Warm Up Car Engine When Cold?

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Does anyeone wait for their car to warm up if the engine is cold before starting your trip?

Yes
10
50%
No
7
35%
Not needed in UAE
3
15%
 
Total votes : 20

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Not at all mate;) Oct 05, 2006
Why would i mind dude :wink:
well i have SEAT Toledo(sibling to Bora, Octavia and A4) 2005 (bought brand-new) and SEAT Ibiza(sibling to Polo and Fabia) 2007 (just bought last month) drive them equally :lol: and my dad has a VW Passat 04...drive that too once or twice a week. :wink:

Salman_20VT
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Oct 06, 2006
Any car, new or old, would require a warm up after sitting overnight. Thing is, it should NOT be warmed up at idle, in other words, you should drive it under light loads, and relatively moderate rpms.

This ensures that the engine expands evenly, it also allows not just the engine and oil to reach operating tempreature, it allows the transmission, differential and brakes to reach the operating temp. as well.

You should never warm up a car with more than 60% throttle, or exceed 4,000rpms, give or take, this is where you should consult the owner's manual to get the details.
hosrom_951
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Strongly agree! Oct 07, 2006
I agree 1000%! If some people can not wait for a minute than atleast they could drive very smoothly and evenly make temps to desired operating level. Well said mate :wink:
Salman_20VT
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Oct 07, 2006
It takes more than a minute for reaching operational temp.

The water temp could rise quickly, just like what it is designed for (the thermostat), however, oil takes twice as long.

In other words, if you drive for 6 minutes and the gauge in the car reads normal, you actually need an additional 6 minutes (12 in total) to get the oil up.

Remember, the worse thing to do is to push hard/high load on cold engine......seals start to leak, bearings see more damage etc.
hosrom_951
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Well said Oct 08, 2006
Well said, true :wink:
Salman_20VT
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Oct 09, 2006
well i read a study that said that the most common cause of engine problems is Failure to Warm the engine up completely before running it hard !!!
Well according to expereince and recommendations from experts about this here is what i concluded:
If u have like a long trip or a one that requires travelling with high speed, and accelerating quickly then u need to warm up the engine completley. In case u r going to go thru a busy street with signals and alot of stops and in low speed, then u can just go as u flip the key in ur car, yet u shoudn't be hard on the engine until it warms up to the optimal temp. of operation.
Personally i do both, depending where I am and on the place/street i am going to !!!

Nice topic to talk about !!
Palkid7
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hmm Oct 09, 2006
yup true mate, as hosrom said before if its slow easy city cruising than don't accel hard on engine s that will cause the sealing in the combustion chamder damage in the long run...so yeah is easy going city drive its okay (even thou not ideal) but okey to drive away smooth after couple of seconds of starting your engine.
On the contrary mate, people here are normally not gentle to their cars :lol: they jus wanna accelerate faster and drive faster, even if they have to stop after a couple'a feets they'll apply sudden brakes...so considering the local nature of driving style of UAE i suggested to warm up engines for only about a minute, rest is upto you guys.
Salman_20VT
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Oct 09, 2006
Driving in the city will definately require more time for the engine to warm up properly.

You never asked you'reself why you're car's brakes, suspention, shifts (auto) and reaction feels awkward when cold, and feels fine when warm? Now you know....

Think of a cold car as you in the morning, when you just get out of bed, you need a shower, coffee/cancer sticks (cigarettes or whatever) and then you start waking up......the car is the exact same thing......think if your boss/wife/mother in law yelling at you when you just got out of bed in the morning....a real nightmare right? same goes for a cold engine under high load.....
hosrom_951
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True Oct 10, 2006
100% agree :wink:
if only people could understand and follow it
:(
well said mate.
Salman_20VT
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Oct 11, 2006
Wow. A lot of useful information; much of it stuff I didn't understand. :)
bottom line though is that I shall continue warming up my car.

Ok next qst - when is it ok to put the AC on? IMMEDIATELY when putting the car on, or only once its warmed up?

Thanks.
ineedacoolnick
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Oct 11, 2006
hosrom_951 wrote: same goes for a cold engine under high load.....


