How long do you let your engine warm up for?

[Robbo]

... before giving it higher revs. Assuming no oil temperature gauge...

I know it can vary from engine to engine too of course.

 

[robj20]

Until the needle is in the middle.
I've had cars before that even limit revs based on engine temp.

To be honest though on a normal car with modern oils I doubt it makes much difference.

 

[i know nothing]

The time it takes to put my seat belt on and plug my phone in. I am joking. I have a 3-5 minute drive through the village before I can even think about giving it any welly.

 

[Kenai]

4 or 5 miles, maybe slightly less in hot weather. This is how long it takes the oil temp display to get over 75.

Surprised me when I got a car with an oil temp display just how much longer oil took to reach temperature compared to the coolant.

 

[Nasher]

Until the needle is in the middle.
I've had cars before that even limit revs based on engine temp.

To be honest though on a normal car with modern oils I doubt it makes much difference.

Lotuses do that. The revs are capped at 5-6k until it reaches 75c.

 

[Meaker]

Until the needle is in the middle.
I've had cars before that even limit revs based on engine temp.

To be honest though on a normal car with modern oils I doubt it makes much difference.

Lots of turbo cars will limit boost until it has warmed up.

 

[GravyMonster]

At least 5 miles, generally. My car's temp gauge is only visible by digging through the settings, so I can never be bothered to actually check.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

The time it takes me to reverse out the driveway. After that I'll use as much power as I want whenever I want.

 

[paradigm]

90c on both the oil temp and water temp gauges.

 

[Hedge]

About five minute of steady driving before I'd go silly. But to be honest I don't own a car that I'd rev much any more.

 

[MrKnifey]

Depends on the car. My MK2 escort with mx5 engine in... About 30 seconds until rev limiter gets hit

 

[ShiWarrior]

dont go over 3000 revs ever

 

[flame696]

I've got a diesel so I just leave it on idle for about 5 mins before driving of but I don't rev it until the cold light for the engine goes off

 

[Akagi]

I always used to wait until the coolant was up to temperature. But then someone who knows infinitely more than me said I need not wait that long.

Sometimes I will give it some beans once I've driven a couple of miles and the temp needle has picked up off the stop.

Not the full beans though.

 

[BUDFORCE]

Maybe 2 mins max.

 

[Akagi]

DP. Is the forum broken lately or is it me?

 

[Robbo]

DP. Is the forum broken lately or is it me?

Yeah it's playing up.

 

[OpenToSuggestions]

I wait until the water is temperature is at the correct temperature.
Most cars don't really need an oil temperature gauge. If it is heavily modded then yes, but it is not really required.

 

[Dis86]

Wait until the oil temp is out of the blue which is around 70 degrees.

 

[bainbridge]

I leave Torque running in the car and it launches from start up. At 71c a voice comes through the audio on my Atoto head unit saying "operating temperature has been reached". I'm tempted to floor it at this point