As the title says, how long do you give your engine to warm up before setting off?
Also how long do you leave it ticking over before turning the engine off?

 

Not sure if it the right thing to do but I always give the engine at least 1 minute before I pull off, and even then ill only crawl along keeping the revs down aswell as off boost.

When pulling up I seem to at least let the engine tick over for another minute even if I havent driven hard. do this just out of habit really, not sure it would be needed if you have been driving off boost but it keeps me happy.

 

I dont allways let it warm up b4 driving off, but i do drive it steady and off boost untill the oil temp reaches 80 deg C which is usually 3 miles about 5 mins

Thn when i cool down, i drive for about 3 miles 5 mins very slow with no boost, and ill set the TT for 3 mins if i have been on a hard drive, (just a normal drive its between 1-2 mins, depends) this usually gets the oil temp down to 80 deg C

 

after an expensive rebuild i wont even move mine until its up to temp and i drive the last mile or so off boost the leave it 4 about a minuite before i turn it off not saying this is right but i suppose everyones got there own thing

p.s yea it does pi** my neighbours when i fire it up every morning at 6 oclock and leave it ticking over for about 5 mins

 

i just get in mine and drive it to work dont go above 2500rpm its about 4 mile up road ,driven like a motorised cart
its never abused when cold and always cooled down when ive put my foot down

 

You don't need to leave the car warming up on the drive, and if you do it's not a substitute for gentle driving for several miles: for starters, the gearbox and diff oil won't warm when the car is stationary! You can start up and drive off straight away (although, to be honest I usually let mine get up to normal water temp at first, just to take the chill off- I find the car is less lumpy then) THEN you should keep the revs below around 2500 rpm and use gentle throttle applications till the engine oil is up to temp. This takes longer than you might think (as much as 8-10miles when it's been in the cold).

Whatever you do, don't rag a cold engine, sure fire way to an early rebuild!

Ns04

 

Mine warms up for as long as it takes me to reverse out the garage and close the door! I drive it steady until the temp gauge is at normal(5 mins). I aways drive the last mile or so slowly, no boost. As the little sticker inside my door says let it idle for 1 minute before turning off. Remember, before you stop to fill up at the forecourt take it steady before you get there and let it idle for the same time. No giving it beans down the motorway and popping into the service station and switching straight off!!

 

Are you using the water temp guage?? There is no std oil temp gauge in any scooby as far as I know. Engine oil takes much longer to warm than water!! Not warming the car up properly will do much worse damage than not letting it cool down (though you should not neglect that either)

Ns04

 

Yea, just using it as a guide though as after 5mins I'm in town so not much chance of opening things up too much! It takes another 10-15, depending on traffic, before I can get going!! I does seem odd that Subaru put all the emphasis on cooling things down and no mention of warming up.

 

Yep, you got that right mate: I find it hard to believe that only BMW incorporate cold rev warning lights into their M cars and no other sports car manufacturer seems to bother!

Thrashing a cold car is just about the worst thing you can do to it, short of crashing of course!!

 

Oil can take upto 20 minutes to reach operating temp (80 degree's +) but having said that, I start my car, wait for the oil light goes out and set off. The oil that should be used in these cars can cope with cold running, the important bit is not straining the engine when its cold.

Cool down is more important than warm up imo, I drive for at least 5 miles off boost before letting the car idle for 10-15 seconds before switching off. If I cant drive off boost, I'll let it idle for 10-15minutes after a hard thrash.

 

[QUOTE=Phildodd06;7321589]I dont allways let it warm up b4 driving off, but i do drive it steady and off boost untill the oil temp reaches 80 deg C which is usually 3 miles about 5 mins

same here

 

If I understand it correctly mate, not warming up is MUCH worse than not coolling down (especially with the new age cars) The main effect of not letting the car cool down is that the now stationary oil doesn't dissipate the tremendous heat that's built up in the turbo (IIRC it pretty much frys on it), which will shorten the life of your blower. Not warming the car up properly means that ALL those moving parts in the engine are being put under strain with sub-optimal lubrication.

Its very wise to do both, although I reckon 5 miles gentle driving after a hard thrash is more than adequate!! The main thing to avoid is driving for extended periods on boost then switching straight off.

Ns04

 

I just start her up, put the belts on, get the music going and then keep it below 3k 'til up to temp.
Cool down I just run below 3k for the last mile or so of the journey.
TBH I haven't heard of too many blown turbos (well none actually) so I am of the opinion that warm up is more important than cool down.
If I was on a track day I would let it idle for a minute or two to dissipate heat build up though.

