warming up the car-a question

Start,drive slow,drive fast.

 

As Montreal said - start car, drive away.

 

I like montreals "very efficient" advice.

But in all seriousness, don't you guys wait a couple minutes for the idle to drop and set? That's the only procedure I follow - warm weather or cold - once the WUR shuts and the idle drops, off I go. In cold weather, I skip 2nd gear until the car reaches operating temp (195 degrees).

Well, I also watch for children and animals as I back out of the garage.

 

I just wait for the idle to drop then off I go. Don't push it at all until she is up to temp. Then ENJOY!

 

I let the car idle for a couple of min, ( i need to move another car most of the time ) then go. In the winter when its really cold, I let it warm up for 4-5 min on fast idle. if you go immediatley you will notice sum stumbling for the first couple of min as the check valve cycles, that seems pretty normal. I do try not to jump on the throttle until the water temp gauge moves a notch.

1-3 shifts for first 10 - 20 min, depending on temp, colder the longer i do the 1-3 shift.

2nd gear gets a lot of abuse, so i try to be gentle.

 

I would recommend that you let the oil temp to come up to at least 140 before using higher revs. Maybe 4k untill the water comes up to 170-180.

ciao,
chris

 

I start it and immediately drive off. I don't wait for the idle speed to drop. Beyond that I just follow the guidance in the owners manual - I don't exceed 4kRPM until the water temp is 150-160F. Actually I just wait till it's "normal" since I don't know where on the gauge 160F might be!

 

I think the old habit of waiting to warm-up before driving off is an ancient tradition that was debunked 20 years ago. Provided you take it easy until the oil temp rises, all you do is waste gas. I never felt that sitting in neutral at high idle with no load for minutes was particularly healthy for the engine either.

The owner's manual for a 1963 Morris Mini that I owned many years ago expressly instructed to lug the engine in 3rd to get the quickest warm-up! Maybe the guy responsible for the 308's "cold" 2nd gear issue once had an Mini with that in the manual too.

 

I typically wait a few minutes then drive. Use the time to take the top off usually then listen to my wife yell about the fumes coming in the house. Keep below 4k until oil temps up, like to see 180-190 before revving passed 4k. One problem I find is if I go right to freeway driving, oil takes forever to warm due to the cooler. Sometimes I wish there were a bypass to allow it to warm quicker. Rarely above 75 here. Point is I'd think oil temp a much better gauge to turning on the power that water temp.

 

"Point is I'd think oil temp a much better gauge to turning on the power that water temp."

Not really. The water temp is what tells you the engine parts are ok to stress. The oil has very little affect either way on the dimensional changes in things like cyl liners/head, etc. Oil has limited capacity compared to water as far as absorbing/transferring heat so the temp of oil doesn't have the same significance as the the coolant temp. Oil temps vary considerably based on operation but coolant temps don't (in a properly designed system). If an engine operates within its design limits as far a coolant is concerned, oil temp is not even worth knowing. Most performance cars do not have oil temp gauges simply because it's not an issue.

 

2 to 4 mins, is good!

 

i start my car up,and let it idle for about 8 minutes...then ., when i start to drive ,,,i dont take it past 4000 rpms., until the oil temp gets to about 160 degrees...your water temp will get up to operating temp well before your oil temp,,and of course,,,the warmer it is outside..the quicker all fluids will come up to operating temp,,,the good thing about 328s ..is that they flow quite a large volume of oil,,so i believe that start up wear is minimal...anyways,,,my experience .is that the hotter it is out side, the better ., for these cars,,,they run and shift excellent,,once they heat up,,,my opinion is not to drive fast until your oil temp is up to operating figures...this is how i have driven my car,,and maybe thats why at 88k miles,,,the motor still kicks ass....LET EVERYTHING HEAT UP BEFORE YOU GET INTO HIGH RPM S PERIOD.,..you motor will thank you .and of course you cant go wrong if you follow that procedure....so why not do it ???

 

When I start my car, it idles low and raises.
It seems that you guys have the opposite going on.

What is my issue?
Should I be concerned?
What is correct?

Thanks

 

Just remember that when you let it sit and the engine warms up that doesn't mean the drivetrain fluids are getting warm too. I like to start my cars and drive them to warm everything up together.

 

Our cars have a warm-up relay built into our fuel-injection system: a silly anti-emissions trick to warm up the cats.

Your car has carbs and no cat.

 

I start my car and put a brick on the gas pedal to make sure everything doesn't just "warm" up but gets really hot. The next morning, I get in and drive. Usually once or twice around the block is enough to get the tires hot, although the neighbors hate it that I'm going 3x the speed limit and running all the stop signs. That's about it!

 

i was thinking that Ferrari put in an oil temp gauge so that people wouldnt start getting into high RPMs ..until the oil was hot,,i would be scared to get on the power in my 328 .,until the oil was up to temp,,,also doesnt the warmer the gearbox oil is ,,the better ?..im thinking the gear oil would rise at about the same time the motor oil does..?? just wondering..

 

When it is warm outside, my 328 does the same thing, starts slow then build up rpm. When it is cold, it starts and goes to a fast idle quickly. I wouldn't be concerned. As long as it starts and continues to run. If it stalls frequently, then there is a problem. just my 2 cents.

 

That's a good technique. The only thing I'd suggest is an oil change before driving away. "startup oil" can get very dirty, and you don't want that destroying your engine, do you?

 

My 911 sees 110-120 psi oil pressure on fast idle/cold start up, (all new pressure relief plungers, springs and external thermostat/pressure bypass). These cars are also known for leaking oil coolers, so i really keep the revs down untill the temp comes up and the pressure drops to a more normal 60 psi. I know the old 911s are really oil cooled but the priniciipal of not pushing the oil pressure too high just may save your cooler.

I had a cooler leak in the 308, just after a cold start up and a slow cruise to breakfast, where i noticed a trail leading back to my dad's house.

Driven hard, I have seen 250 oil temps and 230 coolant temps with 30 psi oil pressure, (so i pulled in for a cool off).

Driving the 308 in very cool ambient air temps can be a problem for oil temps. It seemed to take for ever for the oilto get up 140 and go no higher, while the water was at a hapy 190.

So, when i replaced the cooler, i got one with -12 AN fittings,made up 4 new lines and installed a 180 degree MOCAL oil thermostat. Now in 60 degree air, a low speed 8-10 minute run will see 150-175 degree oil temps.

Sorry for the rant/hyjack,
chris

 

Pretty cool setup, makes sense to me to have it set up that way

 

355F1


Then you might define "Sports Car". I can name a bunch that some consider sports cars that do not have oil temp gauges. I can give you a very long list of high performance cars, which the original statement was, that did not come with oil temp gauges.


I think most people would certainly put any number of American muscle cars in the high performance catagory and I am unaware of any that have an oil temp gauge. We have an AMG. It not only does not have an oil temp gauge, it doesnt have a pressure gauge either. I think most people would lump AMG products into the high performance catagory.

 

If that was an issue the road would be littered with cars whose oil ran too cold, including a whole bunch of Ferrari's. TR's in cold weather will never budge the needle yet a friend has one with over a quater of a million miles on it and it hasn't suffered any advanced wear I am aware of.