How long does it really take to get an engine up to temp?

"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro) 02/04/2019 at 21:30 • Filed to: car care, engine care, cold weather

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And what would be the shortest ideal commute?

In David’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! from this morning, the focus is mainly directed towards how long a car should idle before driving it on the road.

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It’s an important question for those who care about engine longevity, with what I consider to be a well-reasoned answer. However, there are more levels of “warming up” an engine to discuss, perhaps more than ought to be jammed into one article. After an engine is warm enough to (gently) drive, there eventually comes a point at which it’s warm enough to start getting heat from the heater core, and another point at which it’s ready for the driver to stomp on it. But how long does it actually take to satisfy every last part of the engine and fulfill a complete heat cycle, after which you can shut it off with zero risk of “short tripping” the engine?

If I’m not mistaken, the final goal would probab ly be to reach the point where all condensation in the engine has had a chance to evaporate . Condensation in the crankcase, under the valve cover(s), in the PCV system, that sort of thing.

So what would the perfect commute look like? After a few seconds (or a minutes or two in cold weather) of idling, what would be shortest, most mechanically-friendly drive cycle? Would it be something like 5 minutes of gentle 25mph residential streets, followed by 5 minutes of moderate 50 mph highway, followed by 5 minutes of 75 mph freeway running, followed by 5 more minutes of city driving to your destination? Just some nice round numbers to get the discussion started.

Obviously the answer isn’t going to be something that’s practical for everyone to apply religiously. I know that as gentle as I might want to be on my cold engine, I live too close to a 55mph road to spend much time getting up to speed. (FWIW, I try to keep engine speed below 2000 RPM until it’s warmed up a bit more, but that’s not really an option for some cars. Depends on engine output at a given RPM, and of course gearing.)

And I’m sure there are many more variables that have an effect. Like engine speed, engine load, the presence or absence of auxiliary oil coolers, stuff like that. What comes to mind?

Does your car have an oil temp gauge? Mine don’t. What do you usually see? When does the oil come up to temperature in relation to water temp, and how much further beyond that do you consider the engine to be 100% warmed up?

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Urambo Tauro 02/04/2019 at 21:38

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I only have a temp gauge that is probably only a suggestion (like all my gauges). By the time the gauge is about a third of the way up (half way is operating) it seems like the computer has finished it s cold start sort of cycle. 

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Urambo Tauro 02/04/2019 at 21:40

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I’d say a few minutes of residential warm-up, then about 15-20 minutes of highway, ending with another few minutes of cool-down. I used to have a 23-mile commute that was this and the car loved it (I hated it, but so be it).

My current commute is zero for four days, then spending eight hours driving around to different places  almost without the engine ever turning off.  Fewer heat cycles, right?

MM54 > Urambo Tauro 02/04/2019 at 21:41

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I have a 3.5 mile / 7 minute drive to work (35mph all the way except 25 the first 1/2mi to get out of the neighborhood). It’s just enough to get the heater at full strength on a cold day; I know the engine as a whole (and thus oil and trans) do not get up to temp in this, though.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Urambo Tauro 02/04/2019 at 21:47

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This is relevant to my interests. No Oil gauge, only coolant gauge to go off by and exactly a 5 mile commute- . first mile 25mph residential then next 3 miles @ 45mph but that’s mostly stop and go for the first mile of that, then 1 mile of 35mph residential st.

I give it about 30 seconds in the morning, then take it easy for that first stretch but sometime

I don’t take my chances and follow Schedule 1 maintenance as a result

https://x.infinitihelp.com/service/2008_service_guide.pdf

BeaterGT > Urambo Tauro 02/04/2019 at 21:50

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Many, many variables involved so it’s hard to say but luckily my commute is long enough that everything gets up to normal operating temps. If it’s cold enough where I can’t easily shift then I have no other choice but to let it sit and warm up so it’s easy to go by feel.