I dont agree - but whats in bold i agree with. It doesnt hurt a modern engine to go from start, it's an old myth..!
The oils today are so good, and the engines are so well build that it wont damage it, as long as you dont get on it, until it's warm..
Actualy i would say that the carbon build-up from idle running for a long time wil harm it more..

I have worked with cars and engines all my life, and used to ba a factory rep. with Mercedes in Denmark. Even their enginers are split in this question, but their engine specialists say what i state above.!

Urban Legends die harder than a modern engine! :wink: [/b]
MilleDane
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Oct 11, 2006
XRW-147 wrote:New cars are designed to be driven from the turn of the key. Keep revs below 3k rpm until you reach normal operating temps. You are actually doing damage to the engine by letting it sit there and idle until normal operating temps.


^Correct, according to experts^

Warming up was for carburetted cars from the 70s.
gtmash
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Oct 12, 2006
XRW-147 wrote:New cars are designed to be driven from the turn of the key. Keep revs below 3k rpm until you reach normal operating temps. You are actually doing damage to the engine by letting it sit there and idle until normal operating temps.


Oups - sorry mate, didnt catch that you had posted that. But hey we agree :)

Thanks for pointing it out gtmash.. :)

MilleDane is not going for the copycat title!!
MilleDane
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Oct 12, 2006
MilleDane wrote:
XRW-147 wrote:New cars are designed to be driven from the turn of the key. Keep revs below 3k rpm until you reach normal operating temps. You are actually doing damage to the engine by letting it sit there and idle until normal operating temps.


Oups - sorry mate, didnt catch that you had posted that. But hey we agree :)

Thanks for pointing it out gtmash.. :)

MilleDane is not going for the copycat title!!


Hey, actual expert advice! This thread is hilarious, by the way.
gtmash
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Oct 12, 2006
^matey you crack me up :lol:
XRW-147
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Oct 12, 2006
ineedacoolnick wrote:Wow. A lot of useful information there,
bottom line though is that I shall continue warming up my car.

Ok next qst - when is it ok to put the AC on? IMMEDIATELY when putting the car on, or only once its warmed up?

Thanks.


Good to know you'll warm up your engine mate :wink: , you won't regret it ever, now about switching AC immediately? NO! not immediately, since the thermo fans would start after you've switched on your AC, your engine is already cold, and when the fans go on, it will take even longer to warm up the engine, But once the rising temp starts which is about 1 minute from the time of ignition, the temp would've reached to about 60-70'C byt than its okay to switch on your AC, because your engine will continue to warm up to 90'......engine shares 40% of the compressor load, so even that way its always recommended for your engine to atleast reach half the temp before switching your AC, technically it won't do any harm to your engine, but take an example of your self, say your sleeping and suddenly you are told to get off your bed and start running!! Think that way for your engine.

so its good if you wait for a 30 sec to minute before turning on your AC.
cheers
Salman_20VT
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Oct 12, 2006
Salman_20VT wrote:technically it won't do any harm to your engine[/b], but take an example of your self, say your sleeping and suddenly you are told to get off your bed and start running!! Think that way for your engine.

so its good if you wait for a 30 sec to minute before turning on your AC.
cheers


:blah5:

How do you compare a combustion engie with a human body??
As the matter of fact, i think the only problem you'll enqounter with running straight out of bed is your brain thats not full on, and you might stumble - i dought your heart will stop..

Well anyway - your opinion to you, you've said nothing that will change my mind.

Peace out!
MilleDane
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Oct 12, 2006
MilleDane wrote:
Salman_20VT wrote:technically it won't do any harm to your engine[/b], but take an example of your self, say your sleeping and suddenly you are told to get off your bed and start running!! Think that way for your engine.

so its good if you wait for a 30 sec to minute before turning on your AC.
cheers


:blah5:

How do you compare a combustion engie with a human body??
As the matter of fact, i think the only problem you'll enqounter with running straight out of bed is your brain thats not full on, and you might stumble - i dought your heart will stop..

Well anyway - your opinion to you, you've said nothing that will change my mind.

Peace out!


have u heard anything abt warming up b4 exercise?
sniper420
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Oct 12, 2006
sniper420 wrote:have u heard anything abt warming up b4 exercise?