 

OK so maybe your thinking I mean, I dont allow the car to warm up before driving hard. The car never see 2000rpm until the oil temp gauge has moved (thats 40deg) and does see 3500rpm until 80deg.

Multi Grade Oils today can withstand alot of punishment, there designed to withstand cold operating temps, so what I was getting at it leaving your car to idle until the oil is warm isn't needed because the oil can cope with Gentle driving, but switching you engine off without on a hot turbo will block your oil ways.

BTW, on the GT4 I had previous to the Impreza, I came along the motorway one day and turned on the a B road to come home, I traveled the 5 miles along the B road and parked the car in garage leaving the car to idle, closed the doors of the garage and in the dark I could see the turbbo glowing bright red still. The car idles for 35minutes until the glow had totally gone.

IMO 15minutes isn't being over carefull but each to there own.

 

Under 2000 revs and you may be lugging the engine when changing up.
ps watch the CO poisoning in the garage

 

The revs are not as important as the load you put through the engine.
Gently does it until water gauge is in normal position, then another few miles for the oil to catch up.

 

i only live about 2 miles from my work, so usually i`d start her up, reverse he out from behind the gates, lock up the gates and drive easy on my way to work, no boost or hard throttle. its only a 5 min drive, but i`d then let it idle for a few mins outside work before i go in, just let it get a longer run.

i usually drive easy the last bit of any journey, and idle for about a minute when i reach my destination. I have on several occasions just blaitently stopped and popped the key out then proceeded to slap myself for my stupidity!

turbo timer is en route, just waiting on delivery so that should also help things along.

 

Turbo timer? I have had a blitz FATT turbo timer in all 3 of my scoobs and wouldn't drive a scoob without one imo. Great little devices and no need to sit there with the ignition one once you get to your destination. They come with adaptor harnesses too which means any old chimp can plug one in if you are scared of that sort of thing

 

It much better to start the car and drive straight away than leave it warming up.
The reason for this is as follows. Nearly all the engine damage occurs while its cold, so the sooner it warms up the better.
Leaving it on tick-over will mean it takes ages to get up to temp-driving it means it will warm up MUCH quicker.
Leaving it on the drive to warm up is a big no no.

 

These are CARS we're talking about aren't they? Not fluffy kittens! Fire up engine, drive straightaway but just try and take it easy and keep the revs down until water's up to temp, then do what you want. Yes I know oil's not up to temp straight away but if you carry on nursing your precious car along like it's made of glass, all that'll happen is your oil NEVER gets up to temperature. On the way home, forget turbo timers, leaving the car idling etc. Just drive slow the last mile home!

It's not rocket science really.

 

For those that don't like driving like women for the last part of a journey, they are very useful thanks . Lock the car and walk away . The cost a fortune and just work.

 

Are our turboes water or oil cooled? im presuming there oil cooled?

 

Oil is in there to lubricate and cool, water is there just to cool.




NS04, the Honda VTEC won't kick in until the water reaches near operating temp

 

Start car, fasten seat belt, put car in gear and drive
Leaving a car just to idle to warm the engine up is
1, a waste of fuel
2, does nothing for the engine
3, not actually that good for the engine compared to putting a load on when driving.
Driving the car will warm it up alot quicker than letting it sit there.

Tony

 

What he said, pretty sure its not good to let a car idle to warm up. There is quite a difference in minutes between water temp and oil temp (if you have a separate gauge) getting to operating temp. I usually let mine idle for a minute or so after stopping as it says so in the handbook.

 

What we can gleem from this thread is that

a) Proper lubrication is absolutely vital for high performance engines
b) Leaving the car on the drive is no substitute for driving it
c) oil takes significantly longer than water to get up to operating tempature
d) If you want to rag a cold car, that's your choice, but get friendly with an engine builder would be my advice!

 

THATS JUST CRAZY TALK - or is it common sense?

 

I tend to switch on and go...although I do switch on first, then belts, radio, wave goodbye etc!

I usually give it 8-10 miles before any turbo activity - that was a from a thread on here years ago where a bloke had times everything with gauges etc. He did start from very cold on a winters (frosty) morning though. Slightly **** yes, better than a rebuild - defo.


If I've been on boost a lot, I give a 1 min to cool down but I normally drivve the last mile off boost (and it's normally in 30/40 zones anyway)

 

Turn on and go! Keeping speeds low

And when i get to were i want to be

Turn off and go! With no timer!

There is no point leaving it on when its still your better of driving slow for a mile or 2!