Warming up the engine???
08-13-2007, 08:46 PM
#11
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location:
Posts: 434
RE: Warming up the engine???
ok a few factors go into the warm up and the proper time. The goverment wants your car to heat up as fast as it can so it will burn fuel the most effecent as it can. the key components that need to heat up are the cats and the o2 sensors. the cat needs to be between 700 and 900 degrees and the o2s around 250. the o2s are heated so they go fast and the cat warms up around 3 minutes. At this time the car starts to adjust to your fuel. Before this it runs on only stored memery and that is whay your car runs rich. The setting is in your ram and is call ltft long term fuel trim. when the o2 sesnsor starts sending the data of how much co and hc you have it tells the stft short term fuel trim to adjust the timing and thats when your rpms shot down to around 800. and leans out the mix. at this time which is around 3 minutes your car is warmed up and ready to go. if anyone has questions please ask away. but that in a short story is what happens in the pcm of you car and the sensors. And always remember the only sensor that tells the pcm real time data is the first o2 sensor. it bases all the fuel mixture off of them. hoped i cleared up a few things for people
08-13-2007, 08:51 PM
#12
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: NC
Posts: 1,138
RE: Warming up the engine???
Geez, I barely have enough time to let the rpm drop to 1000. I am ALWAYS running late, and if I'm not, my daughter is. So, hope you guys are wrong about letting it warm for 3 minutes or so, cause it aint gonna happen anytime soon for me. 
08-13-2007, 09:24 PM
#14
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: The High Country
Posts: 3,547
RE: Warming up the engine???
ORIGINAL: Jokeurmnd
Thanks for the comfort you guys I'm glad to know I've been doing the right thing.
Thanks for the comfort you guys I'm glad to know I've been doing the right thing.
Not so fast. The owner's manual tells that excessive idleing can be hurtfull. Just wait till the fast idle drops down and you are good to go. Oil pressure is up, doesn't waste time or gas. These things aren't babies and shouldn't be treated like they are.
08-13-2007, 09:33 PM
#15
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: NC
Posts: 1,138
RE: Warming up the engine???
ORIGINAL: GidyupGo
Not so fast. The owner's manual tells that excessive idleing can be hurtfull. Just wait till the fast idle drops down and you are good to go. Oil pressure is up, doesn't waste time or gas. These things aren't babies and shouldn't be treated like they are.
Not so fast. The owner's manual tells that excessive idleing can be hurtfull. Just wait till the fast idle drops down and you are good to go. Oil pressure is up, doesn't waste time or gas. These things aren't babies and shouldn't be treated like they are.
08-13-2007, 10:08 PM
#16
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New Bern, NC
Posts: 701
RE: Warming up the engine???
Theory is that 85% of your engine wear is at start up. Reason being that old Dino oil drained when at shut down and left the engine bone dry, and that Dino oil is thick at start-up to boot making it slow to get to the bearings when it was still chilling.
Synthetic oils pour at colder temps, they are pourable at way below zero fahrenheit. They stick to the metal and provide lubrication even after engine has been shut down for days. I've been a "Red Line Oil" believer for many years and many thousands of miles with nevera lubrication let down. However, having just moved to NC I'm not finding it locally, have found a place to order it about 200 miles away. So, I'm thinking of either Amsoil or Mobil 1. Suspect I'll order the Red Line, I have been using it for better than 20 years.
Next thing is my additive, "Tufoil" which you can check on at www.tufoil.com and the machinist that built my last engine recommended it to me some 137k miles ago on my last "ride" which used 26 sets of tires during it's total of 269k miles of life. He said it would make the metal harder to machine cause it combines with the metal.
Bottom line, I use my lubricants (6 qts Red Line 5w-20 & 8 ounces Tufoil) on a 5k mile interval, I warm up the car for probably a least 3 minutes, and I drive it easily and in a fashion to not "load" the engine for a bit of awhile till I figure it is "good to go" and then I'm not shy about using liberal doses of the throttle and gears.
Synthetic oils pour at colder temps, they are pourable at way below zero fahrenheit. They stick to the metal and provide lubrication even after engine has been shut down for days. I've been a "Red Line Oil" believer for many years and many thousands of miles with nevera lubrication let down. However, having just moved to NC I'm not finding it locally, have found a place to order it about 200 miles away. So, I'm thinking of either Amsoil or Mobil 1. Suspect I'll order the Red Line, I have been using it for better than 20 years.
Next thing is my additive, "Tufoil" which you can check on at www.tufoil.com and the machinist that built my last engine recommended it to me some 137k miles ago on my last "ride" which used 26 sets of tires during it's total of 269k miles of life. He said it would make the metal harder to machine cause it combines with the metal.
