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If you live VERY close to the freeway (0.1 miles to the onramp, almost never any traffic on the freeway), is there any need to properly warm up the car before taking off onto the Freeway first thing in the morning? This is a '99 Civic with 160K miles. Keep in mind I don't wish to buy a new car in the next, say 5 years and would like to keep this one as long as possible.
Waiting for a complete warmup is wasteful of fuel. I suggest starting the car, let it idle for half a minute - just to be sure oil is circulating before you drive off. It's a good time to put your seat belt on, get settled, etc.
Waiting for a complete warmup is wasteful of fuel. I suggest starting the car, let it idle for half a minute - just to be sure oil is circulating before you drive off. It's a good time to put your seat belt on, get settled, etc.
what he said. all you need to do is get the engine running, and oil circulating. keep your road speed down below 65 for the first few minutes of freeway driving to give the engine and drive train a chance to warm up a bit, but otherwise drive the car like normal.
what he said. all you need to do is get the engine running, and oil circulating. keep your road speed down below 65 for the first few minutes of freeway driving to give the engine and drive train a chance to warm up a bit, but otherwise drive the car like normal.
Yeah, I'm wondering about that.. cause from start to 65, it's routinely around, maybe a little under 1 minute
I can't cite any specific data to support my idea, but I would prefer to drive about 5 miles at lower speeds. Also, with the OP being in Cali, freeway means 80, not 65.
I'd find an excuse to detour somewhere other than straight onto the onramp with a stone cold engine.
So are you in Orange county, CA? In that case your car on start up should be as warm as a car driven for 15 minutes in Maine. The "warm-up" needs to be a total car warm-up, so when you sit idle you are only warming the engine. I just start the car and when the warning lights go off start driving. Just don't do full throttle until the temp gauge comes up.
On 2nd thought, unless you have odd hours, you are probably sitting in traffic anyways...
So are you in Orange county, CA? In that case your car on start up should be as warm as a car driven for 15 minutes in Maine. The "warm-up" needs to be a total car warm-up, so when you sit idle you are only warming the engine. I just start the car and when the warning lights go off start driving. Just don't do full throttle until the temp gauge comes up.
On 2nd thought, unless you have odd hours, you are probably sitting in traffic anyways...
Odd hours (if 6:30am to 4pm counts) plus reverse commute
I take it easy on the gas until the temp gauge is at normal operating temperatures. Dunno if that is correct, but it hasn't seem to have broken anything yet.
the "warm up" is from the old days. As a kid, I remember that we always let the car run for five or ten minutes before driving it. Long ago people were told that a car should be warmed up before serious driving. I do not know if cars really needed that back then, but they do not now. However loads of older people still have the "warm up" ingrained in them and will say it is necessary. I suspect that the old reason had to do with straight weight oils. Now with Multi-vis, you do not have the same issues. Whatever the reason, manufacturers no longer recommend a warm up for gasoline engines. If you ask ask some engineers about it, the will snicker. they spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to get engines to run cooler.
When I am in Michigan in the winter, you let the car warm up because if you dont, you will freeze and shiver and barely be able to hold the wheel with bare hands for ten to fifteen minutes. That is why many people have remote start.
I start moving asap, with in 30 seconds, but I don't drive hard.. I get to mid power band on a tach for around the first 8 miles with much of anything, except diesels. I run them then a little easier.
65 is fine, just get there slower when it's safe to go slower.
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