Just use synthetic and don't worry about it. Once you've got oil pressure showing on your gauge, just go. I've lived in west central Alberta all my life and have never suffered engine failure, and like JMC says, unless you have to defrost your windshield, it doesn't hurt to get in and go, in fact the motor will warm up faster once you start going down the road.

 

Thats what the windshield washers and power windows are for. Quick get away.

 

Umm, in thirty below, no

 

Let it warm up

 

Hey I appreciate the inputs guys/gals/whatevers... I guess I will maintain the few minutes of warm up time. A lot of common sense that sometimes someone doesn't think about till they hear it or actually read it--a confirmation of sorts it what some people need I guess... And by the way, I do let it warm up even when it is 110' out here in the desert in CA... be it only for a few minutes till the idle stabilizes... Thanks again guys!!!

 

Hey I appreciate the inputs guys/gals/whatevers... I guess I will maintain the few minutes of warm up time. A lot of common sense that sometimes someone doesn't think about till they hear it or actually read it--a confirmation of sorts it what some people need I guess... And by the way, I do let it warm up even when it is 110' out here in the desert in CA... be it only for a few minutes till the idle stabilizes... Thanks again guys!!!

 

Hey I appreciate the inputs guys/gals/whatevers... I guess I will maintain the few minutes of warm up time. A lot of common sense that sometimes someone doesn't think about till they hear it or actually read it--a confirmation of sorts it what some people need I guess... And by the way, I do let it warm up even when it is 110' out here in the desert in CA... be it only for a few minutes till the idle stabilizes... Thanks again guys!!!

 

Hey I appreciate the inputs guys/gals/whatevers... I guess I will maintain the few minutes of warm up time. A lot of common sense that sometimes someone doesn't think about till they hear it or actually read it--a confirmation of sorts it what some people need I guess... And by the way, I do let it warm up even when it is 110' out here in the desert in CA... be it only for a few minutes till the idle stabilizes... Thanks again guys!!!

 

From what I understand; any vehicle made in the last 15 or 16 years doesn't need to warm up like previous ones.

Having said that; I still wait for the rpm gauge to start dropping before I take off. This happens 20-30 seconds after start up in the summer and a tad more in the winter.

I think the thing to remember is to take it easy for the first 2-4 miles or when your temp gauge starts coming up. Then open it up all you want.

When I lived in the city I lived "too" close to the freeway. It didn't give my vehicle's enough time to warm up before hitting highway speeds.

 

Duplicate.

 

Why would the last 15 years make it so that the same basic motor doesnt have to warm up anymore? I just dont see the logic in that... the motors havent changed at all. While we now have an abundancy of motors that use things like DOHC, and electronic ignition systems, and now every car uses EFI... there is still nothing different about the block itself... its still 8 pistons (assuming its a V8) and its still 8 connecting rods, its still bearings, its still oil pump and oil pickup line.... while i dont think there is need to sit there til the car is at 100% operating temperature, even in older cars, i still believe the motor will last a little longer if its not forced to move under heavier weather conditions when the block and moving parts havent warmed up yet. So with that said, yeah... i dont see a 100% necessity to warm a car up past 10 seconds after starting it up... but think about it... there is a reason why IACs are in use, and why the idle jumps to over 1000RPMs when you first start it up... its because things arent 100% efficient and the motor has to compensate for the air/fuel/oil temperatures... not to mention that the motor being stuck at a 1200 RPM idle and sittting at a stoplight in drive is no different than sitting at that stoplight in drive with your foot on the gas as well.... more transmission wear at the least... i think we all do what we feel is right no matter what people tell us, and only if we are unsure will we ever listen to advice... and if everyone here has never warmed their cars up their entire life and had good luck with it, so be it... but not a whole lot of people have that kind of luck... blown head gaskets, fried piston rings, floating valves, leaky blown main seals.... all part of what can happen without properly breaking in the motor every morning.... anyone notice on another car that the oil pressure guage is always stuck WAY up high when the motor is cold, regardless of idle speed? Since most of you here are Ford fanatics, you have been decieved by those damn dummy guages for too long LOL but since i am a chevy guy, ever car ive driven had a working oil pressure guage... and every morning, that pressure guage would almost top out no matter what my idle was, until the motor warmed up.... think about it (and no, it wasnt a bad guage or a screwed off motor.... owned/built 12 chevys and they all had the same oil pressure) and PLEASE dont think im trying to flame this argument, or counter anyones beliefs, im just trying to put up as much useful info as possible for whoever wants to read it

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1Bad97F150
there is a reason why IACs are in use, and why the idle jumps to over 1000RPMs when you first start it up... its because things arent 100% efficient and the motor has to compensate for the air/fuel/oil temperatures...

Yeah, the reason is to provide a rich enough fuel mixture to start and then lean it out,(since carb days are over and the chokes that were always finicky) and as far as the gauges go, I use to run dino-oil and once in awhile neglected to plug my truck in. There was a noticeable lag in the oil pressure coming up to operating range on cold starts, and on those mornings I'd give it a few minutes, but with the synthetic, the oil pressure is right now so although the gauges may not be perfect, they do provide some measure of pressure. You know, to each his own, but it is above 60 F up here only 4-5 months of the year and is usually way below that the rest of the year. We need to get these things rolling to warm them up properly, otherwise it will sit there for ten minutes before that temp needle moves. I stand by my opinion that as soon as you have oil pressure, you're good to go.

 

i let mine idle in park till the RPMs get down to 1,000

 

I agree with Canuck PB and the others who had similar posts. Generally speaking, I get in, start it up and go. As long as you have proper oil pressure you should be fine . . . it will be doing its job to protect the engine.

If it is really cold (say -30 or colder) I will let in run for a minute or so but that is more to let the belts loosen up and whatnot. I find that the engine will warm up much more quickly by actually driving it as opposed to letting it sit and idle for 10 or 15 minutes (which is how long to would have to idle in those temps to get the temp guage moving).

Letting it idle for a long time is just a waste of gas IMHO.

 

in really cold weather its ok to "get in and go" but however....the gear oil in the rear end and the transfer case oil need a little "go easy time" 'cause it is so thick and it dont like real cold temps....remember it starts out as 90 weight...zap!