warming up in winter?

Until idle slows to normal

 

Exactly.

Do you warm up your body by sitting in a chair? No. You get out and do a jog before starting a sprint.

 

Not sure if you guys listen to Car Talk at all. I have put a lot of faith in those guys over the years and this is the gist of what they have to say:

In older cars with carburetors and lower tolerance engine manufacturing, it was necessary to warm up the car. With fuel injection and higher quality engines this is no longer the case. The biggest problem with letting the car idle is that the fuel is burning so inefficiently that the byproducts end up coating the valves and especially the catalytic converter. Over time, this buildup prevents the catalytic converter from doing its job, and the truck becomes a gross polluter (not to say that they're not already, but they will start letting the NASTY stuff out like sulfur and nitrogen dioxide (SOx and NOx.) In addition you'll experience poorer engine performance due to the buildup on the inside of your cylinders, manifold and valves.

That being said they recommend 30 seconds in pretty cold climates, and maybe a minute in the coldest of times. This gets the oil moving and ensures you don't put too much stress on things immediately. Drive like your grandmother for the first few minutes also.

If it's frequently very cold where you live, get an oilpan or engine block heater and set it on a timer for a few hours before you plan on leaving your house. Then you'll have a nice warm engine seconds after you fire it up, and won't be wasting your gas and engine by warming it up.

$0.01 to Click, $0.01 to Clack

 

I usually start mine up, then go back in and make a pot of coffee. Usually by this time it's nice and toasty inside and I dont have to scrape windows. So to answer the question, I warm my truck up for about 6 cups.

 

I perform the same routine just about everyday, bitter cold or mid-summer. I get in and turn the ignition to "on". I wait a couple of seconds to allow the injectors to prime and then start up. As soon as the idle settles I pull into drive and set off very slowly to the stop sign at the end of my street. When I pull out I do so slowly and accelerate lightly alowing the auto-trans to shift smoothly. Drives my wife nuts sometimes but like Krazie said......Light stretch and jog before full out sprint.

 

depends on how long it takes me to put on my seat belt.

 

I typically keep my vehicles for a long time. I had a 87 GMC Safari van for 15 years and 300,000+ miles. I have a 95 Ford Explorer now my daughter drives that has 185,000 miles. I also have a 91 Corvette that is barely broken it. My point is I keep vehicles a long time and have never let them warm up be driving them. I also don't start them and immediately start driving them like I stole them.

If you let your truck warm up setting still, there may be fewer drive line parts moving. Moving parts being driven gently are not necessarily under any more stress from moving than when sittiing.

 

I agree completely. I have a Lincoln Navigator that has to be the coldest running truck I've ever seen. When the weather is much below 32 degrees F, it just will not warm up without driving it. Even then it takes a good 15 miles or more for it to loosen up!

 

I have a starter so:
when its cold - usually 5 mins or till the windows start to defrost
when its warm - a couple mins
when its hot - usually 5 mins to get veh cool.

on all the above , drive easy for first few miles to get the driveline temps up.

 

i let er warm up for atleast 5 mins on a -10c, when its like -30 i warm er up for atleast 10 mins.

 

Anyone know a person who turns the starter, and pulls the shifter into "D" in one smooth motion? Revs still high, pedal to the metal, "look out here I come"...... Makes me cringe.

 

The benefit of driving off right away is not so much that it warms up faster as that it warms up evenly. This matters with newer engines where tolerances are so tight and so many different metals are used. I don't let mine idle cold, my .02.

 

I'll see your cringe and raise you one.

i park with my transmission in R, so all i have to do, is start and let out the clutch.