Sure have,but willit killyouor hurt your internals (heart, lungs etc.)

You can strain a muscle yes, but thats it..wellyeah, probably do something about your mood.

Plus remember weare not talking from 0 to 100%, we are actualy talking less than 30%.. Hey i got an idea!!

Does that mean you have to lay still when you wake untill your pulse is 70, or can you go take your morning pee while your pulse is still around 50-60??- if we absolutely have compare engines and the human body..
MilleDane
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Oct 12, 2006
Salman_20VT wrote:your engine is already cold, and when the fans go on, it will take even longer to warm up the engine


Funny, a surefire way of heating up my old Merc engine is to turn on the a/c. In fact, I have to turn it OFF to keep the car from overheating in a traffic jam after an hour. Temp comes right back down. I didn't know the a/c fans were anywhere NEAR the engine, considering I already have 3 other fans in front of the radiator to cool my engine. Dude, buy an old car if you are "into" mechanical engineering. You'll learn a lot more.
gtmash
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Oct 13, 2006
gtmash wrote:
Salman_20VT wrote:your engine is already cold, and when the fans go on, it will take even longer to warm up the engine


Funny, a surefire way of heating up my old Merc engine is to turn on the a/c. In fact, I have to turn it OFF to keep the car from overheating in a traffic jam after an hour. Temp comes right back down. I didn't know the a/c fans were anywhere NEAR the engine, considering I already have 3 other fans in front of the radiator to cool my engine. Dude, buy an old car if you are "into" mechanical engineering. You'll learn a lot more.


There as problme with your car, the fans are supposed to kick in at lower temperatures when you have your AC on - have you checked that?
MilleDane
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Oct 13, 2006
MilleDane wrote:
gtmash wrote:
Salman_20VT wrote:your engine is already cold, and when the fans go on, it will take even longer to warm up the engine


Funny, a surefire way of heating up my old Merc engine is to turn on the a/c. In fact, I have to turn it OFF to keep the car from overheating in a traffic jam after an hour. Temp comes right back down. I didn't know the a/c fans were anywhere NEAR the engine, considering I already have 3 other fans in front of the radiator to cool my engine. Dude, buy an old car if you are "into" mechanical engineering. You'll learn a lot more.


There as problme with your car, the fans are supposed to kick in at lower temperatures when you have your AC on - have you checked that?


I already know I need a new radiator, but the fans are kicking in when they should (because they sound like jet engines powering up). They just slow down the inevitable, but I've never been in the red.
gtmash
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hey buddy! Oct 13, 2006
hello gtmash! for your kind information i had a Merc 190E 1991 2.6 6cylinder AMG version in silver....i had faced several problems with the radiator and fans mate, what used to happen was when ever i'd turn on AC the car's temp would slowly increase and reach to the red zone, presuming that situation my dad spended nearly 10k on the cooling system....i guess same problem presists in your car too......what happens is that when thermostat fails the circulation of the coolant around the cylinders haults and the temp raises. So when you switch off your AC the pressure decreases and coolant slowly start circulation, fan could not by then control the internal engine temps, that's why you're facing the opposite problem. What i heard is that when ever you change your radiator and fans do it from Gargash, a bit expensive but it will give you peace of mind.

MilleDane, I compared human body which is biological and car engine which is mechanical just to give you an idea of how it is to rush up with all the things as if we people don't have a single minute to spare and get things going on the ideal temps as desired. Patience is what we all lack of, if we behave like humans and not like animals doing all the things at any time any where in a damn hurry! Life would be organised! There are some schedules, rules, regulations, and intelligence which we have to follow and put up to........Now as you said ''You can strain a muscle yes, but thats it....well yeah, probably do something about your mood'' so you did accpet that sudden burst of activity can affect us, even in minor terms but it will! This is what happens to cars as well! So if we'd be organised and have pateince with life than there'd hardy be any problems!! be it your body! or your car! all will be in perfect working condition :wink:
now if some of you still don't agree, than its hopeless. :?
Salman_20VT
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Oct 15, 2006
Guys...........


Open the user's manual and read what it says.................
hosrom_951
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