I know there's no real need to let my car sit and warm up. I generally start 'er up and drive off within 20-30 seconds. I drive lightly until it's up to temp.

However, I recently moved and started a new job. My house is about a quarter mile from the highway. The onramp is one where it's not uncommon to have to stop completely to yield to traffic, then have to step on it a bit to get up to speed and not cut others off. On the other end of my commute, my job is about a half mile or mile off the highway.

I'm curious whether I should do something different to avoid putting extra strain on my car. Should I let it warm up for a minute or two before I leave? Should I take the long way around to get to the highway? Or should I just keep doing the same?

 

I understand that warming the car up in your driveway is actually more harmful than starting and driving off slowly. Because it doesn't warm up the entire car, just the engine, so your transmission may not be getting the same warm oil flow etc. I'd say just keep doing what you're doing and don't tromp it until the car is warm.

 

I don't warm my car up unless I'm in snow. Just drive easy for a few minutes.

I live about 2 minutes from my local freeway and drive 75-80 until traffic stops a minute later. I don't think driving normally on a cold engine will cause any real damage.

 

My commute has a warm up built in. I have city driving (minimal traffic) w/ a few stop signs for about 10 minutes then highway for 30 minutes.

 

Warm up the engine first (please!), then gently drive-off for the first 3-5mins to warm up your gearbox. The automatic will response with long delay between shift if it is not up to optimal temperature in the winter.

 

MINIs warm up fairly quickly at a mellow driving pace. I am far enough south, and garaged, that I don't let it warm up at idle. I rum about 3 minutes before I am getting to highway speeds.

 

[quote=Tu13es;2891374]I know there's no real need to let my car sit and warm up. I generally start 'er up and drive off within 20-30 seconds. I drive lightly until it's up to temp.

However, I recently moved and started a new job. My house is about a quarter mile from the highway. The onramp is one where it's not uncommon to have to stop completely to yield to traffic, then have to step on it a bit to get up to speed and not cut others off. On the other end of my commute, my job is about a half mile or mile off the highway.

Actually if my job were that close ide ride my bike to work each day. unless the weather was bad

as far as warming up. you should only warm it up for about 60 seconds in really cold freezing temps to help thin out the oil to help it lubricate. other then that as long as the oil pressure is up you can just get in and go.

 

My mini backfired twice when I drove off without warming the car, so I warm started it about a minute before drive, and no problem since. Hope this helps.


[quote=muladesigns1;2891616]

 

[quote=Jimmy540i.com;2891628]My mini backfired twice when I drove off without warming the car, so I warm started it about a minute before drive, and no problem since. Hope this helps.


if your mini back fires when it's cold then it sounds like there is a sensor or mechanical issue somewhere.
in todays hi-tech cars with the computer monitoring everything there should never be a backfire of any type unless a component or sensor is on it's way out.

 

Thanks, should I take it back to the dealer and have it look at?

Also if you read my TPM / Tire PSI post on this forum, I would appreciate your feedback.

Thanks!

[quote=muladesigns1;2891633]

 

[quote=Jimmy540i.com;2891642]Thanks, should I take it back to the dealer and have it look at?

Also if you read my TPM / Tire PSI post on this forum, I would appreciate your feedback.

Thanks!


if the vehicle is still under warranty then i would have them keep it overnight and if you can, be there for the cold start. if it's not under warranty then I would go to an independent foreign car mechanic. there just as knowledgeable and can save you huge money on repairs.

I'm not claiming to be a mechanic. but I am mechanically inclined, so I will take a look at your post and see if it is something obvious to me.

 

Bad advice. Drive off immediately - gently. It's been an accepted fact for quite some time that warming up by idling is more harmful to the car than driving off immediately and taking it easy until the oil is up to temp.

 

Or else it sounds like Jimmy doesnt know anything about a Cooper S exhaust.

 

Now another post, how would you warm up your car in the snow when it starts? Because I usually just warm up my car in the garage a bit not for too long, but then i just go to school.

 

To put more load on the engine/drivetrain immediately when the oil is not yet working at optimal condition to protect the engine?

