How long do you warm your car up for?

Usmxn

Usmxn

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Just wondering how long you guys leave your engines running for in the morning before setting off
 
I just get in and drive, if the windows etc need cleared from frost/snow they'll be cleared and no additional waiting time, don't see the benefit in doing so as the car won't heat up quickly anyway.
 
Every handbook for a car I've ever read says drive off straight away, so I do!

I don't go over 3k though and don't give it the beans until the coolant temperature is normal plus about 5-10 minutes. Just to be sure the oil is up to temp.

I'll fit a oil temp gauge one of these days.
 
Drive straight off as above, just keep it below 4k and and don't use full throttle till the coolant temp has been on 90° for a few mins.
 
Sounds like I've just been wasting fuel with letting it run for about 15 minutes in the morning before setting off :(
 
I am the same in the car , just keep it easy until it is properly warm .

Bike gets started in the garage and left to warm up whilst I get my gear on ...
 
Should never really let an engine sit idling from start up as it furs all the plugs and coil packs with carbon build up as its running lean, and as said above, the car warms up more quickly when driving, the only time I let the engine idle is when I want to clear all the ice on cold mornings.
 
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My one fires up at 1200rpm, once it goes down to 600, it is time to go, takes about 30 seconds on a cold morning.
 
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i just get in and drive too, only times she gets warmed up is if there ice on the window thats about it really
 
I usually start it up and wait 30 seconds until the revs stabilise about 800rpm from the 1200 it starts up at. I thought this would be good, but now I think I'm wasting my time? Thoughts? (The car is just very juddery when first started and running lean)
 
Mines a 2.0 diesel I give it about 30 sec-1 min to warm up ( takes me that long to sort music out for journey :p)
 
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Mine fires up at about 1200-1300RPM so I let it sit until it drops to 900 then when I drive off I don't boost or push over 3000 until it's fully warmed up
 
Keep in mind the oil takes twice as long to warm up, as the coolant does to get to 90
 
youre not supposed to leave it idling from cold ive read a million times just drive it gently until warm basically.

There mechanical reasoning behind it which makes perfect sense.
 
I don't drive off straight away but you'll never catch me waiting more than 2 or 3 minutes. I just let it start up, catch its breath so to speak and I'm off. I do drive gently though until everything's warm.

I also 'turbo time' my car before turning the engine off, especially if I've come off the motorway.
 
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do you have a turbo timer installed?
 
cpc_s3 said:
do you have a turbo timer installed?
Click to expand...

No, I just let it idle for 2/3min before turning the engine off.

Rick @ Unicorn Motor Dev. said:
Worst thing you can do is leave it idling when cold, puts a lot strain/wear on the cam.

Rick
Click to expand...

Does that apply to these newer engines as well Rick? I thought it was a throwback to when oil pumps didn't do much pumping at idle so the oil didn't reach the top of the engine?
 
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Applies to any engine, the cam is the part that is under the most stress, at idle you have full spring pressure on oil that isn't up to temperature.As soon as you start to spin, the spring rate is effectively reduced. I'm sure modern engines are much better but it's not something you should practice regularly IMO

Rick
 
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I let mine idle for 10-20 seconds before moving allowing the oil pressure to build up first. Then i just drive normally, keeping revs below 3k until up to temp. Also when parking up, i let the car idle for a minute to let the turbo cool
 
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Just rag it from the off !
 
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I thought my car was the only one that starts up on high revs first thing in the morning. It starts just below 1000rpm then comes down to 900 after 5 mins or so, I'm guessing that's normal?

I usually wait for it to come down then drive off, but from now I'm driving from the get go lol
 
Normally give it a minute or so before setting off, time to sort music and stash the work bag in the back. I was under the impression that a few waiting a brief time before setting off was a good idea, so that the everything that needs oil gets it.
Also I wait a minute or two before switching off at the other end, I saw that referred to as 'turbo time' somewhere above, always believed that just pulling up and switching off was a bad process with a turbo engine.
 
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I have a 2012 A3 and as soon as i leave the car running for around 15 seconds, it flashes up on the dashboard telling me its bad to let it "Warm up"
Next time it comes up, I'll get the exact message
 
Being a nerd I've been reading a few PDF's about the 2.0TFSI in the 8P as I'm looking at buying one.

