Cold weather warm up?? ; Let it idle for a while or start it up and go? more...
12-08-2002, 06:09 PM
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Cold weather warm up?? ; Let it idle for a while or start it up and go? more...
Even while in the garage, our cars are still cold, very cold so what is the opinion here about warm up time? Currently I just let the car idle for about 5-10 minutes to warm up the oil and water before I go. I've also been told that doing that is bad and that you're supposed to just start it up and leave. So which is it; let it idle 10 minutes. or start it up and go? Someone please shed some light on the do's and don'ts and why's of winter warm up.
12-08-2002, 07:55 PM
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I let the idle get to normal, and then a few seconds...If it is really cold, I'll take drive it in
first gear at 2k RPMS to the top floor of my parking garage and back down. By the time I'm on the street, the temp needle is almost in the middle. I take it really easy until the oil hits 200. That means I shift at 3k RPMS and I stay out of the boost. I try to keep it below -.5 bar and never go above -.3 bar if I can help it. *I realize that negative bar isn't the correct measure for vacuum, that's just what the boost gauge says.* While warming up, I try to do as much steady cruising rather than take-offs as possible.
12-09-2002, 05:21 AM
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3-4 minutes idling makes that first 10 minutes of driving sooo much smoother-
I am also chipped which probably makes acceleration while cold a bit more twitchy. I keep it under 2500 as well. Maybe this no warm up/instant drive off rule of thumb does not apply to a turbo'd car like ours?
12-09-2002, 05:25 AM
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Why the instruction manual says to drive it cold...
When they do the emissions dyno test for new cars, they follow the manufacture startup procedure. If you read the manual for an Audi or VW, it specifically says not let let it warm up. This is better for emissions - the longer it's cold, the longer the emissions stink.
I let mine warm up to almost normal idling and drive like a wimp (not exceeding 10 in Hg) until I have 175 deg oil, then gradually edge into the boost.
The only downfall I know of regarding letting it sit and idle is the potential that the turbo's don't get enough oil pressure at idle (garett's site mentions this), although I think it's not a big deal with cold oil - since it's thicker (I think).
I let mine warm up to almost normal idling and drive like a wimp (not exceeding 10 in Hg) until I have 175 deg oil, then gradually edge into the boost.
The only downfall I know of regarding letting it sit and idle is the potential that the turbo's don't get enough oil pressure at idle (garett's site mentions this), although I think it's not a big deal with cold oil - since it's thicker (I think).