Bottom line, I use my lubricants (6 qts Red Line 5w-20 & 8 ounces Tufoil) on a 5k mile interval, I warm up the car for probably a least 3 minutes, and I drive it easily and in a fashion to not "load" the engine for a bit of awhile till I figure it is "good to go" and then I'm not shy about using liberal doses of the throttle and gears.
08-13-2007, 11:00 PM
#17
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: MD
Posts: 2,083
RE: Warming up the engine???
ORIGINAL: algregory
Theory is that 85% of your engine wear is at start up. Reason being that old Dino oil drained when at shut down and left the engine bone dry, and that Dino oil is thick at start-up to boot making it slow to get to the bearings when it was still chilling.
Synthetic oils pour at colder temps, they are pourable at way below zero fahrenheit. They stick to the metal and provide lubrication even after engine has been shut down for days. I've been a "Red Line Oil" believer for many years and many thousands of miles with nevera lubrication let down. However, having just moved to NC I'm not finding it locally, have found a place to order it about 200 miles away. So, I'm thinking of either Amsoil or Mobil 1. Suspect I'll order the Red Line, I have been using it for better than 20 years.
Next thing is my additive, "Tufoil" which you can check on at www.tufoil.com and the machinist that built my last engine recommended it to me some 137k miles ago on my last "ride" which used 26 sets of tires during it's total of 269k miles of life. He said it would make the metal harder to machine cause it combines with the metal.
Bottom line, I use my lubricants (6 qts Red Line 5w-20 & 8 ounces Tufoil) on a 5k mile interval, I warm up the car for probably a least 3 minutes, and I drive it easily and in a fashion to not "load" the engine for a bit of awhile till I figure it is "good to go" and then I'm not shy about using liberal doses of the throttle and gears.
Theory is that 85% of your engine wear is at start up. Reason being that old Dino oil drained when at shut down and left the engine bone dry, and that Dino oil is thick at start-up to boot making it slow to get to the bearings when it was still chilling.
Synthetic oils pour at colder temps, they are pourable at way below zero fahrenheit. They stick to the metal and provide lubrication even after engine has been shut down for days. I've been a "Red Line Oil" believer for many years and many thousands of miles with nevera lubrication let down. However, having just moved to NC I'm not finding it locally, have found a place to order it about 200 miles away. So, I'm thinking of either Amsoil or Mobil 1. Suspect I'll order the Red Line, I have been using it for better than 20 years.
Next thing is my additive, "Tufoil" which you can check on at www.tufoil.com and the machinist that built my last engine recommended it to me some 137k miles ago on my last "ride" which used 26 sets of tires during it's total of 269k miles of life. He said it would make the metal harder to machine cause it combines with the metal.
Bottom line, I use my lubricants (6 qts Red Line 5w-20 & 8 ounces Tufoil) on a 5k mile interval, I warm up the car for probably a least 3 minutes, and I drive it easily and in a fashion to not "load" the engine for a bit of awhile till I figure it is "good to go" and then I'm not shy about using liberal doses of the throttle and gears.
08-13-2007, 11:22 PM
#18
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: British Columbia
Posts: 638
RE: Warming up the engine???
its not about engine temp but rather how far along the oil has gone circulating about in the engine
a few mins of gentle driving is all you need to get the motor fully lubricated
once its up to heat, run it hard
dont sit for 10 mins waiting for the needle to movie
a few mins of gentle driving is all you need to get the motor fully lubricated
once its up to heat, run it hard
dont sit for 10 mins waiting for the needle to movie
08-14-2007, 02:02 AM
#19
6th Gear Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: West Los Angeles
Posts: 5,390
RE: Warming up the engine???
ORIGINAL: richmod
Geez, I barely have enough time to let the rpm drop to 1000. I am ALWAYS running late, and if I'm not, my daughter is. So, hope you guys are wrong about letting it warm for 3 minutes or so, cause it aint gonna happen anytime soon for me.
Geez, I barely have enough time to let the rpm drop to 1000. I am ALWAYS running late, and if I'm not, my daughter is. So, hope you guys are wrong about letting it warm for 3 minutes or so, cause it aint gonna happen anytime soon for me.
Just start it, set the radio to the channel you want and drive. You're going to hit a stop light before getting on the highway anyway, so let it warm up there.
As long as you don't gun it, you're not going to do any noticeable damage.
I'd hate to have 100,000+ Mustang owners sitting in their cars for 3 minutes every morning!
Of course, in deep winter in freezing weather, go ahead and warm the engine and the interior up.