 

For a longtime, I've heard that idling the car to warm it up is a bad idea. As stated, it only warms the engine. Also, it will tend to cause carbon build-up. According to a thread in the Stock Problems/Issues section, MINIs have a problem with carbon build-up.

I have a ScanGaugeII on my MCS that gives coolant temp readout. I've found that it can take three or four miles of 50 mph country road for coolant temp to reach normal operating temp. This is much longer than my old Integra takes. I don't have an oil temp gauge, so I don't know how quickly the oil reaches operating temp, but that seems to be the best way to know when it is OK to put the pedal down. Typically, oil takes longer to warm than coolant, but the new oil and coolant systems the MINI uses may not be typical. Someday, I hope to install an oil temp gauge.

Anyway, I think the best advice is to take the long way to the Freeway to get the least wear on the engine. With oil not up to temp, it doesn't lubricate as well as it should. This results in greater wear to the engine parts. One way to deal with it is to have an oil that is as thin as possible when cold. Castrol 0W-30 would probably be a good choice. This is the European formula that is a true synthetic. The 5W-30 MINI branded Castrol is dino oil that is refined enough to legally be called synthetic. Whether the true synthetic issue makes any difference is something I don't know, but I believe the 0W, rather than 5W rating means it is thinner when cold.

For those who sell their car in two or three years, the results of driving hard while cold will probably become someone else's problem. Another reason I don't buy use cars.

 

Driving away gently for the quarter mile it takes to get to the on ramp in your case should do the trick. In extreme cold weather perhaps go get a cup of java before hitting the ramp.

 

Summary: Excessive idling or Drive-off Immediately&FAST@cold temp

 

The counter argument is that there isn't sufficient friction in the transmission to properly get the gear oil distributed throughout the entire gearbox thus causing premature wear on transmission internals(read bearings.) When a transmission is in neutral, only the input shaft is spinning and it doesn't sufficiently circulate oil, especially if the car has been sitting long enough to get cold. I think very gentle driving for the first 5 or so miles is the best compromise. The engine gets oil pressure almost instantly and as long as there's a film of oil on a part it isn't going to wear excessively.

 

theres plenty of fluid in the trans in all the right places even after it's been sitting for weeks. the engine warms everything up within minutes. If you want to test it, start your car up. let it idle for 60 seconds then touch the trans. i bet you cant hold it for more then a few seconds.

If the fluid isnt distributed throughout the trans after a night of sitting then theres a problem with it for sure.

 

Maybe in an auto, but in a manual transmission the movement of the gears is what circulates the oil. There isn't a pump in a manual. The output shaft and the differential are only moving when the car is in gear......

 

I think the oil will reach temperature a lot quicker than the coolant. There's a lot less of it and it's in direct contact with the hot engine parts whereas the coolant is separated by metal jackets and goes through the radiator. By the time the coolant temp even starts to climb the oil is already plenty hot. That shouldn't take hardly any time at all and even cool oil still lubricates. So the advice that you just just start it and drive off is probably the truth.

 

I think the problem with this theory is that it doesn't take the volume of flow into account. The volume of oil flowing through the engine is probably a lot smaller than the volume of coolant flowiing. With older cars that had oil temp gauges, my recollection is that oil takes longer to warm up than coolant.

 

True. And it's oil temp that you want to be concerned with, coolant temp is irrelevant. My Z4MC has an oil temp gauge but not a coolant temp gauge, plus the yellow line/red line indicators in the tach vary with oil temp, with the yellow line being kept lower from a cold start, gradually moving up to the normal position (red line at 8k, ooh la la!).

 

I usually sit from 2-3 minutes. That's just me, but I would rather take a couple of minutes, let my oil reach everywhere it needs to go, get my engine up and ready for work, and then take it easy from there. People don't realize how much work an engine has to do to get to decent RPMs.

Additionally, I've found that much of the roots of the argument against warming up, also has ties to the environmental movement, and we all know how they can be.

My verdict: Give it 2-3 minutes, start the car with all accessories off, and drive gently from there.