Do YOU "warm" your car?
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 30,677
Likes: 1
From: Dallas, PA
Rep Power: 608 










Originally posted by v8eaterOKv6
what about the block heaters that are in the rsx and the EL what do they do. how do they work.
what about the block heaters that are in the rsx and the EL what do they do. how do they work.
Thread Starter
e-married to daydreamer
iTrader: (2)
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,539
Likes: 0
From: The Subconscious
Rep Power: 339 
I have cracked a radior once not warming up a car I once owned... not fun. It was my first car and my car pool was rushing me. It was a '94 Topaz with about 78K or so. 900 bucks in damage about.
I have had 2 cars since, trust me... I don't let something as mindless as that slide with my civic. Even though, it's just a civic and the Topaz was an American car.
I have had 2 cars since, trust me... I don't let something as mindless as that slide with my civic. Even though, it's just a civic and the Topaz was an American car.
Nothing works better than a Chris except a Honda.
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 5,346
Likes: 0
From: Baltimore, MD
Rep Power: 347 





Originally posted by YUL
yea...anything above 30 seconds to 1 minute makes you an environmental terrorist.
yea...anything above 30 seconds to 1 minute makes you an environmental terrorist.
when it's cold out, I let the engine warm up more than a minute (heater OFF)
in the hot weather I just start the car, and leave the doors open to get the heat outta the car. That is usually just30 seconds.
Does leaving the AC/Heat on when you shut down/start the car hurt it? Does it strain the engine more?
in the hot weather I just start the car, and leave the doors open to get the heat outta the car. That is usually just30 seconds.
Does leaving the AC/Heat on when you shut down/start the car hurt it? Does it strain the engine more?
This topic is funny because I just went over it at school lately. Im currently a student at Universal Technical Insitute. Honestly, it is really bad to let your car sit at idle to "warm" up with Electronic Fuel Injected cars. The reason being that if you let the car sit there for 10-20 mins idling, its taking a lot longer for the engine to come up to standard engine operating temperatures.
While you let your car sit there, the oil is still staying thick because it doesnt have the regular heat temperatures to heat the oil up enough to start to thin it out. And since youre dealing with 0.00X clearances between crank bearings, cam bearings, and other various metal to metal surfaces that create heat due to friction, you really need the oil to be at standard operating temperature which is usually right around 210-220F so it can get into those extremely tight points in the motor and lubricate them.
Now, you dont want to do the opposite of that either. You do not want to go and stand on the throttle right when you start the car up either. That can devastating results too. My instructor at UTI recommends to just start up the car and drive. Now, with the older carbureator motors, you sometimes had to let it the car sit at idle for 10 mins with the choke open because it might stall on yah if you didnt. Now with EFI cars, you dont and shouldnt be doing this.....
While you let your car sit there, the oil is still staying thick because it doesnt have the regular heat temperatures to heat the oil up enough to start to thin it out. And since youre dealing with 0.00X clearances between crank bearings, cam bearings, and other various metal to metal surfaces that create heat due to friction, you really need the oil to be at standard operating temperature which is usually right around 210-220F so it can get into those extremely tight points in the motor and lubricate them.
Now, you dont want to do the opposite of that either. You do not want to go and stand on the throttle right when you start the car up either. That can devastating results too. My instructor at UTI recommends to just start up the car and drive. Now, with the older carbureator motors, you sometimes had to let it the car sit at idle for 10 mins with the choke open because it might stall on yah if you didnt. Now with EFI cars, you dont and shouldnt be doing this.....
Originally posted by DC5@EM2
This topic is funny because I just went over it at school lately. Im currently a student at Universal Technical Insitute. Honestly, it is really bad to let your car sit at idle to "warm" up with Electronic Fuel Injected cars. The reason being that if you let the car sit there for 10-20 mins idling, its taking a lot longer for the engine to come up to standard engine operating temperatures.
While you let your car sit there, the oil is still staying thick because it doesnt have the regular heat temperatures to heat the oil up enough to start to thin it out. And since youre dealing with 0.00X clearances between crank bearings, cam bearings, and other various metal to metal surfaces that create heat due to friction, you really need the oil to be at standard operating temperature which is usually right around 210-220F so it can get into those extremely tight points in the motor and lubricate them.
Now, you dont want to do the opposite of that either. You do not want to go and stand on the throttle right when you start the car up either. That can devastating results too. My instructor at UTI recommends to just start up the car and drive. Now, with the older carbureator motors, you sometimes had to let it the car sit at idle for 10 mins with the choke open because it might stall on yah if you didnt. Now with EFI cars, you dont and shouldnt be doing this.....
This topic is funny because I just went over it at school lately. Im currently a student at Universal Technical Insitute. Honestly, it is really bad to let your car sit at idle to "warm" up with Electronic Fuel Injected cars. The reason being that if you let the car sit there for 10-20 mins idling, its taking a lot longer for the engine to come up to standard engine operating temperatures.
While you let your car sit there, the oil is still staying thick because it doesnt have the regular heat temperatures to heat the oil up enough to start to thin it out. And since youre dealing with 0.00X clearances between crank bearings, cam bearings, and other various metal to metal surfaces that create heat due to friction, you really need the oil to be at standard operating temperature which is usually right around 210-220F so it can get into those extremely tight points in the motor and lubricate them.
Now, you dont want to do the opposite of that either. You do not want to go and stand on the throttle right when you start the car up either. That can devastating results too. My instructor at UTI recommends to just start up the car and drive. Now, with the older carbureator motors, you sometimes had to let it the car sit at idle for 10 mins with the choke open because it might stall on yah if you didnt. Now with EFI cars, you dont and shouldnt be doing this.....
Hey! Look At Me!! I'm a Supporting Member!!
iTrader: (3)
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 4,255
Likes: 0
From: NJ
Rep Power: 0 

