Do you warm up your car before driving each morning.

[Sentientbydesign]

I've always seen voltage expressed as E, possibly for Electromotive force. When in my physics and differential equations courses, we always used E.

[W661335PF]

I've always seen voltage expressed as E, possibly for Electromotive force. When in my physics and differential equations courses, we always used E.

We were always instructed to use the E and as I went through electrical engineering school (I'm no longer an engineer... went the "shrink" route instead) I noticed visible changes in the nomenclature and even the electronics. We were then moving slowly from tube technology (which is still used in some extremely high end electronics) to integrated circuitry and from the E to the V. Of course, in the last 30 years, numerous changes have occurred; however, the basic equations don't change as noted in the formulas above. C-Kwik, Jacko3 and others, I always enjoy these discussions and while I have little desire to actually contribute at the level you guys take it, it's nonetheless very fascinating and educational. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

[Bullet_35mm]

Warming up the car for a longer time makes sense only in cold weather temperatures. In the summer time I wait only few seconds and that's it. In the winter time 1-2 minutes. I heard that there it's not a good idea to wait until the engine will warm up to the temperature that it normally works in. Why? - It takes way longer for the engine to warm up itself than to start driving the car on low RPMs. That's why in new Mercedes models you cannot exceed 3500 RPM until the engin will warm up!!!Conclusion - wait arround a minute and GO !
Modified by Bullet_35mm at 4:49 PM 2/20/2008

[Jacko3]

W661335PF:

Thanks for your kind words! Lets especially give C-Kwik and others, pioneering credit for elevating our understanding of the complex systems in our modern day cars.

[BrandAidDesignG35]

I feel dumb now... thanks guys... I don't know about any physics or engineering math equations and things, but I don't want to either... Its far too complex for my mind, I was dropped several times as a young child... no really stop laughing...

I let mine warm up 30-120 sec. each morning and night.

[W661335PF]

I feel dumb now... thanks guys... I don't know about any physics or engineering math equations and things, but I don't want to either... Its far too complex for my mind, I was dropped several times as a young child... no really stop laughing...

I let mine warm up 30-120 sec. each morning and night.

Was it that you were dropped or that maybe you smoked something along the way??

[joe603]

[Sentientbydesign]

Come on BrandAid.

You've got to be like me and Jacko.

Graphic designer, math major, marketing supervisor, physics freak, DJ, cook...lol

[Jacko3]

I am still beating myself on the head on how I ended up this way. Maybe there was a time I actually fell on my head as a child and my parents never told me

[rn79870]

I am still beating myself on the head on how I ended up this way. Maybe there was a time I actually fell on my head as a child and my parents never told me

Jacko, if you are as enthusiastic about everything in life as you are about posting here, you'll go far in life. I really wish I had your energy. I doubt you ever fell on your head. In fact, I doubt anyone posting here ever fell on their head.

[SVTCOBRA]

I timed my daughter this morning to see how long she lets her car warm up before heading to school. (My desk w/computer is in the bedroom upstairs by a front window, so I just had to look to the left.)Anyway, it was about 2.5 seconds..... And I was just telling her the other day to make sure she let it warm up and wait til the RPM's come down....

[johnparkyourcar]

What is it with girls and cars? My sister is the same way.... She totaled my last car, and when I got my G, I let her take it for a test drive and as I'm sitting in the car with her, I tell her to warm it up a little and right after she starts the car, she puts it into reverse And to make it worse she punched the gas, "to see how fast the car is"

[lucidd]

Interesting question... I was going to post my 2cents... but didn't have time till now. Weekend Yeh!

I usually warmed up for up to 10 minutes before I looked into the subject further.

Understand that I live in a very MILD temperature area - never gets too cold nor hot for that matter... also, my car is garaged - and is warm there...

For the past 10yrs now, I've been warming up only for a minute at the most.

I've read and found out that when the engine idles for too long - over 4 minutes or so, this will cause SLOW warm-ups* --- and typically, in slow warm-ups, acid builds from moisture and the elements [whatever that may be]... this acid damages the cylinder walls / pistons over time*. The acid also will contaminate the engine oil and breaks down its lubricating properties. -this will further increase engine damage if the oil life decreases etc.

Don't get me wrong - I don't zoom off - right after start-up ... and do full throttle, reving high etc --- I do keep it under 3000rpm, and never over half throttle...and also drive* as smooth as possible. --- THIS way, all of the components of the car - warms up at a good* rate TOGETHER*. ... You see, the engine is not the only thing that needs to be warmed up - cuz it is not the only moving part of the car. -eg, the transmission actually needs to be warmed up too.

Have a great weekend guys!

L

[Sentientbydesign]

I don't see how running your engine without load is going to produce acids and running your engine with light load doesn't.

The logical lego is missing.

I think the reason we emphasize the engine is because it is the one component in your vehicle (not including your exhaust), that gets exposed to extreme temperature differences. Combustion releases a lot of heat, where as the transmission does need to be warmed up as well, but the temperature in the transmission adjusts more gradually.

I'd prefer to not get into a fluid dynamics discussion regarding this, so those of you who engage in such conversations, please exercise some self control.

[lucidd]

you do pose some valid questions.,, so firstly, although id love to take credit for my post, the ideas actually come from road&track's tech tidbits section- from an issue- years ago when i had a subscription... i'll elaborate a lil more on what i remember- the acid comes from condensation during or when the engine coole down- H2O is also present from gas: hydrocarbon+oxygen=power&water: but other gases are involved*like nitrogen (nitrogen oxide) &unburnt hydrocarbons &carbon [sut] which all mixes together to get an acidic formation in the combustion chamber. this acid will exist thru a long or short warmup---but--- in a slower,longer startup (letting idle in mornng for extended period) will allow the acid buildup affect the engine more*so than a quicker warmup. exactly how? .. im not a chemist, nor do i remember what the r&t article sed... but makes sense to me, & r&t has always been acurate with their words. . . as for the engine being the only thing affected by the temperature...pls elaborate- not sure exactly what you mean, but/// really, anything and everything that is lubricated by grease or oil... needs to be warmed up-primed before the oil/ grease can lubricate/ protect properly... now here comes the theory: if one warms vehicle up for 4-10 minutes(or more), he/she would depress one's throttle *more*than> if one was told to take it ez-slow warmup, stay below 3k.rpm,with less than half throttle:::::this second way of warmup would enable all of the vehicle's moving parts-to warmup its oil/grease and allow a better*protection to the vehicle. ,,,,should be better* cuz we all know that cold oil/ grease (unless designed to lubricate at extreme low temperature only* which no automotive grease/oil is speced only for low temps) does not work/protect at low temperatures........ hope this makes sense .....L

[Sentientbydesign]

I agree with the last part of your statement regarding warming up the system as a whole. By letting your car idle, you warm up your engine, coolant, and transmission fluid (in an auto, and possible in an MT, but not sure).

The lubricant in the axles and differential are still completely cold, which means that theoretically doing a quick warm up and continuing your warm up with easy driving is superior to letting it idle.

My point with regards to the engine/exhaust seeing more of an extreme temperature difference is that your transmission doesn't have gasoline detonating in it. Nor does your differential or really anywhere other than the engine/exhaust. So the reason I can see people putting more emphasis on warming up that part of the system as opposed to the vehicle as a whole is because of the temperature stress that is applied to that system.

[Jacko3]

Lucidd:

You are right about the acids. Compnents of combustion include Nitorigen oxide (NO2), water vapour (H20), SO2, Carbon dioxide (CO2), and Carbon monoxide--incomplete combustion (CO). Increasing levels of temperature does assist or speed up the formation of complex reactions and substances.

So, the CO2 and H2O (water vapor) will react to form H2C03--(carbolic acid--I am not sure) (weak acid) or hydrogen trioxo carbonate, and the N02 will react with H20 to form H2NO3---nitric acid or hydrogen trioxo nitrate, and H20 will react with SO2 to create H2SO3-- a weak acid. While most is removed by your catalytic converter, as Lucidd has explained, some actually seep through the cylinder walls and can cause rust and damage over time. Increased temperature from over warming a car can create these acids.

I was responding to lucidd's comments. And, i can't talk about acids without showing how they are formed. Acids don't occur on their own.


Modified by Jacko3 at 1:24 PM 2/25/2008

[MoonRiver]

At the beginning (first 1000 miles of its life) I did the same a few times as you do, pull right off as it reached 1800 rpm ( about 10-20 sec, as my 06 Celica with oil pressure gauge takes to build up oil pressure). Even I knew the manual calls for warm-up at least 30 sec. The reason I did that was that I thought that as soon as oil pressure being built up, it's ok to drive slowly, according to those two "Car Talk' guys, and it's the best way to warm up. Also my wife's 02 Camry's manual says as soon as soon it begins running smoothly it can go, I can't see any reason why these two engines lubricate differently. Maybe it's because that VQ has variable valves?

After reading the thread here I recently changed the practice. Beside the consensus here is to warm up, I decided that it's better to engage a clutch at lower RPM, (mine is 6MT). So now I wait till it drops down to 1100 rpm, it's about 30 sec later in FL where I live. Then drive slowly for about a mile which takes to get it reached about its normal tem, but even then I don't floor it, ( I never do even it's been driven 5 or 10 miles, it's just my driving style).

Hope this helps you to decide.