The old "warming up the oil' question

[Sanxta]

(From cold) Some say it's best to leave the car idling to warm up you oil, others say it's best to drive it at low revs to get the oil circulating and warmed up faster than idle does.

What is the least-damaging way to warm the car up? Wait or drive?

Chur

[Farmer_dave]

Im guessing leaving it to idle would be best but it does take a while and if your like me you dont want to start your car and wait for it to warm up in some situations its possible but not others so I usually let it idle for a minute and just drive at low revs till it reaches a warm temp.

[bridgeport]

not good for valve seats leaving a car idle for ages

[Al]

I think general rule of thumb is let it idle for a minute or two then drive at low revs. The quicker you get your car up to operating temp and oil circulating, while driving like a nanna the better.

[Farmer_dave]

The main problem with my GT-T is that its an auto and it wont change into 4th until it reaches normal operating temperature so you have to sit at about 70-80 k's or rev the shit out of it until it changes which is rather annoying to say the least

[Chickenman]

Me........ Jump in at 4:59 Start the bitch, Idle 30 seconds, reverse and turn around, On to deserted road, cane the snot out of it

I think it warms up so quickly cos there's no oil in it neway, that shit is overrated.

[Twolitre]

What AL said

[deaf_rattle]

i agree with al and ryan on this one.
although with the 5m its more like start let it die and then start again and out the driveway i go.
when the new engine goes in ill probably give it abit more respect however.

[www.mods.co.nz]

The best way to make sure your not damaging your engine is to put an oil additive in with your quality oil.

I have used PRO-MA MBL8 oil additive in my cars for the past 9 years and I think the additive is brilliant.
It extends component life and maximizes protection.
Can reduce heat and wear, providing superior lubrication and total component protection.
Features:
Can increase HP and fuel economy
can restore compression
can reduce exhaust emissions
can reduce wear and tear
can reduce downtime and maintenance
can save money in running costs

Let me know if you want some @ $29.90 per 250ml bottle you will get 3 oil changes out of one bottle just under $10 per oil change

021 986 322

[Loudtoy]

The best way to make sure your not damaging your engine is to put an oil additive in with your quality oil.

I have used PRO-MA MBL8 oil additive in my cars for the past 9 years and I think the additive is brilliant.
It extends component life and maximizes protection.
Can reduce heat and wear, providing superior lubrication and total component protection.
Features:
Can increase HP and fuel economy
can restore compression
can reduce exhaust emissions
can reduce wear and tear
can reduce downtime and maintenance
can save money in running costs

Let me know if you want some @ $29.90 per 250ml bottle you will get 3 oil changes out of one bottle just under $10 per oil change

021 986 322

Sounds like an add to me But a quick quesiton to you - can you please explain to me how an oil additive can restore compression?? Not disbelieving you - yet - just plenty curious.

[Adamal]

Well IIIIII duuuunnoooooooo...

You see www.mods.co.nz, I'm a really skeptical person from WAY back!
How can you prove to me that this stuff will help me go that extra mile???

</cheesey infomercial "disbeliever">

[Farmer_dave]

I like to use Mobil one and wouldnt like adding some additive it thats just the way i feel anyway.

[fivebob]

A whole lot of unsubstantiated crap about the snake oil he sells

Don't do it, the additive package in modern oils is all you need, this snake oil crap is just a waste of money, and probably harmful to your engine.

[Farmer_dave]

What oil do you recomend for the gt-t Five??

[Twolitre]

PRO-MA MBL8 is not a mechanic in a can but if you have a car with noisy hyraulic lifters such as a subaru/mitsi etc it is about the best thing you can get, many people on NZMMC use it in their high HP engines.

[Simon K]

A lot of the guys on MMC use MBL8 to quieten their lifters...others just change their oil at regular intervals.

I don't use it, others do and swear by it.

[fivebob]

I use Mobil -1 but any good synthetic oil should be ok, even a good dino oil if it's changed at shorter intervals

Now back to the topic.

You shouldn't idle your car for longer than it takes to get the oil pressure up and the idle to stabilise, at most this should be about 30secs. The only time you should leave it idling longer is when you need to defog the windscreen.

Idling your engine for extended periods on warmup is bad. The longer it takes the car exceed the boiling point for the combustion byproducts, the more particulate formation. This leads to sludge, varnish and particulates in your oil. Also to the wear this contamination causes, and you need to change your engine oil more frequently because you reach the oil's particulate threshold quicker.

As well as particulate formation you also get increased acids in the engine oil, but because the temp is lower they are are not boiled off quickly and you get corrosion of the engine metals.

Idling for long periods isn't the only cause of such problems, you can get the same issues by taking lots of short trips because it takes time to boil off all the byproducts. If you do not allow the engine to rid itself of these byproducts (about 10-15kms of open road driving) then they will contaminate your oil and cause excessive wear on your engine. Which is why a car driven in the country usually has a better condition engine than on driven on short trips in the city.

[matt dunn]

(From cold) Some say it's best to leave the car idling to warm up you oil, others say it's best to drive it at low revs to get the oil circulating and warmed up faster than idle does.

What is the least-damaging way to warm the car up? Wait or drive?

Chur

Ever driven a car with an accurate oil temp gauge?

You dont realise how much longer it takes to warm up the oil than the water!

I dont believe that letting the car idle for 3 minutes from dead cold would change the oil temp up by even 10 degree's!!!

So whats the point. As long as the gets oil pressure before you drive it will be ok.
The only problem yopu can have is excessive oil pressure whenj cold if you rev it to much.