There seems to be two opinions out there, no need to warm your engine and warm your engine when it's cold, I'm of the latter opinion.

When I first got the car, I'd let it warm up to 25C (~75F) but now that it's broken in a bit more, I only warm to 15C (~60F). What are your guy's thoughts?

 

next time you hear someone giving you that "dont warm" opinion, slap them in the face real quick.

then ask them if they would have rathered you warm up first.

 

I let mine get up to around 50-70 deg F begore driving. I do take it easy until it gets up to around 100-120 F. Am I the only one that notice how stiff the tires are on cold mornings?

 

I usually wait until the rmp goes back down to 800 range ( idle range ). Then I move slowly and gets warmer. But is it just me or does this car heats up the air inside the car hella fast. I have a 2002 cavalier and it wasn't this fast.

 

oil pressure and go... mostly i wait for the cold start to drop near idle.

 

Its always good practice for any vehicle to let the coolant warm up to at least room temperature before you begin driving. This is especially true for forced induction cars and even more so for alluminum engines which are more sensitive to sever temperatures.

Will driving your car with a cold engine hurt it? Probably not. But i personally wouldn't want a 20degree F piece of metal doing anything fast. Metal gets brittle with cold.

However, if you have a staged cobalt ss/sc of any level, then it is HIGHLY recommended that you let the car warm up to room temperature (70 degrees). If you try to go WOT in 2nd gear on a cold engine, your car is going to stagger like a drunk dude.

 

I get that staggering like a drunk dude on some cold mornings without any mods...now warming up is the norm!

 

I let the idle drop to about 1k, let the coolant at least move a few degrees and drive like a soccer grandma until it hits about 100*. I don't go WOT until 140*

 

Couple secs for oil pressure , then I go and drive easy for a few miles . This isnt the 70's Imo , its better to let everything come up to operating temp together by driving it ....motor , trans , wheels bearing ect ect ect .

 

My car doesnt want to do anything when its cold, but hang out in my garage haha, but i do let it warn to about 80-100f before i drive if not it will jerk ad hestitate its ass off.

 

I always warm my car up for 5-10 mins or so every morning. And to the second guy yeah my tires seem to have flat spots on them from the cold weather.

 

yeah my oil pressure gauge says that if i give it even half throttle before warming it up my oil pressure goes thru the roof which cant be good, but if its warmed up then the oil pressure is fine aat wot

 

I alwasy wait till my car warms up too 100 F before driving anywere.i like to be safe about it. and let it warm up on its own, so i kno its nice and everything. and ready to go

 

I wait till the idle is at least less than 1k and drive slowly after that until about a miles worth of driving is outa the way.

 

Yup

Agreed, thats all you truly need.

The only think i dont reccomend is high RPM at cold temps for a couple reasons, High oil pressure, and extra clearances in components.

 

Here in Winnipeg I've started the car at minus 38C (about -30F). Even if I let her warm up all the way, it's still rough until the tranny and clutch warm up (and power steering, brakes, everything). But, once it warms up it's fine - just takes about 30 minutes of regular (easygoing) driving to warm up to that point on these cold days.

If I am in a hurry and get moving before the coolant is above freezing temp (0C), it warms up quite a bit by the time I reach the first stop sign anyway. So, I think as long as you baby it and keep on top of the fluids (oil, etc) you should be OK to drive as it warms up.

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Probably not going to get any takers here, lol.

 

i let the fast idle drop and i go usually. unless its as cold as it is now. then i let it run so the heater gets nice and warm while i wait inside

 

It's really subjective with today's technology. I would more concerned about letting my transmission (automatic) warm up to a decent temperature than my engine in terms of mashing the pedal or driving "spirited".

 

My warm up, sit down in the car, start, put the gear selector in 'R', take off

Ehh, its a lease anyway, who gives a ****

 

i let mine get to 100F...but that doesnt take long down here in hell....i mean, FL.....

 

Cobalt - sits in heated garage. take it easy till i get to 50 C. I notice first gear is stiff going in when cold... maybe its just mine
Caprice Classic - command start, and warm for at least two minutes before going (slow and easy)

 

I let it worm up to about 100 F and then take it easy till 180 F. Does anyone else notes any squeaking noises during the first few minutes of worm up time??? I do not think it is a big deal but was just wondering. I just notested it not to long ago because my stereo was off.

 

In alberta here its pretty cold in the winter. I usually let the car warm up to the 25C range and then idle it down the block slowly in first to let the tranny warm up and get everything flowing. Usually works good. I park in a heated underground parking at night so that's all good, I just worry about making sure that its warm after sitting outside work for 8 hours. That's my story anyways

 

I personally am really bad for this on a semi-cold day... I'll fire it up and if the windshield is clear, I'll take off.

I was way more consious in my turbo Daytonas in letting them warm up, since they took longer overall.

I installed a 180 Degree Thermostat in each Turbododge with a 1/13th inch drilled hole in the top, to lessen thermal shock on the aluminium head/cast Iron Block.

 

yeah good thread...i was wondering the same too.

Every morning I warm her up before going out. Sometimes if I'm in a huge hurry I will let idle drop to normal and then take off very slowly until it reaches at least 100 degrees F. I rarely drive it if it is under 70 degrees.