i have a 1992 cadillac deville and people tell me i should warm up my car every day before i drive is that tru

Question

i usally warm it up when its real cold but on regular days i just start it up and get on with my biz, but people tell me that i should wait at least 10 min before i do that and 1 min after each turn off, is that ture? whats the point of warming it up? dont v8's warm up quicker then smaller engines?

Answer 1

Start and go! Modern cars don't require warm ups. Just don't drive it hard until it reaches full operating temperature.

Answer 2

It is a good idea to let the engine warm up on any motor vehicle before putting it under load. The engine oil drains down into the oil pan once the engine has been stopped for prolonged periods. Cranking the engine with the electric starter does start to pump some oil up over the internal components but that oil is still cold and therefore heavy. Once oil has had a chance to warm up it becomes less viscosity, or thinner and does its job of coating and protecting moving parts inside the engine. The colder the outside temperature, the longer one should allow a warm-up. From say 30 seconds in warmer climate to up to 5-minutes in colder climate. High revolutions in extreme cold conditions can cause the engine to actually fight with the heavy oil causing damage to push rods, especially in older vehicles. Most engines heat up at a similar rate, but since warming is caused by 2-things, friction and the blast from burning off your fuel, having 2 extra pistons may increase the time slightly. In summer months you are probably doing no harm by starting with little to no warm up period. If it is cool a short warm up is a good thing, and if very cold it is best to be patient. Of course the best practice is to be gentle until she is warm. It makes good sense. Happy driving...

Answer 3

The only reason to warm it in the old days was to keep a cold engine from stalling during acceleration enrichment where fuel was metered through a carburetor. Fuel injected engines are managed by computers, so they manage acceleration enrichment differently and more efficiently at all temperaures. With carburetors you had to warm up or the engine would stall when you opened the throttle on a cold engine. Engine size, materials, cooling system integrity, efficiency, and coolant composition, not the number of cylinders determines how fast an engine warms up to operating temperature.

Answer 4

Warming up engines happened back in the day of carburated cars, but now that car are fuel injected it is not necessary to warm her up. On a very cold day, say below freezing you might want to warm it up for just a couple of minutes but nothing more. The on board computer makes all the adjustments the engine needs until it warms up. And bigger engines don't always warm up faster, the additional oil can take longer to warm up.

Answer 5

An older car like that - I would give it 30 seconds to get the oil warming and moving - if it is colder below 50 degrees - I would probably go a minute or two.

You want the oil to cover your cylinders when you exercise the engine - leaving out of the chute too early -
will crash that Brahma Bull - it's a big dude! Love it!

Answer 6

no they warm up slower because there is more area to warm up. it isnt good to let your vehicle idle very long even when it's really cold out. your engine runs rougher when idleing than when in drive. you should let it run only about a minute before going, but then until it is warm enough to at least open the thermostat (the time that your vent starts blowing warm air) you should accelerate really slowly because moving parts in your engine are expanding because they are getting warmer and if you gun the engine before everything is warm enough it can be really hard on it.

Answer 7

This depends on how cold it is where you live. If this is in All the Northern States, Canada or Alaska in the winter then YES you should spend the extra 5 minutes to warm up your car IF you don't use an ENGINE BLOCK HEATER.

If not, it's best to not waste gas. Modern cars don't need to be warmed up anymore if they are fuel injected. Is your car fuel injected or carburetted?

Answer 8

Warming up a larger engine vs. a 4banger is good sense. 10 mins is a bit much though. BUT- don't just fire up and take off on the initial run of the day, give it a bit of time to "wake up". This is to bring the lubrication up to snuff for all those hydraulic valve lifters you have in that belch fire eight, for example. Not to mention the transmission's torque converter, power steering pump, etc.etc.

Answer 9

I always let my car warm up at least 3-4 minutes before driving. It has high mileage and I was always told this was the thing to do!