Waiting to Drive Till Engine Heat turns up

[caesarprime]

Hello,

I have a question.

I owned a couple of vehicles so far and each time I start them, I have the precautious habit of keeping it on N till the engine Oil heat/cool sign disappears.

I know that it means engne oil has to be spread along the critical parts of the engine when it arrives to the desired heat.

But....

Having said it takes around 5 minutes for that to happen, so is it a must for the new vehicles to wait that long before putting into drive?

[iRage]

Good habit..but not really needed to be that extreme in a country like SL.

The idea is that you do not push the engine to extremes where there is excessive movement of internal components and excessive heat can get generated until the oil can operate optimally (which is when the oil is at normal operating temp). So when the oil temp is low...just driving the car gently (not over revving, speeding, etc..) will not damage your engine. 

Also...remember..there is more than just the engine and engine oil...there is transmission and diff/transfer case (if applicable) fluid that needs to start circulating and come to operating temperature. Then, you do need the coolant fluid flowing through the engine to dissipate the heat that is being generated (whilst the oil reaches optimality). That isn't going to happen unless the car is moving (as you need the radiator to cool the coolant). In fact this not happening can cause damage to the engine too.

So yes...under extreme cold temperatures it will be best to wait a bit until the engine oil temp rises (doesn't have to be optimal temp). But under normal weather conditions, driving the car gently until it warms up would be the better approach (and is what is recommended in most user manuals).

[caesarprime]

  On 5/7/2023 at 4:42 AM, iRage said:

Good habit..but not really needed to be that extreme in a country like SL.

The idea is that you do not push the engine to extremes where there is excessive movement of internal components and excessive heat can get generated until the oil can operate optimally (which is when the oil is at normal operating temp). So when the oil temp is low...just driving the car gently (not over revving, speeding, etc..) will not damage your engine. 

Also...remember..there is more than just the engine and engine oil...there is transmission and diff/transfer case (if applicable) fluid that needs to start circulating and come to operating temperature. Then, you do need the coolant fluid flowing through the engine to dissipate the heat that is being generated (whilst the oil reaches optimality). That isn't going to happen unless the car is moving (as you need the radiator to cool the coolant). In fact this not happening can cause damage to the engine too.

So yes...under extreme cold temperatures it will be best to wait a bit until the engine oil temp rises (doesn't have to be optimal temp). But under normal weather conditions, driving the car gently until it warms up would be the better approach (and is what is recommended in most user manuals).

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Thanks @iRage , this explains a lot as always ❤️

[Twin Turbo]

A properly operating thermostat valve will see to getting the engine to operating temp.

 

 

TT.

[pulapere]

Keep it running for 1 minute at least 

[iRage]

  On 12/28/2023 at 1:00 PM, pulapere said:

Keep it running for 1 minute at least 

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No you don't...if the car has been parked for a long period of time you just have to give it a few seconds for the fluids to circulate (as it might have drained down a bit).
If in extreme cold conditions you might want to wait a bit longer for the oil to heat up a bit and start circulating easily. But in a country like SL or a place with non-extreme winters...no..you don't have to wait for 1 minute.

What you need is to bring the engine oil up to temp as soon as possible and the best way to do it is to drive it. This also helps other fluids to heat up and start circulating better. You just need to drive it gently..low RPM..no hard accelerating, etc...until the engine heats up (if you have an oil heat gauge then until the indicator pin raises above the low temp line)