Warming Up Engine | FerrariChat

Warming Up Engine

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by KenC, Sep 22, 2004.

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  1. KenC

    KenC Formula 3

    Dec 7, 2003
    2,120
    Kent, UK
    Full Name:
    Ken
    I thought I was going mad, originally thinking that you should wait till the engine oil had reached 65-70C before exceeding 4k rpm. Then I read it was water temperature. Next Joe mentioned on Sunday that it was oil temperature. A quick look at the Owner's Manual and, sure enough, it was oil. Joe was right. Today I noticed that it took 10 miles to get to the recommended temperature, so I was thinking that every fun trip had to be preceded by 10 miles warming up - not a prospect I relished.

    A quick read again of the OM and there it was in front of my eyes, it was water temperature. But how?

    In the 360M OM p3.2 under the running in section says water and on p3.6 oil, under Warming up the engine. How confussing!

    A call to the dealer confirms it is water temperature - what a relief.

    How can they get it so wrong with the documentation? It is not down to translation as the other languages are wrong as well.

    Ken
     
  2. 360CS

    360CS F1 Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
    2,641
    Kent
    Full Name:
    Joe J

    Ken,

    Water /Oil I always wait till the Water Temp up , However Daz says he leaves to idle for a bit before making off..

    I was as confused as you , thanks for clearing it up
     
  3. sletti

    sletti F1 Veteran
    Lifetime Rossa

    Nov 19, 2003
    5,084
    NW Kent
    Full Name:
    Stig W
    Surely you'd be worried about wear caused by poor oil flow, so I'd assume you'd want the oil to be warm, and less viscous...

    Certainly on older cars, conventional wisdom suggests not taking over 3k untill the oil temp guage starts moving. I also read somewhere that it is better to drive the car around gently untill it is up to temp, rather than letting it idle in the garage.
     
  4. F328GTS

    F328GTS Formula 3

    Apr 27, 2004
    1,628
    Cambridgeshire, UK
    Full Name:
    Nigel R
    I was told by two dealers not to go over 3k revs until my oil temp is at 160, which sadly does take about 10-15 minutes of driving.
     
  5. Ade

    Ade Formula 3

    Jan 31, 2004
    2,102
    UK
    If they are talking water temp, then surely can only mean it is a useful reflection of generally how hot the engine is. Considering the water is used as an engine coolant and therefore should ideally be as cool as possible... not as hot as poss right? !!

    I agree with Stig
     
  6. sletti

    sletti F1 Veteran
    Lifetime Rossa

    Nov 19, 2003
    5,084
    NW Kent
    Full Name:
    Stig W
    Nicely reasoned......
     
  7. KenC

    KenC Formula 3

    Dec 7, 2003
    2,120
    Kent, UK
    Full Name:
    Ken
    Can't fault the logic and it is clearly best to have some heat in the oil, but my point was that the Owner's Manual should not be contadictory for what is an important piece of information and a Ferrari main dealer is saying water is correct. No wonder I am confused.

    I will err on the side of caution and make sure the oil rneedle is moving upwards. At least I have been restricting revs to under 5k rpm at all times due to the running in regime.

    Ken
     
  8. daz355

    daz355 Formula Junior

    Jan 31, 2004
    743
    MclarenVille
    Full Name:
    Darren P
    Ken,
    As per Joe's comments I normally let the car warm up for about 5-10 minutes before taking her out.
    Daz
     
  9. EK3R

    EK3R Formula Junior

    Mar 26, 2004
    828
    FL
    Full Name:
    Eric K
    There is no way I would 'give it large' with the accelerator pedal until the oil temps were up - oil pressure doesn't start to behave normally until you have a bit of heat in it.

    Coming from an air cooled 911 it was taken as lore that low oil temps = careful with the loud pedal.
     
  10. stevep

    stevep F1 Veteran

    Jan 19, 2004
    8,345
    Geordie Land
    Full Name:
    steve
    i let mine warm up on idle in the garage for 10 mins before it goes anywhere, as long as the needle is on 140 then you can do anything you want with them
     
  11. stevetr

    stevetr Formula Junior

    Sep 29, 2003
    379
    Surrey, UK
    Full Name:
    Stephen
    Warming an engine up at idle speed is not a good idea as the oil pressure (allowing for the fact that the oil is cold and viscous) is not sufficient to ensure proper lubrication of all moving parts. Ideally, the engine would be held at above idle speed or even gently revved (a la race car practice) to increase oil flow. Driving while keeping the revs below about 4k has the same effect.

    Steve
     

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