Manual says 30 seconds for warm up only because the O2 sensors need to be warmed up to operate correctly. I give it about 30 seconds when warm, and a minute or so while cold. I never just take off.
I always let my truck warm up a little .... about 3 min in the winter and 30secs to 1min in the summer.... then until i get to operating temps which on my engine is actually around 150, i dont get on it
I give it about a minute or two at the most during the winter, and about 30 secs in the summer... just to get the juices flowing...after that, about 2 or 3 minutes of normal driving and the car is warm...
Thread Starter
e-married to daydreamer
iTrader: (2)
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,539
Likes: 0
From: The Subconscious
Rep Power: 339 
Originally posted by DC5@EM2
This topic is funny because I just went over it at school lately. Im currently a student at Universal Technical Insitute. Honestly, it is really bad to let your car sit at idle to "warm" up with Electronic Fuel Injected cars. The reason being that if you let the car sit there for 10-20 mins idling, its taking a lot longer for the engine to come up to standard engine operating temperatures.
While you let your car sit there, the oil is still staying thick because it doesnt have the regular heat temperatures to heat the oil up enough to start to thin it out. And since youre dealing with 0.00X clearances between crank bearings, cam bearings, and other various metal to metal surfaces that create heat due to friction, you really need the oil to be at standard operating temperature which is usually right around 210-220F so it can get into those extremely tight points in the motor and lubricate them.
Now, you dont want to do the opposite of that either. You do not want to go and stand on the throttle right when you start the car up either. That can devastating results too. My instructor at UTI recommends to just start up the car and drive. Now, with the older carbureator motors, you sometimes had to let it the car sit at idle for 10 mins with the choke open because it might stall on yah if you didnt. Now with EFI cars, you dont and shouldnt be doing this.....
This topic is funny because I just went over it at school lately. Im currently a student at Universal Technical Insitute. Honestly, it is really bad to let your car sit at idle to "warm" up with Electronic Fuel Injected cars. The reason being that if you let the car sit there for 10-20 mins idling, its taking a lot longer for the engine to come up to standard engine operating temperatures.
While you let your car sit there, the oil is still staying thick because it doesnt have the regular heat temperatures to heat the oil up enough to start to thin it out. And since youre dealing with 0.00X clearances between crank bearings, cam bearings, and other various metal to metal surfaces that create heat due to friction, you really need the oil to be at standard operating temperature which is usually right around 210-220F so it can get into those extremely tight points in the motor and lubricate them.
Now, you dont want to do the opposite of that either. You do not want to go and stand on the throttle right when you start the car up either. That can devastating results too. My instructor at UTI recommends to just start up the car and drive. Now, with the older carbureator motors, you sometimes had to let it the car sit at idle for 10 mins with the choke open because it might stall on yah if you didnt. Now with EFI cars, you dont and shouldnt be doing this.....
Besides, I am sure the oil needs peaks at "C" when it reaches that proper temperature... which doesn't take "10-20 minutes" whatsoever.
The manual even says not to let your car sit at idle for long periods of time (ie 10-20min)... I am fully aware of that.
But like I said. When I was 16 I cracked a radiator in my '94 topaz during the winter from not warming it up. I started it, waited like 1 or 2 minutes and left... then half a mile later i didn't have heat, i lost power steering, then she broke down. I know/believe that warming my car overall is much better to do in the long run. Every car I have had since I warm it considerably.


