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[SP_3.2]

Witht the weather the way it is i remember being told that it was best to keep the revs under 3,000 rpm untill the engine is warm this is something that i have been doing but with the way that i have to pull out of my work place there is a fast a road and also a very big hill to get up right away.

Is this the right thing to do?.

Thanks for the help

Steve.  

[Kevin Wood]

It's best not to rag an engine from cold, especially if it's literally just been started up. However, I don't believe in a hard and fast rev limit. If you have to pull out smartly to be safe that's more important.

What is and isn't bad practice is hard to say, and different people apply different rules. I personally don't use full throttle until an engine is warm (I perhaps use up to half / two thirds, which is plenty for a V6 anyway) and I will limit myself to mid range rpm except in cases where I need the acceleration where I will briefly go to perhaps 3.5k.

Depends on the engine too, of course. The above is more than enough in a 3.2 Omega but I might be less respectful of a 1.0 Micra!

What is important is that you don't give it a total spanking when cold. Before I give a car full throttle and full revs together I think about how long it's been running (it's also worth a glance over the gauges anyway, to make sure all is in order).

Oil temperature is the important variable and it can take the oil a little longer to heat up than the coolant, so I probably give a car 10 minutes at full coolant temperature before I use 100% of the available performance.

Others will have different ideas, and let's face it, none of us can look into the engine and see what's going on.

Kevin

[SP_3.2]

Thanks for that Kevin

Some very good points will keep in mind.



Just had the oil and fillter changed and it has made the cold started a lot better and quiter that before even in the -c weather that we get.

[IrmscherKris]

Let the needle move off _ before any right foot action mate or you'll wear the engine out fast.

[bigdods]

This is what I do in my TVR which is a much more basic V8 engine but maybe the same things apply (most of this is info I have gained from the garage and specialists Iam NOT an expert !).

Turn engine on, do not touch the throttle until oil pressure is above 30psi (thats about 5 seconds). Drive away gently , no more than 3kRPM until the temp guage has moved from the stopper. Keep below 4k revs until engine has reached operating temp. Do not use full throttle until the oil is warm, no guage but asume you need about 10 minutes of driving to get there. This will also allow the diff and gearbox oil to come up to temp. Remember sitting in traffic doesnt really count as the diff and gearbox wont be warming up.

Now drive it like its stolen ;-)

Oh and a slight twist, in the TVR the cam followers spin up at about 2K ish revs IIRC and if its sat ticking over on the drive it wont reach that hence the need to drive off smartly and get the revs up.

Ticking over on the drive warms the car up slowly and increases wear

[Jay w]

i was always taught never to rag an engine from cold and to use sense.

not having an oil temp guage i allow the water temp to get to 80 degrees and then wait another 5-10 mins depends on the outside temp, once we are at that point then she is good to visit the redline.

Miggy autos have a habit of holding onto 1st when cold to encourage warm up, and sometimes that can run the engine higher than 3kRPM.

the only time i will allow the car to stand is when i am clearing the windows

[PaulyQ]

I'm pretty much like Sir J on that one. Steady as she goes.

[V8S]

Oh and a slight twist, in the TVR the cam followers spin up at about 2K ish revs IIRC and if its sat ticking over on the drive it wont reach that hence the need to drive off smartly and get the revs up.

Ticking over on the drive warms the car up slowly and increases wear

I tend to leave mine idling for as long as it takes me to close the garage doors and get the farm gate open, then short shift below 2k until the engine temp has reached optimum for 10 minutes.

Then I play  

[Kevin Wood]

I tend to leave mine idling for as long as it takes me to close the garage doors and get the farm gate open, then short shift below 2k until the engine temp has reached optimum for 10 minutes.

Then I play  

It's not good to labour the engine at low revs either BTW. Keep it between 2 and 3.5  I'd say.

Kevin

[JamesV6CDX]

I have to pull out onto a V fast road from an almost blind bend.

Although I let it tick over for a bit first, sometimes I have no choice but to hit the red line when the engine is too cold  

[V8S]

I tend to leave mine idling for as long as it takes me to close the garage doors and get the farm gate open, then short shift below 2k until the engine temp has reached optimum for 10 minutes.

Then I play  

It's not good to labour the engine at low revs either BTW. Keep it between 2 and 3.5  I'd say.

Kevin

I was talking about the TVR rather than the Omega.

Upshifts are usually around 3500 when blasting about, so shifting at around 2000 until properly warm seems fine. Certainly not labouring the engine.

[Kevin Wood]

OK. With a V8 in a light car it's a different matter.  

Kevin

[Turk]

Worth remembering that a couple of minutes ticking over from cold causes more wear to an an engine than an hours blast along the motorway with a warmed up motor...according to the Castrol GTX advert from yesteryear.  

If you have no choice but to "gun it" some mornings, giving it a minute or so at a fast idle before hitting the Morning Grand Prix and "short shifting " up the gears quickly should be fine.