Rep Power: 0

Lately i have not been warming up my engine, i start it, let it run for about a minute then go. but the thing is i dont rev above 2k until it is totally warm.. Is this bad? This is also in winter it is cold.

 
Rep Power: 811

thats perfectly fine. as long as you warm it a minute and then drive below 3-4k until temp goes up, you'll be fine. Now its bad if the car never reaches operating temp before you shut it off cause carbon won't burn off as much.

 
Rep Power: 277

^^sometimes I go out and move my car back into the garage and I dont wanna sit there and wait for it to run to normal operating temp, but I do wait for like a minute, so that is bad?

 
Rep Power: 811

not sure what you're asking, but everytime the car is started, it should be driven to operating temp. Turning a car on and off without doing this causes unburnt fuel to form deposits because they are never burned up again (engine doesn't get hot enough). Remember spark plug self cleaning temp? you may also cause the plugs to foul out much faster if you do that often.

 
Rep Power: 277

I was saying, turn on car, wait one min, then drive 5 meters into garage and turn off without the car reaching normal temp.

 
Rep Power: 811

yea thats bad

 
Rep Power: 277

... at least I only do it once awhile.

 
Rep Power: 264

wow i never knew that, thanks gearbox, i'll be sure to let the civic reach operating temp from now on.

 
Rep Power: 0

why do cars in general make a lot more noise in winter even though the car's been running for awhile and warmed up?

 
Rep Power: 277

^^That's so true. Started noticing clicking sounds yesterday night when the damn wipers frozen and I got out of the car.

 
Rep Power: 264

because the the air in winter time is colder, that makes the o2 particles become "more solid", if that makes sense. so when the vibrations given out by, for instance, a car's engine hit the the 02 particles, they make more sound. think of it like if you hit 2 pieces of metal together (cold air), you get a louder sound that if you hit 2 pieces of wood together (warm air)...... that's what i've always thought, i'm not saying that that theory is true, but it's something i conjured when i was like in 8th or 9th grade.

 
Rep Power: 811

more air moving through the engine ports will make the intake sound louder (even stock). Also yea stuff shrinks and vibrates etc.

 
Rep Power: 0

yeah, it's definitely my stock intake that's making more noise.

the engine seems to make more noise as if it's working a lot harder when going into second and third gear; i guess its the cold air particles.

damn canadian winters.

 
Rep Power: 308

IMO Japanese engines have always made strange noises in one way or another (and idle too low as well)

My mechanic friend has always said it is important to run the car (and not just at idle) for at least 15-20 minutes to properly remove moisture from the exhaust and engine.

I normally wait a few minutes before driving and take it easy until warmed up.

 
Rep Power: 811

if your idle is not smooth or adjusts down rough from when you start, you may just need to clean the iac valve. its the piece on the throtle body that has the coolant lines running to it. You can unscrew it and spray carb cleaner until all the black stuff is gone. makes a big difference in warmup idle.

 
Rep Power: 0

I noticed when cold out first thing in the morning about 0c the engine makes light knocking noise on acceleration before fully warmed. Is this normal?

 
Rep Power: 811

no its not. do you mean ticking or tapping? could just be the valves.

 
Rep Power: 0

Sounds like knocking...maybe rattling. Once warmed it's quiet. Are the valves supposed to tick or tap?

 
Rep Power: 811

yea they are. its the rocker arm hitting the top of the valve. there should always be some clearance between the two. If there isn't you will have a worse problem cause the valve might not close completely and burn up. Its better if they are ticking.

 
Rep Power: 0

The way I devised a warm up plan this winter is just by waiting for your idle revs to drop around 1K and then off you go. This is usually 1-2 minutes.


Start-up: Idle = ~2000 in real cold weather.

I wait till she drops to around 1K, around 2 minutes.

 
Rep Power: 336

yea in the winter right after you start it the idle sits at like 1500 rpms for 2 minutes then drops gradually. i just wait for it to hit 1k rpms, then i don't go over 3k till its completey warmed. i know its warm cause idle drops to about 600rpms in neutral.

 
Rep Power: 811

idle rpm when warm should be 700+/-50 but its usually very close to 700. When in gear it drops to 650 (auto). There is no way to really tell if the engine is warm since the temp gauge is at its highest point when the car is at the lowest warmup temp. You have to drive it more to get it hot enough and normal operating temp. if you have an auto, leave it in d3 for a while or it will take forever to warm up. the tranny actually tries not to shift up as often until the engine gets warmer.

 
Rep Power: 0

also if you dont let it warm up long enough, you risk warping the valves/head... and the oil is much thicker....

 
Rep Power: 319

30 seconds to 1 minute is long enough. Then keep the RPM's down and you're fine.

The slight ticking on the 7thgens comes from the valve clearance and whne the heads are cold, it comes from the valves snapping back into their seats.

 
Rep Power: 264

1 minute is long enough? i just wait till the meter hits the first bar on the temperature scale, that takes more than 1 minute for me

 
Rep Power: 319

yes, 1 minute is long enough. Reason's for warming up:
1. build proper oil/water pressure -- this take only a couple of seconds
2. make sure the cylinder walls and piston rings are warm -- agian this only takes a few seconds
3. the slugs (pistons) must be warmed to allow them to expand and and help the rings seal properly -- probably about 30 seconds or so.
4. The engine oil -- This take some time to warm up, probably 3-5 minutes depending on what engine you have and all that. This is where damage can occur, but not if you use some common sense. Do not through the car into gear take off, this is bad, your engine oil is not thin enough to properly lubercate a redlined engine. You can move the car, just take it easy for a couple of minutes, no worries. Modern oil is designed to do this, it's why we use 5w instead of 30w.

Your cat also needs to be warmed up, but this has nothing to do with the car moving or not, it just means your car is running rich for a couple of minutes. This is also why the idle does not drop down right away.

The needle on the inside that suposedly measures your engine's temp, does nothing more than measure the temp of the coolant coming OUT of the engine. By the time the thermostat opens and lets the water start flowing you engine is very warm, warm enough that it need heat to be taken away from it by the cooling system. At that point you are just warming the external part of the block, not the insde of the engine, you can safely drive your car with out damaging it.

The actual combution process happening inside the piston happen around 1300F, at that temp pretty much every internal part of the engine is wamred up. I'm not worried about the coolant.

In short, you can let your car warm up for about 30 second and just keep it below 2,500 for a few minutes and you'll be fine. But if you wish, you can wait, you won't hurt anything by waiting, so if you want to, go for it. Personally there is a fifth thing that needs wamred, and that's me! And if you drive the car slowly, it will get warm faster.

 
Rep Power: 315

Wow this was an awsome post. Thanks guys for the great information. I hate hearing wierd noises from my engine bay

 
Rep Power: 336

the manual even says "about a minute" so its no biggie. its all about how you baby your car. in the cold i wait at least 2 minutes unless its been driven already and its warm. in the summer its like 2.

 
Rep Power: 264

+rep, good post.

 
Rep Power: 0

yea i always remember to heat up my car to normal temp, even though i wait like 5-8 minutes