just a quick question to see what you guys think about letting the engine warm up into the normal operating zone before driving off or if you guys feel as though its better to warm everything up together by jumping in the car, starting the engine and driving off. other than fuel economy suffering, i see no drawbacks. every 7 i have owned i have let warm up (when possible) at least into the normal operating temp before i drive off. in my experience, it seems as though the 12A and 13B EGI run far better warm than cold. i had gotten into a little argument over on rx8club over this and the guys there seem to think letting the engine warm up is just a bad idea. i disagree and thought i would see what my fellow 7 owners thought on the matter.

 

warm up is a critical part of driving a car. Before the car is warmed up, tolerances aren't correct and you risk damage if you rev the motor too high under load.

 

the downsides is fuel economy, and it takes longer for the car to actually reach normal operating temp.

gental driving until the car will quickly and safely warm the engine up much quicker than idling will, and is much better for fuel economy.

now, if you don't have the self control to stay off the noisy pedal until it is warmed up, then by all means, let it idle warm up.

 

this goes for any car..let the damn thing warm up..it does you good by getting your fat *** around town..do it good by letting it warm up.

:AA:

 

You know, there is also the school of thought (which I subscribe too) that there is far more in a car to warm up in a car than the engine.

So you've sat there idling for 10 minutes waiting for the engine to come up to temperature. Great, now you take off like a bat out of hell. BUT your trans, rear diff, wheel bearings, etc are all still stone cold. The wear on these parts should also be taken into consideration when talking about vehicle warm-up.

It's probably better for the overall drivetrain to start the car, let combustion stabilize (10, 20 seconds?) Then drive conservatively until the engine comes up to temperature. This ensures the entire drivetrain gets a warm-up and not just the engine.

Of course, if one lacks the self control to keep their right foot out of it before the car is warm -- then I suppose an engine only warm up is better than nothing.

 

If I have the time I will let the engine warm up, if not I drive it sensible until warm up. I also usually drive a couple of blocks before I open it up

 

I drive off as soon as the idle is stable, just keep your foot out of it until
you see the temp get to its sweet spot or the choke pulls off.

This is true for all cars. Excessive idling does no good for any engine
because the engine is not operating very hot and carbon can/will build up.

 

same here. might let it sit and warm up a few minutes in the winter but that's about it. i NEVER drive a cold engine hard. and all the threads i've read of people saying not to start and stop a cold engine without first letting it get up to temp, i've never had any issues from starting it cold, moving it, and shutting it off without letting it get up to temp.

 

I've always let every car I own idle for a minute or so, minimum, when coming off dead cold, particularly in cold weather. I prefer to see the temp gauge up off the bottom peg before rolling. Oil and clearances are more stably related when the engine is at 'operating temp.'

With the -7, If I have time I give it more like 2 or 3 miinutes. There's a point about 2 mins into warm-up that the RPM starts creeping up on its own and I manually ease the choke in to drop it to about 2000; that's usually my "ready to drive" cue. Needless to say, it's a lot easier to drive (and easier on the clutch) if you're not engaging the drivetrain with the RPMs up around 2500. And it undeniably drives better after coming up to full temp.

With the SA, emissions are lower after the thermal reactor warms up, too.

It's downright foolish to drive a cold motor hard. More carbon buildup due to poor combustion, & more risk of breaking things due to excess clearance & thermal shock.

 

i think you're actually doing more harm than good just letting it sit there and run, for a few reasons.

idle is the slowest to warm up, so all you're really doing is diluting the oil with fuel.

the best way (not just IMO, but do a little reading) is just to start it, and drive gently until its warmed up. if you must, 30seconds to a minute is fine, on the carburated cars they need about that long for the idle to get stable.

then you should not exceed 50% throttle or 4000rpms until the coolant is up to temp, and then it should not see 100% or redline for another minute after that, as the oil does not warm up as fast as the coolant, and its important too

 

I usually sit in my car and just keep the rpms a little high until it warms up. It seems to run better when warm.

 

I start the car and let it sit for about 30 seconds to get the blood flowing through it.
Then just drive it with low load under 3k until fully warm.
Then floor it.


Rinse, Repeat.

 

i think thats a good assesment and well worded. thumbs up

 

Agreed.
Thats how I've always done it, even with -40s on (now 120K mi) beloved '86 Saab 9000. Likewise I like to let them run 30+ sec prior to shut off so things can stabilize too....
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

I generally let my car idle for a couple minutes and then take it easy til it's up to operating temps. Sitting in city traffic usually allows the car to warm up the same as if i just sat there and idled it for 10 minutes anyway, so I might as well get some pavement behind me in the process. I also cool my engine down for a minute before killing it.

 

Same, except I'll set the choke on the Dell for about 2 minutes while I run inside and fix my breakfast or lunch before leaving for school [early morning] or I'll just let it idle till oil pressure is at like 50psi then grandma driving till it's warm...if you try to throttle before it's warm especially if going uphill it'll flatline from leaning out [learned my lesson after the first time].

 

not letting it warm up is a terrible idea from my own experience and from reading hours on end. The famous "12a" oil leak is caused by not letting the engine warm up. since the engine alternates between aluminium and iron which warm at different temps your causing the seals around the dowel pins to expand and warp, if done enough the oil starts to leak into the famous mazda 12a puddle just above the front dowel pin. always let the choke pop before driving off.