|
|
|
|
|
|
BMW Garage | BMW Meets | Register | Search | Today's Posts | Mark Forums Read |
|
BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum
>
User Manual says not to wait for the car to warm up, and to start driving right away
|
|
01-08-2013, 09:21 AM | #1 |
Private First Class
28
Rep 132
Posts |
User Manual says not to wait for the car to warm up, and to start driving right away
Lately, it's been freezing out. I prefer to start my car up for 5-10 minutes so the car is warm, the seat is heated, and the windows are defrosted.
If you look at the user manual, it says to start driving right away. I've always heard that it's good to let your car warm up a bit before driving when it's very cold out. What are your thoughts? |
01-08-2013, 09:24 AM | #2 | |
Lieutenant
75
Rep 590
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 09:34 AM | #3 |
Colonel
2847
Rep 2,740
Posts
Drives: 2020 M4 ZCP / 2023 X3 M40i
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Northern VA
|
I never wait. I go 2 seconds after I start the car, but I have a garage so the windows are never frozen.
|
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 09:35 AM | #4 |
Colonel
40
Rep 2,431
Posts |
Who you going to believe, the "someone" who said to wait, or the Manufacturer who spent millions engineering the car? Just saying....
__________________
My speeding isn't the problem. It's the Slow Folks ahead of me that cause accidents!
|
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 09:36 AM | #5 |
Lieutenant Colonel
90
Rep 1,555
Posts |
I wait about a minute or two, then drive the car at super low rpms until the engine warms up. As far as driving the car "hard" I wait for oil temps to go up.
__________________
Last edited by Turb0Surge; 01-08-2013 at 11:24 AM.. |
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 10:13 AM | #8 |
Major General
1824
Rep 6,979
Posts
Drives: 15 F80 M3, 22 G01 X3 30i
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Wendell, NC
|
I wait until the fast idle settles back to normal with the car in neutral and clutch out, then drive off and keep it under 4K RPMs until the oil temp gauge comes off the peg - this last part particularly in colder weather.
__________________
2015 F80 ///M3 Sedan 7DCT Tanzanite, 2022 X3 sDrive30i 8AT Brooklyn Grey |
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 10:25 AM | #10 |
New Member
2
Rep 25
Posts |
I like to wait until the secondary air pump kicks off and idle settles. Generally takes only a minute which is about how long it takes for me to pick a song/station, put on gloves, and get situated anyway. I won't drive it hard until oil temperature is at least 200.
|
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 10:44 AM | #11 |
///M at Heart
89
Rep 1,954
Posts |
I let idle drop but i keep drivinh or let engine get to operating temps before shutting it back down to avoid lifter tick.
You can tell if youre at operating temp if you can check your oil level. |
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 10:48 AM | #13 |
Lieutenant Colonel
377
Rep 1,874
Posts
Drives: '13 128i, '23 iX M60
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Boston
|
When it's below 30 out I tend to start the car and wait 10-15 seconds. I then don't drive it hard for a few minutes until I can at least feel the seat heater through my pants and the warmer air starts flowing through the vents (I don't have an oil temp gauge :/).
__________________
2021 Polestar 2
2013 BMW 128i 6MT MGM/CR. M-sport/Premium/Cold, HK, Xenons, BMW SSK and PE. ED 7-12-2013. SOLD: 2007 328xi 6MT BSM/Terra, 2018 F31 Sunset/Oyster [url]http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=897862 |
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 10:56 AM | #14 |
Lieutenant
32
Rep 447
Posts |
My 328xi definitely drives different for a few minutes when taking off directly from a cold morning start. I read that in the manual also ("don't warm up") and it kind of creeped me out from a pure physics perspective - after sitting in freezing temps all night, GRAVITY will pull oil to the pan, and TEMPERATURE will cause oil to thicken (to a point). I just don't see how cold thick oil in the pan can do the same job as warm juicy oil being pumped all over the place... but who am I to argue?
My new routine: Start. Buckle. Gas. |
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 11:01 AM | #15 |
Captain
30
Rep 644
Posts |
5-10 minutes to sit and warm up is terribly wasteful. Car warms up slower which means more pollution and engine wear due to rich mixture and slower catalyst warm-up. Getting zero mpg BTW during that time. Even on brutally cold (not Canada cold though) days my heater is cranking out heat after less than 2 miles. I wouldn't do any spirited driving until the car is warmed up but normal driving is fine, even advantageous.
By the way, in Germany where our cars are engineered, it is illegal to idle longer than 20 seconds. I found this out when an angry German educated me by knocking on my window while I was waiting to pick up an army buddy at an airfield. No ticket but most Germans take their laws pretty seriously. The fact that we can't get a "remote start" option and the F30 has the auto shutoff engine supports this as well. |
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 11:05 AM | #16 |
Private First Class
34
Rep 130
Posts
Drives: 2015 M235i xDrive
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Cincinnati
|
I usually wait until the engine idle stabilizes and then go... so < 1 minute. I usually drive pretty conservatively until the oil temp comes off of 160.
__________________
Current: 2015 M235i F22 BSM (FBO)
Current: 2015 X5 M Sport CBM (hers) Previous: 2008 335i E90 Tiag (FBO) |
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 11:12 AM | #17 |
Came to the N55 Darkside
1107
Rep 12,740
Posts |
Seems dangerous to drive off immediately on a 20 degree day.
So you're saying our cars are "advanced enough" to just be primed to go at a moment's notice? Wouldn't that be the equivalent of just drop kicking someone out of a sound sleep? Doesn't the engine need oil to run with best results? |
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 12:06 PM | #21 |
Major
383
Rep 1,440
Posts
Drives: 2018 M3CS
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Winnipeg
|
The way that my CA instructed me was that in our Canadian winters its harder on the battery than it is the engine on those frighteningly cold days. Thats why at my home dealer they install battery tenders as part of their PDI process. He said that with the synthetic oil there is always a layer of lubrication for the super cold days and it's been engineered to remain liquid even at -40 (Celsius or Fahrenheit), which is why our cars don't support engine block heaters anymore.
Thus, as long as your battery is charged, and in our harsh, cold, Canadian winters this means plugging in the tender every night, then you'll be fine. |
Appreciate
0
|
01-08-2013, 12:13 PM | #22 |
MurderedOut
15
Rep 339
Posts |
I usually have it parked in the garage, so I let it run for 3o seconds or so for the rpm's to drop. The other night, I left it outside overnight and when I started it, I let it run for 10 minutes. When I came back, it said that my oil was bellow minimum.. Drove to a car shop to get some oil and the oil level went back to half.. Weird.
__________________
2013 C63 AMG COUPE
|
Appreciate
0
|
Bookmarks |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|