Would this hurt the engine ???

[gipsy102102]

OK...how many of you wait for your cars to warm up./...(the needle to slip past 'C') ...in the morning or whenever it is below the 'C' mark.

I do it almost 98% of the time...unless I am really late for school or work !!!

But I do see a lot of people just starting their cars and taking off!!! Wonder if that is bad for the engine or not!!!!

 

[Linflas]

Depends on how you drive it from all I have read. As long as you don't romp on it while the engine is cold you should be fine.

 

[iamwiz82]

the reason people leave it is so the oil has time to circulate from the oil pan. In colder weather its thicker than warmer weather.

 

[teckmaster]

It's not really bad to just start and go as long as you don't run the car like it has been going for an hour already. Some of the newer cars it might not affect as much, but older cars could get really screwed up by starting it up and taking off like you were on the race track

 

[kranky]

If you're going to drive at moderate speeds (under 35) until the engine is warm, you don't have to wait. But if it's only a quarter-mile to the highway, I'd let it warm up a bit.

 

[Zorro]

Always let it warm up for at least 30 seconds

 

[StageLeft]

When mine is below C its so cold that I make a deliberate effort to romp on the gas to warm that bastard up!

 

[Tauren]

Actually every time you start your engine, until the oil gets through everything, you are doing some amount of damage.

 

[gipsy102102]

LOL Skoorb, Thats what I do most of the time...I normally rev the engine upto 2x...now wonder if thats bad !!!!

 

[iamwiz82]

Tauren, if you rev the engine though, it spins faster, causes more friction, more heat, and, without oil, a freeze up.

Its pretty rare to kill an engine on a cold start though.

 

[Zapster]

My brother is of the philosophy that if you break a car in right, it will always run right. His rules are to treat it tough, run it hard, incluiding when it is brand new (heck let it break now while under warranty). He never lets his car warm up, and just stomps right down on it. He has over 250,000 miles on his Chevy without any major repairs. He says that if you baby your car, your car will act like a baby.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

According to the Car Talk guys, warming-up is unnecessary except in very cold (sub-zero) conditions with a modern, fuel-injected car. They advise not to warm up, but to drive the car gently for the first few miles, especially on cold days.

 

[StageLeft]

Baby it and it will be a baby LOL

 

[Tauren]

iamwiz82 - I know that, I was just stating that a start up alone did some damage. I allow mine to idle after I start it especially if it has been sitting over night. But, if it is a quick stop I just wait for the idle to level off and then go.

 

[iamwiz82]

yes, very true. I dont let mine idle much more than the time it take sme to fasten my seatbelt and get myself situated.

I follow Zapster's cousins philosophy =].

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Oddly enough, I do find that my car seems to have a personality. Sometimes I feel as if it WANTS me to cruise at 65-70 and other times it wants to dance around 90. And it's not happy unless I slap it around a turn in the morning

 

[iamwiz82]

my car will stall if ANYONE but me drives it, and i have no idea why =].

 

[StageLeft]

SOme cars beg for speed. My old '89 accord did not at all but my mother's '00 imprezza, which is in fact no faster than the accord (with an auto) really doesn't mind being flored all the time. Plus after I watch a Subaru WRX commercial I can make believe that I'm in one. How sad

 

[Emulex]

you should let your car warm about for a minute or two before going anywhere. Then its important to both avoid lugging the motor or revving the motor.

Letting the car warm up for 20 minutes, is worse than letting it warm in in 5, however is better than driving it without any warm up period.

Your car gets its most engine wear from 1. Startup (lack of oil up top), and then 2. Running at less than ideal (Closed loop 190 degrees usually) mode.

If your car never warms up to operating temperature you are probably running in open-loop mode, running rich, and prematurely wearing out your motor, because all of the gas is not being burnt, which causes more wear.

 

[thebestMAX]

<<According to the Car Talk guys, warming-up is unnecessary except in very cold (sub-zero) conditions with a modern, fuel-injected car. They advise not to warm up, but to drive the car gently for the first few miles, especially on cold days.>>

This is what Ive always heard. If its capable of being driven, drive it. Lived in Montana with -30 F common most every night and had no problems.

Cold idle just dilutes your oil with more condensation and raw fuel especially in an older car.

 

[jeffrey]

For some strange reason I also find that if you baby your car it will baby you, but if you put a hurting on it, it will love you forever.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Unless you are starting the car in very, very cold temps, it makes no difference.

By the time you can get the car in gear to start moving, the oil has already circulated through every passage in the engine. Every new car I've had, I've left the lot with my foot on the floor. Hundreds of thousands of miles later, the only engines I've ever had trouble with were old race engines.
I don't recommend starting a car up cold and flooring it immediately, but by the time you get a half a mile from your house, it's ready. Again, unless it's a very cold climate.