o.k., i know this subject has been discussed, and the general concensus seems to be to do what is recommended in the manual and start the car and drive off immediately. however, here in Denver it is often in single digits in the morning at this time of year, and my habit has been to let MINI warm-up at idle for a couple of minutes. i suppose i'll stop doing that, but now i'm concerned that i may have already done inadvertant damage. am i being paranoid? the turn-the-key-and-go first thing in the morning when it's 8 degrees out contradicts everything i was ever told as a kid, but then i was told a lot of stupid things as a kid.....

BTW, MINI is not garaged; it sits in the driveway all night.

thanks

paddy

 

I thought the original reason why MINI says to drive off immediately was due to emissions issues.

Cars these days are okay to drive off as soon as you start the car.
They are tested and validated to perform within normal operating
temperatures of -40C to +85C. idling your car is just waisting gas...
unless you specifically have some tranny problems or something while
cold.

 

I think the theory is the sooner it warms up the less engine wear. Of course that doesn't mean to haul *** immediately. Just start normal easy driving and the engine will warm up quicker under load.

Even when cold you should have oil pressure very quickly so I don't think I'd worry about any damage. At least until 100,000 miles or more.

 

I live where -40F and colder happens for days.I have driven away right after starting,and let it sit and idle for up to 5 minutes or so,and the car drives off the same.
My dealer fires up loaners and lets them warm-up while your doing paper work.I think this is more an emissions issue,than a bad thing for the car.
Now I would not suggest you let it sit for a long time,all the time,as it will probably carbon up.And I'd hate for the computer to learn to do nothing but idle,be kind of slow going at 800RPM

 

Lot - I gotta think warm oil is better than -40 as far as engine wear, ergo the sooner it warms the less wear. Even in relativaly balmy Wisconsin it takes a long time for the oil to reach operating temp. Not to change the subject but how does Poco start at -40?

 

Block heater eh Lotsie?

 

Poco starts fine,but I did just get a block heater installed today,heats the coolant,so the whole engine is warm.
The engine will warm-up faster if you get going right away,but a minute or two of idle,will let the tranny fluid get going,belts and bearings to warm a bit,before you put load on them.
And the heated seats need a minute or two to get going,so ya don't freeze your buns

 

Dang thats cold. Put another stick in the stove for me would you.
Poco has to love that block heater!

 

Well I'm sure he will,but the temps. here have gotten down right balmy for us.
Highs of 32F and over night lows of 25F.But that will change any minute now I'm sure

 

Turn on MINI and take off immediately but keep it under 3000 rpm until the engine warms up. When is the engine warm? When you start getting heat out of the vents. Usually at the first marker on the temp gauge (If you have one) After that giddyup.

 

BMW = Bavarian Motor Works (or the German equiv.)

Bavaria = Alps

Alps = COLD!

If they say start the car and motor on, they prolly know whereof they sprechen!

 

I wait longer than that. I've got the chrono pack and I can tell you that the water temperature gauge will be up to the normal operating range before the oil temperature gauge even begins to move. It takes quite a while for the oil to warm up.

Mark

 

i want to thank everyone for their responses. in future (starting this morning) i shall forgo my natural inclination to err on the side of uninformed caution, turn the key and go. gently.

and thank god it doesn't hit -40 here (or hasn't yet).

paddy

 

Well from ym experience with my CVT tranny if I don't let my car warm for a min or two the car lurches along (Yo-Yo). BAD! But once its warm its just fine. So I do a short warm up and then take it slow. Even though my car is garaged and I don't see the cold temps of Poco.

 

My CVT lurches very badly if I don't let it warm up in the morning and its 35 degrees or colder.

 

Our MINIs use synthetic oil. So tempurature variations don't affect the effective lubrication qualities as much as it does dino oil. That's a good thing. The only issue is you don't strain the supercharger too much when it's cold. So drive easy for the first few minutes.


My sister's Mercede's Kompressor requires a 30 second or so warm up before driving off when her car is cold. You can actually hear the sound of the engine change (supercharger whine), when it is warm enough to drive off. Probably because it needs to pump lubricant through the supercharger bearings or something.

I think it takes about 3 seconds to circulate oil through your engine initially. So you should be able to drive off almost right away.

 

No need for a long warm up, just drive it easy until the oil temperature comes up. Remember, it's got a 5W synthetic oil lubing the motor, not gramp's straightweight 30 dino oil.

 

Well the oil breather tubes iced up on my MC this winter,and the oil pressure popped the dipstick almost right away.It was -46 at the time,I started the car,then popped the bonnet to unplug my trickle charger,and oil was blowing all over the place

 

Lotsie yer thermometer reading is awesome up there-- wish I had a shot when my digital outdoor remote unit hit -62F (still) a few winters ago in cold and windy Wyoming USA (warmed to -22F the same day) . Now that can really slow life down, eh? Jimbo

 

BRRRRRRRRRRRR..

my wife and i have traded opinions on this topic for years. She a die hard warmer-upper and i'm a start and go gently guy.

i agree with those above that the advent of synthetic oils has dramatically changed the need for cold weather warm up.

changes in lubrication systems as well in the past 15 years has made a difference as well. not like the old big-blocks that took 5-8 seconds to build oil pressure.

 

Many years ago I was a up north,well further up north than I am now,and with the wind chill it was -97F or so.
We just left the cars and trucks running,24/7

 

I live a bit south of Lot. I added Chrono to my 2005. I've noticed that when the temp dips to -20 and beyond that the oil pressure goes right to max after startup. For that reason, I let it warm up a few minutes before setting off. At zero or above the pressure doesn't climb nearly as alarmingly high so I feel more comfortable taking off sooner. BTW, never a starting problem and very little to no groan or hesitation in taking off in the deep cold. This car just shrugs it off

 

I don't think letting the car sit and warm-up for a few minutes will be bad for it.From the stories I hear about driving in traffic in some big cities,the cars are idling for hours