I notice that the user manual states to just drive off after starting the car and not let it idle to warm up. I've always thought that it was good practice to warm up your car before driving off - at least for a couple of minutes. Is there something special about the MINI engine that makes it ok to just start up and drive off, or is it better to let it warm up a bit?

 

Give the car a few moments to circulate oil and go! My understanding is that modern cars don't need warm up. Letting the car sit there idling only warms up part of the engine and does nothing for the transmission, etc. - not to mention is not legal in my city. I usually take 30 seconds to plug in and choose music or whatever/GPS on my iPhone and put my seat belt on. That is it.

 

yeah if you search this question online everything says that with modern cars, there are so many internal adjustments the car makes to compensate for a cold engine, that there is no point in warming up.

 

Maybe just rev it too much until warmed up. I remember M3 and M5s (maybe still do??) used to have variable tachometers... the engine RPM red line would gradually rise as the engine warmed up.

 

Thanks for the insight.

 

I saw that too. When I had an auto trans, I'd put it in Neutral and let it warm up (to get the trani warmed up too). With my manual mini, I just give it enough time to circulate oil....you should be able to tell by the engine tapping sound that goes away as the oil gets to all the bits and pieces.

Wish these cars had more useful gauge info like oil pressure and coolant temp. Oh well.

 

Letting the car or truck site to warm up uses alot of fuel. It's best to start the engine, give it a few sec. to let oil circulate and put it in gear and go. Drive easy for the first few miles and your GTG. Thats what I do with my Duramax and mercedes, and thats how it'll be with my Mini.

 

I let my MINI get under 1000RPMs before driving off. Ive tried driving the car before it settles down and it sounds like an old diesel engine. Its one thing to let it settle down and a different thing to let it sit for 5-10 minutes idling.

 

This scan gauge is available to hook up and has a ton of options. I dont have one yet but plan to install in the future

 

Where do you hook up the scan gauge to? Looks like it would be very usefull.

 

Does anyone have experience with possible parking warmers (motor and cabin) .. such as Webasto or the like, that is fitted for the Countryman SD ?

 

ScanGauge 2 plugs into the OBD2 port. I have one in my Super Duty diesel. It's a must have for that truck (6.0L International engine). Monitoring the engine oil temp and the engine coolant temp is important because if the delta exceeds 15° it is an early indicator of an impending oil cooler failure and a catastrophic engine failure. The engine is $17K to replace and a typical oil cooler failure, not caught in time, is a $5K+ repair bill.

The ScanGauge2 displays 4 readings and you can easily monitor the tranny temp, boost, fuel consumption, actual MPG, actual MPH (if you have oversize tires as I do on my pickup), etc. Anything the On Board Computer monitors you can display on the ScanGauge2. Including reading Engine Codes and resetting the Check Engine Light.

Very well worth the $159 or $189 with a Blend Mount which fastens it right above the rear view mirror. I bought mine on e-bay. You can also buy an OBD2 splitter and hook up 2 units if you need to monitor more data.

There is also another unit called the Edge Insight which cost appox. $300 and allows you to hook up a pyrometer which monitors your exhaust gas temp which is important on a diesel pickup to monitor if you're towing a heavy load (15K Lbs). I don't believe that is necessary on a CM though.

As far as warming up an engine, I allow my diesel run at high idle in the winter until it's warm then drive it easily till the tranny temp comes up. I believe in any engine the components such as the connecting rods, crankshaft, bearings, etc. need to warm up before putting a load on them. At high idle (1200+ RPM) my diesel truck consumes .6 to .75 GPH fuel. I look at it as cheap insurance.

I would suggest not letting the CM idle too long. If it's cold just drive it easy till it's warmed up. It's not a diesel powered 8400Lb pickup truck.

--Hobie

 

I am sorry for my lack of knowledge, but where is the OBD2 port and how do you route a cable/wire to it?

 

IIRC on the CM the OBD2 port is under the dash near the gas peddle. I can check later on in the morning for sure.

How you route the wire depends on where you mount your ScanGauge2. In my pickup truck my SG@ is mounted over the rear view mirror.

I ran the wire up through the dash, removed the A pillar cover and tucked the wire in the headliner.

The CM has airbags in the A pillar so if you mount the SG2 over the mirror you'll have to tuck the wires into the edge of the A pillar cover if that's possible. You may also be able to fish the wire up through the A pillar too. I'm not sure since I've never done it. On another thread in the electrical section a gentleman snaked a wire down the A pillar for his radar detector so I believe it is possible.

I also believe they give you some self stick wire clips. I prefer a clean install without having to see any wires though.

 

I drive right after I start the car, but I don't really give it any more gas than to putt-putt around until my oil temp is up. That takes about 10 mins after the factory gauge is in the middle.

For me, I have such a short commute that it actually is bad for a car. Never getting hot enough to boil out the water vapor from the car and engine. For this reason, every couple days I heat the car up all the way, either by warming the car at work for the ride home, or just taking the long way home.

 

What may I ask is your commute? I have a 5.5 mile commute not sure if that is as short as your commute. Thanks!

 

Growing up in Minnesota, with its long, cold days and nights, the local car experts always said to drive away smoothly after about 30 seconds and the car will warm up as you drive. It saves gas, pollutes less, and is a smarter thing to do for your engine and tranny. No studies prove long warm-ups do anything positive for your engine or environment.

 

Has anyone with a Countryman All4 had issues with driving off right after starting on a very cold day? We recently had some single digit temps here and after sitting in the parking lot at work all day, my Cooper started fine but after waiting for 2-3 minutes before driving off after I started it, it still seemed like the engine was not running properly. I had to pull over in another parking area and let it idle for a few minutes before it felt like it was running at full capacity. I never experienced this with my R56. This has happened twice now and I don't have any check engine lights appearing. I'm wondering if there is an additive I should be using in the winter. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

In our cold climate I really have to warm up the car, fogging up, iced up, and just frozen solid body. I find with a ten minute warm up the cm is good to go. If I just jump in and rive it is a whiney, frozen mess.

 

The latest update to the Mini Connected app includes a screen showing engine temperature. It will announce an "all warmed up" somewhere around 185 degrees and the rising temp gauge is viewable. Also, the app shows horsepower and torque as you drive.

 

I do 3.7 miles each way. In the summer, the oil temp is just getting to 140F so the needle moves. My guess in the summer, you are just getting hot enough, but in winter, you need to drive more to clean out the water vapor.

Water temp is about 5-10 minutes ahead of oil temp. So, parts are indeed warmed up at that point, but some parts are not. Best to add time to that notification or install an oil temp gauge.

 

The ODB2 port is on the upper left corner of the drivers footwell toward the firewall. If you take a flashlight and shine it in the upper left footwell just where the plastic trim ends, you will see a 30-pin (?) connector pointing toward the driver's left foot at a 45º downward angle.

 

I only start the car and let it warm up for my own benefit. I hate driving in a cold car. If I'm in a rush or it isn't cold enough to need to warm up the car (usually above 32 degrees and I'm okay), then I just turn the car on, plug in my phone & get my music going, put on my seat belt, and go. I just take it easy for a while and I always begin with my furthest destination so the car has ample time to warm up before I have to turn it off again.