloquent...

PS

 

It really depends on outdoor temperature. In the summer, I let the 360 idle for a couple of minutes and then drive at low engine speed till I get to the highway which is another couple of minutes away. You need to get the oil temp up. If it's cold, well it will take longer.

PS

 

Question: Does the oil flow differently in a Ferrari than any other internal combustion engine? Does Ferrari follow a new piston design that uses different lubrication methods than the other 99.9999% of cars made? I know Ferrari's are special custom engines but did they decide to not follow proven lubrication methods and instead design an engine that is incapable of being started and driven like 99.9999% of cars made?

The car is made to be tracked, reved to 8000 rpms and driven hard. Yeah you should let it warm up before you push its limits-- in regular driving I believe common sense should tell you what the right thing to do is.

It's great to take care of nice things but as you can see I'm not a fan of the OCD anal types (missing receipt for an oil change, how to start my baby before driving it) LOL.... I say all this with a smile and laugh of course. Frankly I have no business commenting because I am not an Fcar owner. Also just because I believe in using objects for their intentions doesn't mean I should not respect the garage queens perspective. Diff strokes for diff folks I guess.

 

Ky1e - Ferraris are not different than other cars. You should not rev over 3000 with any car before the oil has warmed up. I also do that with my Volkswagen.

But you are right: They are made to be driven and not to change and care about the oil

Markus

 

You can start driving it immediately.. I wait about 30 seconds in summer maybe 1 min in winter or so.. but then I drive below 3k rpm until I see the temp needle in engine move... then I am good to go

 

I drive off immediately, like any other car, but keep the RPM down until oil temp has come up and skip 2nd (mine is 3 pedals) for the first 1-2 miles. I too think it warms up quicker from gentle driving than just sitting at idle.
Jes

 

I let the car idle for about 5 minutes and then drive at least 10 miles below 3500 rpm. It depends on outside temperature but I always wait with going over 5-6k RPM untill the oil is warmed up to about 70-75 degrees celcius.

 

+1
I haven't paid attention from last summer, but in the colder weather since I took her out of hibernation about a month ago, it's more than 1-2 miles. I usually wait until the oil gauge moves off the stop before trying to shift to 2nd.

I go easy throttle and try to keep revs below 3,500 until the oil moves well off the stop (manual says keep below 4,000, but I'm even more conservative )

No high revs or lots of throttle until that oil gauge is moved up into normal territory- in the cold weather this can take a good 10-15 minutes of driving.

I never start up a car and let it idle to warm it up- not the ferrari or the volkswagen....easy driving is the best way to do it. It idles for may 3 seconds before I back out of the garage and go off.

 

Be aware that all new car manufacturers write the manual at least in part to please the governing agencies. As a result, they will never tell you to let the car warm up for a few minutes before driving it because that will mess with their EPA ratings (0 mpg at idle, infinite emissions pewr mile at idle).

That said, a lot of this concept to let the car warm up a bit before driving it is handed down from the old days, when we were all using straight 30 or 40 weight oil. This new 0 or 5 - 30 stuff is like water in comparison (I still have to convice myself to trust it to actually lubricate) and is much more 'ready to go' at low temperatures.

(The manufacturers desire for 'good numbers' is also a reason for this crazy low weight oil. Lower weight = lower friction = higher mpg.)

That said, your Ferrari carries more than twice as much oil as 99.999999 percent of the 'normal' cars that everyone else drives. Letting the oil circulate and warm up a bit is a good idea. Being gentle with the gearbox is a good idea for at least 5 miles (depending on outside temps) to let that oil (which don't have the viscosity of water) warm up a bit.

"Treat her like a lady (they like to be warmed up before...well, you know) and she'll be good to you" the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose

 

When I bought my (air cooled) Carerra, Porsche advised letting it warm up for 45 seconds before driving. On the other hand BMW claims that most of the wear occurs in the couple of seconds after you start the engine so there is no value to idling for warm up. The idea being that, when you first turn the key, there is little or no oil in the block and in the second or two that it takes to get there, you wear the engine heaviest.

In the case of the 360, I tend to be more in the Porsche camp -- let it warm up for a bit. This also gives me a chance to check that all the systems are in order (brakes, tires, etc) before heading out. Until the oil temp needle moves I keep it well below 3k RPMS (which usually means driving slowly in 1st).