It has an electrical pump that starts when you stop the engine, pushing coolant through the turbo for a few minutes after you stop!

I don't know how effective this is but I'd be inclined to believe you can just turn off the car and get out under normal conditions. Without worrying about sitting there for a few minutes.

Obviously the oil flow still stops, so I'd still let it cool for a bit if I'd been ringing it's neck. :)
 
Baka said:
Being a nerd I've been reading a few PDF's about the 2.0TFSI in the 8P as I'm looking at buying one.

It has an electrical pump that starts when you stop the engine, pushing coolant through the turbo for a few minutes after you stop!

I don't know how effective this is but I'd be inclined to believe you can just turn off the car and get out under normal conditions. Without worrying about sitting there for a few minutes.

Obviously the oil flow still stops, so I'd still let it cool for a bit if I'd been ringing it's neck. :)
Click to expand...


thats interesting! any idea if its the same on the 1.8 tfsi?
 
Matt1707 said:
thats interesting! any idea if its the same on the 1.8 tfsi?
Click to expand...

To quote the PDF i found verbatim:

"To prevent carbon build-up on the turbine
shaft in the turbocharger, an auxiliary
coolant pump provides additional coolant
circulation for a certain time after the
engine is shut off hot. The pump forces
the lower temperature coolant against the
normal direction of flow. The coolant flows
from the radiator through the turbocharger
to the engine block and back to the cooler."

I'm guessing the dodad that does this is the auxillary water/coolant pump. If this eBay link is to be believed then it's a feature fitted to the 1.8 TFSI and a lot of other VAG engines:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OEM-Auxil...b-SEAT-Altea-Leon-1-8TSI-2-0TSI-/221446157412

If a VAG technician or someone with more experience could confirm?

Here's a link to the PDF I found: http://vwts.ru/engine/axx_bwa/axx_bwa_20_fsi_eng.pdf

Seems like a good idea, if I came up with it I'd certainly fit it to all my turbo engines! :)
 
I generally let the revs drop to below 1k as previous folk have mentioned then take it easy till temp reaches 90degrees
 
cpc_s3 said:
youre not supposed to leave it idling from cold ive read a million times just drive it gently until warm basically.

There mechanical reasoning behind it which makes perfect sense.
Click to expand...
I think the explanation is that the rich mixture leaves neat fuel washing all the oil off the cylinders adding to wear on the engine. It warms up and leans much quicker when driven.
 
Rick @ Unicorn Motor Dev. said:
Applies to any engine, the cam is the part that is under the most stress, at idle you have full spring pressure on oil that isn't up to temperature.As soon as you start to spin, the spring rate is effectively reduced. I'm sure modern engines are much better but it's not something you should practice regularly IMO

Rick
Click to expand...

Thank you :)

Baka said:
Being a nerd I've been reading a few PDF's about the 2.0TFSI in the 8P as I'm looking at buying one.

It has an electrical pump that starts when you stop the engine, pushing coolant through the turbo for a few minutes after you stop!

I don't know how effective this is but I'd be inclined to believe you can just turn off the car and get out under normal conditions. Without worrying about sitting there for a few minutes.

Obviously the oil flow still stops, so I'd still let it cool for a bit if I'd been ringing it's neck. :)
Click to expand...

They all have this but as you say oil flow to the turbo stops as soon as the engine does.
 
I normally let my oil get to 20 degrees prior to driving, then allow the car to sit for a minute or two after each drive.
Does the above regarding the fuel washing the cylinder apply to diesel?
 
bennyball said:
I normally let my oil get to 20 degrees prior to driving, then allow the car to sit for a minute or two after each drive.
Does the above regarding the fuel washing the cylinder apply to diesel?
Click to expand...
I think it would be worse with a diesel with soot build up especially with the 170 bhp dpf models.
 
It's like the running in arguments.

Some say one thing and others say the opposite.
One of my cars simply would not run until it hit at least 85C and had to have me sit with my foot on the accelerator at 2000rpm until it would idle without stalling.

The S3 has always had a few minutes of warmup time and when the engine was last in bits there were no signs of wear at all on the crank or cams.

I see the points from both sides but wouldn't be able to say which is best.
 
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