I've had my '06 R50 for 5 months now and most of that time it's been cold. I let the car warm up pretty much every time I see the RPMs sit higher than the normal idle. Now my Uncle, who is a pretty big gear head, is telling me that I'm doing more harm than good by warming it up. Any opinions on this matter?

 

I doubt you're doing any harm, but you are wasting gas and time.

Start it, drive it gently while it warms up, and don't worry about it, it's made to do this.

 

I live in Chicago, where we see some frigid temperatures. Without an engine temp gauge in the car, I kind of do a hybrid of letting the rpm's drop a few ticks (letting it warm up for about 30 seconds to a minute tops) then drive off gently.

I did the same thing in my previous car (Accord), but it was easier with the temp gauge.

 

The problem with warming up a car is there is no airflow to help cool down the engine. Now in frigid weather, this may or may not be a problem. I usually let my car run 10 minutes in the morning before I leave if my daughter rides with me. I don't want her freezing to death.

 

I let mine warm up for 10, maybe 20 seconds unless it is so cold the clutch feels stiff....Below 0 F (then maybe 5 or 6 minutes)....Remember, the car will warm up faster when it is being driven under-load, and the oil pressure will be higher too!!
I have heard that excessive idleing to warm up can have a determental effect on the life of the catalytic converter, since the car is idling slightly rich....this warning MAY be a bit dated with a modern motor....remember, when idling your MPG is 0.
IMO, go drive it, but take it easy till the temperature/pressure gauges read "normal". Most advise I hear these days are usually to start driving the car, gently, at non highway speeds (local roads) as soon as the car is running at a steady idle (even if it is higher than normal).

 

Thanks everyone. Sounds like I won't be warming her up anymore. Winter is coming to an end anyway.

 

Thank god winter is soon over... I cant wait for spring and summer, and fall too.

 

Ain't that the truth!!!!!?

 

Keep in mind some of the people telling you not to do it live in very warm climates.

Im not sure where you live but in the winter here in Canada, it is smart to let the car idle for at-least 20-30 seconds before driving.

The oil gets very thick when sitting overnight in 10*F weather and it is a good idea to get it flowing fully before driving in those temps.

You are defiantly doing no harm, other than reduced gas mileage.

 

I tend to agree with MINIdave and broadwayline, but it doesn't hurt to let it idle for 20-30 seconds to get the oil pumped through the engine.

Good question Astral Black. Don't worry about the slightly high idle initially, it it supposed to do that.

 

I live in the south so I have no basis for any comment

but I grew up and began my driving in the frozen north

I think by 'warming up' many are thinking running at idle unit the temp needle is in the green if you have one, or the heater is actually producing heat as I did in the 70's. This was usually 3 or more minutes at idle - or fast idle where we would hold the throttle down a bit. Actually was prob'ly bad practice....

Conventential wisdom seems to be that once you have the oil circulating, and this can justify a 30 second delay for sure, you will actually bring temps up by having the engine at light load but a bit above idle rpm. AKA, drive slowly and for sure don't stomp it. Even here in Fl I follow this practice. Start it...give it 30 seconds to a minute to be happy, then drive slowly 'til I see the temp begin to move. Easy for me tho....that just means leave the gated neighborhood, or the zoo parkinglot!

erratta

WAY up north in the real frozen lands, getting that oil to move at all can be a problem .... needing core heaters et al. Different story there.....I can see why a bit of longer idle MIGHT be needed.

And on the other hand: you need to warm up the car for 10 minutes & you live in Florida wow

 

Well me, I'm not really in Florida. I'm in L.A., Lower Alabama, where our temperatures can get into the teens during the Winter.n

 

On the coldest mornings (single Farenheit digits) I'll give my MINI maybe 30 seconds of idle time and then slowly pull away... any other day, 10 seconds to let everything stabalize and then I go!

 

I would hate to think that warming a car up would be bad for it. this mornign it was mid 40s and i let mine warm up for 10 minutes (about my normal warm up time) there is no way you are hurting your car by letting it idle for a few minutes. Think about this, your thermostat doesn't open to at least 180 so your engine is not heating up more than that and is not getting too hot during warm up. The air drawn into your intake, even if you do not have a CAI, is from outside the engine compartment so it will not be that warm. I use full synthetic (amsoil) so I doubt that idle is wearing on it too hard. as far a burning fuel, yes you are burning fuel but how much could you possibly be burning at idle for a few minutes?

 

I have a whole new appreciation for this since installing my Marshall oil pressure and water temperature gauges, and occasionally being in the position of getting into my MINI at the airport after it has been sitting in low single-digit Fahrenheit temps.

The thickness of the motor oil is apparent right after start-up, as the pressure immediately hits 82 psi even while at idle (by comparison, my idle pressure when the engine is hot is about 30 psi). I put the tranny in neutral and engage the clutch and let it work at idle for about a minute (it sure makes some strange noises when it's really cold!).

I drive off after a minute but try to keep the revs below 2500 until I see the oil pressure drop down to 80 psi or so. At that point I figure the oil is starting to circulate pretty effectively. When the engine is up to full operating temperature my oil pressure runs at 78 psi at 3600 rpm (highway speed in high gear).

My H2O temp sensor is downstream of the radiator, which I really like because I can immediately see when the engine is at full operating temperature. The needle jumps off of zero as the thermostat opens. This happens well after the MINI OEM idiot needle is already reading in the normal range. It takes about 7-10 minutes of easy highway driving to reach this water temperature milestone.

My experience seems consistent with the guidance already posted in this thread. Drive easy for the first several minutes and you should be okay.

 

My general rule of thumb is to take it easy on the engine revving, i.e., less than 4000 rpms, until I'm at about 50% of normal operating temp then it's back to normal driving. On the other hand "normal" for me is shifting at ~3000 rpms... I think this is how I typicaly get over 30mpg in my '05 MCS.