Drive COLD or WARM?
 

Here is a question for ya:

Some people suggest to wait for the car to warm up during cold days to avoid running at higher than idel RPMs when the oil is still cold.

Others suggest that you should start right away, because if the goal is to get the oil warmed up, you should warm it up as quickly as possible. (Of course you don't floor it, but you start driving right away).

I tend to go with the first approach, what do you guys think?

I take it real easy (2 - 3k) until the water temp starts moving then keep it under 4 - 5k until the oil temp moves.

i think i read somewhere you want to give it like 30seconds before you move. i could be wrong. i just fire up the car, buckle up, set my tunes and by that time it's like 30seconds past. :p then no hard acceleration until water temp is nominal temp range.

for my dd (honda fit), i just start and go even in 0F. by the time car is fired up, my clutch is engaged and im off. i just drive real easy until water temp is normal.

I follow that 30 sec thingy as well, and usually wait till my cars have really warmed up before I gas them hard.

I usually just idle out of my garage (no throttle) once I've gotten situated, buckled, stereo set, etc. It's probably about 30 sec or so before I rev it.

I have a tube that reroutes all my exhaust fumes directly into the cabin, to bring up the interior temperature right away after a cold start.

Plus you're happy all the time! :happydance:

:facepalm:

This is triggered a question for me, is oil temp more important or the water temp? I mean most cars don't even have the oil temp guage...

Very nice idea. I am on my way to the store to pick up some tubes.

I guess it depends on how much of a rush I'm in. Since I make it a point never to be in a rush, I guess I go with option #1 usually.

Oil temp is definitely more important as far as motor longevity goes. That's why until it starts moving I don't really get on it.

ah ok thanks for that, i should ease off a bit as well then... the thing takes too long to warm up but >< the freeway is only 1.5km away from my house =/

I typically follow suit. I turn on the Z, then by the time I get situated and get my ipod plugged in and get my music ready to go, 30 seconds has passed and I'm good to go. I try to keep the car under wraps until the temp is up to norm, but hey, sometimes you find yourself in a situation where you gotta punch it a little :)

DIY available?

He keeps it in his prison wallet.

I start drifting and burnouting everywhere.

engine needs to be warmed up quickly

nah I just drive quite calm and never go above 3000RPM

plus the 370z sounds great the first 30seconds during cold start. why not just listen to it? :D

Haha, I completely agree. It sounds so money on startup.

in winter i usually warm up for 3 minutes. it is not going to kill you and it is doing your car metallurgy good.

:iagree:

Living in Chicago, I'm driving in sub-zero temps often. I never get on the throttle above 3k RPM unless the oil temp is off the minimum. Even then, I limit the acceleration (<4-5k) until I hit 180F.

Since my cars normally in the garage I give it the 30 seconds, sometimes a little more. If its been sitting outside all night and its really cold, I'll start it up get out and have a smoke. By then all the temps are good to go and the butt warmers nice and toasty

I live in the land where cold weather doesn't happen often (NorCal), so I usually just wait for the car to come off fast idle. After that, it's sub 3k rpm till the car has fully warmed up; coolant gets there first, then oil, then gearbox. I usually wont get on a car hard till I've gone at least 10 miles or so.

Especially with a full exhaust system! :tup:

Most of the time the car will warm up to up to 5 mins.

:bowrofl:

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...DSC02639-1.jpg

BTW, I just wait till the water temp moves to the 2nd dot. That's just my way of knowing I'm ready to drive away. If the outside temparature is 40 degrees F, it doesn't take long until dot moves to 2nd. But if it's 15 degrees F (that's 15 below freezing), it's takes 4-5 minutes. The only reason I wait a little is because I live 30 seconds off the parkway. I usually hit the acceleration ramp at full throttle :driving:. But as Killerbee said, if I'm in a rush, start and GO for me :(

:iagree:

When the RPM starts dropping, I'll back out of my garage.

Since I'm the second house on my street from an arterial (though nearly rural), after that I'm going down the road at 45-55mph.

My frontier with it's temperature sensitive transmission doesn't like to shift into OD or lock the torque converter until it's warmed up, so I've gotten soft on gunning it until then, which by that point I'm on a highway.

That carries over w/ the Z.

Plus, the tires don't grab as well when they've not yet warmed up from use.