Why do we have to warm the engine in the morning before we go?

Question

Is it important to do that? and is it important to do it for a Motorcycle as well as a car ?
What will happen if I just go? and if I just go without warming on a regluar basis ?

Answer 1

Imagine having someone wake you out of a deep sleep in the middle of a winter night, and immediately go out and run a mile.

You'd probably experience any strains, sprains, falls, etc. in the first few minutes of the run, right?

So, a little warmup for any engine is nice. New fuel injected machines don't need much time (like others have said here - wait until the rpms drop to regular idle), carbureted models need more, air cooled machines need lots more.

Motorcycles, especially performance models, need more warmup time, because internal tolerances are very very very very tight. Getting the engine up to operating temperature before you put a load to it will increase longevity and maximize horsepower in the long term.

So, how do you know if an engine is warm enough? It's easiest on a dirt bike, because you can just put a bare hand on the cylinder head, once its warm to the touch, you're ready to go.

Street bikes and fully-faired models, just wait until the idle drops down to normal, and/or the engine runs smoothly without the choke.

Cars, if they're garaged, usually it's enough to back out of the garage, put on your seatbelt, and get the right cd spinning. If it's outside and below freezing, for safety's sake, just let the thing warm up enough to defrost the windows.

Answer 2

You don't really have to let the car warm up. Modern cars can be driven away as soon as the engine starts. You shouldn't though,especially when it's really cold.

You'll notice when you start your car, the engine stays at about 1500 rpm for about a minute and then comes back down to about 700-1000 rpm depending on the car. Most of that is for emissions, but it also helps get the engine warmed up. Fluids, especially oil, get really thick when cold. This minute or so at a higher rpm allows these fluid to warm slightly and disperse through the engine.

The car doesn't have to be really warm, but don't just hop in and turn the key and go. Give the car a minute or two. It saves wear on the engine. And wait until the temperature needle (if you have one) is about the middle of the gauge before driving the car hard. For the same reason.

Answer 3

Modern cars with fuel injection and lightweight multigrade oils do not require warming up before driving. In fact if you check your owner's manual is will usually even specifically mention that this is not only not required, but not desirable as it not only wastes gas, causes the computer systems to modify the fuel patterns. Manual won't usually mention that, but the computer have a "learn cycle" where they "learn" your driving patterns and adjust fuel accordingly. Letting the car sit a long time idling can alter this pattern and cause fuel consumption and metering to not be optimal down the road. New cars have very precise tolerances in the engines and because they are using high quality lighter weight oils as well that are "true" multi-viscosity" they don't suffer from the problems that old cars did. Old carbureted cars were often spitting and sputtering or stalling because of choke problems or carburetor icing in cold weather. Fuel injection has done away with all this. Even the modern truck diesel pickups usually tell you specifically in the manuals "Not" to let sit idling as it is not good for them. Unless you have an old clunker, wait 30-45 seconds after starting to make sure that oil pressure is up and flowing and then start driving. Of course if temps are real cold drive easy for first few miles until the engine comes up to temperature and the heater is able to put out hot air, but other than that best to drive the car and not let it sit.

Answer 4

I disagree with Boots. Mojavedesert has got it, though.

For more, see: Is it true that cars must be" warmed up" in the morning because the engines could have problems later on?

And since we are in the motorcycle section, also see: Why is kick starting the bike in the morning advised than self start?

I never had any oil related problems with any of my engines. And I still run a carb with manual choke on my winter truck (circa 1971). The Harley needs to run a couple of miutes, not because of the engine but because the transmission needs to loosen up a little. Very cold oil makes for hard shifting. My other bikes never had this, due to a common oil supply.

Answer 5

Pretty tight tolerances inside an engine based on when it's hot (since that's when it's running). So on a cold engine the metals haven't expanded and the tolerances are wrong. Honestly, you can start and go, but I wouldn't gun the engine AT ALL. Cracks, or fissures, along the valves are not a good thing and you wouldn't even know right away you caused them.

The engine needs time to get the oil that has dripped to the bottom back all over and coating all the parts. No lubrication on an engine is also not a good thing.

Cycle or car, same thing. An engine is an engine.

Answer 6

Take a quart of oil and dump half of it into an empty quart. Then take one bottle and put it on top of the freezer, put the other bottle in the freezer. Wait about 2 hours and try pouring the oil that was kept in the freezer into the oil that was kept on top of the freezer. This little experiment will definitely answer your question.

The oil that was kept in the freezer is super thick and does not flow well correct. Well the same thing happens in your oil pan on cold mornings. This does not allow the oil to circulate well, thus you have parts moving around with no or little lubrication, metal on metal is not good. Plus when your engine warms up the metal parts expand causing everything to seal up properly.

Answer 7

well if its under 100cc motorcycle then its not necessary, but for above 125cc motor cycle you must warm it to get better performance other wise you will find that your bik is choking for the first few minutes of ride, it may even stop on slow corners. Its necessary for cars because it may also decrease engine life. It is very very essential in winter

Answer 8

hello no body

i think in egypt here, the weather is different, its not that cold, so i dont think that warming the motor in the morning is necessary, i guess most people here were speaking of temperatures that r near to 0 degrees celcius.....what i hear is that some old cars need that, but not new cars...!!!

P.S: i see here that outsiders is trying to gain some points, he even did not answer the question, u can (report abuse) him if u would like :)

Answer 9

Warming up your car is just a waste of gas. If you dont mind driving with out heat for a few minutes and your not going to drive like a maniac than I wouldnt worry about warming up the car.

Answer 10

Since the oil is thicker with cold starts, it is good to allow the motor to warm the oil before reving the motor to the max.

It is upto you if you want premature cam wear, or if you want your valve seals to go bad.