I also avoid boost until the car is moderately warmed up which lines up nicely with my residential (4 miles) to highway (5 miles) transition. Oil starving a turbo on the way to work doesn’t sound fun. Interested to see what other Oppos do.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > Urambo Tauro 02/04/2019 at 21:58

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The Escape takes about 5 minutes.

The 250 has a stupid ass EBPV that turns it into a 3 ton slug and it takes 15 minutes.

I dont know that the Stringbean’s water pump works so it throws a CEL after 15 minutes thinking it’s not warming up.

Do whatever you want with this information. 

4kc > Urambo Tauro 02/04/2019 at 22:28

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i think i remember my V70’s manual said 25-35? minutes depending on driving and temperature and to keep it under 3k rpm for the first 10? minutes or 3-5 miles in cold weather

His Stigness > Urambo Tauro 02/04/2019 at 22:51

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I borrowed an E46 M3 with the SMG for a week and the Rev counter has shift lights which indicate red line. I think when the car was cold it was around 4 or 5k. The normal red line is 8k. As the engine oil got progressively warmer the red line would increase. It only took my two miles driving around 35 to get it up to temp (210ish F) at 60 degrees. If I lived in freezing weather I’d double it. Keep it below 4k.

Someone posted on one of those FP articles and idling was equivalent to lots of driving. The moral of the story: idling for long periods of time is an absolute waste..

First off the longer you idle the longer the car stays in open loop. Open loop is when the computer ignores data from the O2 sensors and has a predetermined map. It’s putting in lots of fuel, and extended periods of that will dilute the oil and cause excessive wear.

I can’t say for sure how much time you should idle, though. Because you sure as hell don’t want to start off right away. Here in southern California I idle for 30 seconds to a minute. Basically I get in, start it, then buckle up, select music, etc. By then the oil has circulated and I can proceed gently.

Idling does NOT heat up your car. Driving doe s. 

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Urambo Tauro 02/04/2019 at 22:57

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I have oil temperature available through the trip computer. It takes a LOT longer for the oil to come up to temp than the water, in gentle driving at least. My commute is pretty much out of the garage and into the freeway, and the oil takes probably 8-10 miles to get up to 90+C, in sensible outside temperatures, whereas the water’ s at normal in 2 or 3 miles . Of course it’s always possible my water temp gauge is lying about how fast the water warms up.

glemon > Urambo Tauro 02/04/2019 at 23:11

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A bit of anecdotal information that may be useful. I have driven old British sports cars forever. Like most cars they will get up to temp (coolant temp) 5-10 minutes maybe a dozen depending on how driven and outside air temp. No news there.

However, the interesting thing is the oil pressure. Oil pressure on the highway (where you can observe the oil pressure at more or less constant rpm, so changes are probably due to temperature and corresponding viscosity changes) won’t really “settle in” to a constant level for a half hour or more.

This makes sense. The coolant system is designed to warm up quickly (thermostat) and pull heat from the motor and transfer it out through the radiator.

I don’t know know what the right timeframe is for a proper run of the car is. But I think it is safe to say that there is more to getting up to proper operating temps than warm air coming from the heater.

I try to start my old car that hibernates in the winter once or twice on some warmer days in the winter.  I figure a good twenty minutes should be enough to circulate the oil and evaporate out the condensation.  But I don't really have much more than seat of the pants reckoning to back that up.

Die-Trying > Urambo Tauro 02/05/2019 at 02:00

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on the older junk that i drive, it is usually wait till it can idle on its own without the choke pull off...... that is usually with it coming up on around 145, and it will hit 160 real quick after that. and its just a matter then of keeping the temp under 210-ish...........

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Urambo Tauro 02/05/2019 at 07:20

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I figure after my thermostat has opened at least twice and the engine stays at operating temp.

Yes 90s Mopars have actual temp gauges instead of dummy gauges, they also have actual oil pressure gauges and voltmeters.

The amount of time this takes is directly related to the outside temp. This morning at 18 degrees, it took roughly 10 mins. When it was -30 degrees, it never made normal temp in my 30 min drive to work.