How long do you let your engine warm up for?

chaparral said:
My Focus ST has an oil temperature gauge

Picture froma Focus RS but the Focus ST has the exact same gauges
Click to expand...

Does it have an actual oil temperature sensor though? The Mk2 had the same gauge layout but didn't have a temp sensor, it was all "calculated" based on engine load, coolant temp and stuff.

bainbridge said:
Would a good multigrade oil of the correct spec not be doing a good job from the get go?
Click to expand...

Nope, cold oil regardless of grade is still going to be vastly thicker than warm oil
 
Liquidfox said:
Does it have an actual oil temperature sensor though? The Mk2 had the same gauge layout but didn't have a temp sensor, it was all "calculated" based on engine load, coolant temp and stuff.



Nope, cold oil regardless of grade is still going to be vastly thicker than warm oil
Click to expand...

Isn't that a good thing? It's my understanding that multigrade oil means it's thick enough to protect a cold engine and also thin enough to protect a hot one.
 
bainbridge said:
Isn't that a good thing? It's my understanding that multigrade oil means it's thick enough to protect a cold engine and also thin enough to protect a hot one.
Click to expand...

It provides protection still yes, but nowhere near the level that a warm oil does. It just means it's not thick like treacle at cold temperatures that a 30W or 40W would otherwise be.
 
theone8181 said:
That's why I cant understand as to why it's so thick in the m3 (e92), I'm sure it's 10/60.
Click to expand...
That's what my S54 based Z4 M Coupe used too, 10W60. I found the recommended RPM indicator based on oil temperature on the rev counter useful although I left it a good while longer after all the lights went out before I would go over 5000rpm.

The 10w60 oil I think used to ensure safe consistency when the engine worked hard, ie, on track. Maybe due to charactistics of the older M engines too + high RPM's, different tolerances.

Without any oil temp gauge in a car I tend to stay under 3000RPM until water is normal operating temp and then up to 5000rpm max and no higher than that until at least 15 mins after starting the engine. I rarely go over that anyway so usually not a concern unless trying to overtake someone.
 
Last edited:
theone8181 said:
That's why I cant understand as to why it's so thick in the m3 (e92), I'm sure it's 10/60.
Click to expand...

As Darren said, it's because they need a heavier weight oil for when it's getting it's head kicked in and you can't get a readily available 0w60 - you've got to sacrifice the cold protection for the operating temperature protection instead.
 
DarrenM343 said:
That's what my S54 based Z4 M Coupe used too, 10W60. I found the recommended RPM indicator based on oil temperature on the rev counter useful although I left it a good while longer after all the lights went out before I would go over 5000rpm.

The 10w60 oil I think used to ensure safe consistency when the engine worked hard, ie, on track. Maybe due to charactistics of the older M engines too + high RPM's, different tolerances.

Without any oil temp gauge in a car I tend to stay under 3000RPM until water is normal operating temp and then up to 5000rpm max and no higher than that until at least 15 mins after starting the engine. I rarely go over that anyway so usually not a concern unless trying to overtake someone.
Click to expand...
Tbh I just assumed it wouldn't rev above 5k until the 'float' bit moved round. I make use of the full rev range on each journey:p.
 
I always pottle along until the oil temp is at normal, read that somewhere so tis what I've been doing, rightly or wrongly :D
 
I'll usually turn it on while I finished getting everything in such as the child, but then I just drive her carefully until the oil temp is at least 70C before having fun. To be fair though, our Skoda has enough shove at the lower RPM range anyway - but once it's warmed up it feels smoother to give extra welly.
 
My Peugeot 206 diesel - until the temp needle is about a third up, although that thing never goes fast anyway.

My Corrado VR6 - 80 degrees.

My Evoque lease car - warm it up??
 
Once my oil temp gets above 90'c which usually takes about 7-10 minutes of driving. By the time the oil gets to temp the coolant has already been at temp for a couple of minutes.

Then it's loud & fun time, followed shortly by a loud bang and another year long rebuild based on my last 3 years of ownership :D
 
ianh said:
Once my oil temp gets above 90'c which usually takes about 7-10 minutes of driving. By the time the oil gets to temp the coolant has already been at temp for a couple of minutes.

Then it's loud & fun time, followed shortly by a loud bang and another year long rebuild based on my last 3 years of ownership :D
Click to expand...

The forum web address update has broken your signature link btw. :p
 
Acme said:
The forum web address update has broken your signature link btw. :p
Click to expand...

So much on the site is broken now I'm not surprised. I'm amazed the address change was rolled out without A) testing it first and B) informing people a week or two in advance, thats pretty shocking IT performance from a IT company!

The "link" button is broken in the edit text screen so I've manually changed it by adding the req'd HTML tags instead "Old Skool" style :D
 
ianh said:
So much on the site is broken now I'm not surprised. I'm amazed the address change was rolled out without A) testing it first and B) informing people a week or two in advance, thats pretty shocking IT performance from a IT company!

The "link" button is broken in the edit text screen so I've manually changed it by adding the req'd HTML tags instead "Old Skool" style :D
Click to expand...
Your link seems to work now. :p

In fairness they sell computers and do hardware stuff, maybe IT support and technical shizzle isn't the specialty. :D
 
DarrenM343 said:
That's what my S54 based Z4 M Coupe used too, 10W60. I found the recommended RPM indicator based on oil temperature on the rev counter useful although I left it a good while longer after all the lights went out before I would go over 5000rpm.

The 10w60 oil I think used to ensure safe consistency when the engine worked hard, ie, on track. Maybe due to charactistics of the older M engines too + high RPM's, different tolerances.

Without any oil temp gauge in a car I tend to stay under 3000RPM until water is normal operating temp and then up to 5000rpm max and no higher than that until at least 15 mins after starting the engine. I rarely go over that anyway so usually not a concern unless trying to overtake someone.
Click to expand...
The lights on the rev counter I believe are based on water/coolant temperature...at least they are in the F80/82. There's normally a separate oil temperature gauge in M cars (something missing from normal BMWs). My rev counter lights go out within a couple of minutes of driving, but it takes a good 10-15 minutes (depending on various external factors) for the oil to get up to temperature.

Idling cars to get them up to temperature is no good...the only thing that gets up to temperature is the engine oil...gearbox & diff fluids will still be stone cold. As @Scania said earlier, much better to just start the car and get in and drive off and let it warm up properly on the move.
 
Havana_UK said:
The lights on the rev counter I believe are based on water/coolant temperature...at least they are in the F80/82. There's normally a separate oil temperature gauge in M cars (something missing from normal BMWs). My rev counter lights go out within a couple of minutes of driving, but it takes a good 10-15 minutes (depending on various external factors) for the oil to get up to temperature.

Idling cars to get them up to temperature is no good...the only thing that gets up to temperature is the engine oil...gearbox & diff fluids will still be stone cold. As @Scania said earlier, much better to just start the car and get in and drive off and let it warm up properly on the move.
Click to expand...
Exactly, my Z4 M Coupe had the oil temp gauge so I knew roughly how much longer it took for the oil to be up to temp after the water temp was at normal operating temperature. My current car doesn't have an oil temp gauge so like you said, I give it at least another 10-15 mins before going over 5000rpm
 
Hades said:
My Peugeot 206 diesel - until the temp needle is about a third up, although that thing never goes fast anyway.

My Corrado VR6 - 80 degrees.

My Evoque lease car - warm it up??
Click to expand...

Lease and hire cars = 100% throttle seconds after starting :D

(Is why I dont buy ex-lease or hire cars lol)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom