Here in New York we are getting sub 20 degree days, I always drive away right after starting the MINI...but I notice when I do that the car bucks a lot and sometimes almost stalls until it heats up. I am wondering if its a good idea to let the car warm up for five minutes before I driving off? Is warming up good or bad for the car?
Let your MINI warm up on a cold day?
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Hey there ants,
Yeah, cold. I've been just driving right off. I find that sometimes I have to give the accelerator pedal a little tap when it's really cold (under 25) cause it does tend to "shiver" a bit. Most of the stuff I"ve found around here says to just drive off. (think there was something in the manual - which is in my glovebox - which is in my Mini - which is in the garage - which is cold - so I"m staying here.
) Engine warms up pretty quick.
Thank goodness for heated seats.
Yeah, cold. I've been just driving right off. I find that sometimes I have to give the accelerator pedal a little tap when it's really cold (under 25) cause it does tend to "shiver" a bit. Most of the stuff I"ve found around here says to just drive off. (think there was something in the manual - which is in my glovebox - which is in my Mini - which is in the garage - which is cold - so I"m staying here.
) Engine warms up pretty quick.Thank goodness for heated seats.
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Summation of information
Having just read that entire other thread the biggest problem with letting the car warm up seems to be that it wastes gas and It does not warm up the drivetrain - so its best to go easy at first even if the car is warmed up.
My humble take - If you can't see out the windows because of fogging, ice or snow than its best to let the car warm up -
and you might as well turn on the seat heat while you're at it.
Having just read that entire other thread the biggest problem with letting the car warm up seems to be that it wastes gas and It does not warm up the drivetrain - so its best to go easy at first even if the car is warmed up.
My humble take - If you can't see out the windows because of fogging, ice or snow than its best to let the car warm up -
and you might as well turn on the seat heat while you're at it.
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Mechanics lore says that 90% of all engine wear occurs in the first five minutes the engine is run. I turn the key and give the elctric pumps 5 seconds to build up pressure, then start the engine. Then I let it warm up until the water temperature is rising on my chrono pak gauge. 5 minutes is usually enough,
No actually. I've gone by the manual...
As for a mechanics dream in taking off right away...well I've got a '91 Caravan that I did the same thing to and it's going on 140,000 miles here and there's never been a drivetrain/engine problem. Not worried about making a mechanic happy since it's on it's first year and well under it's warranty.
so far and it's been right so I guess I'll stick with their guidline to start her up and drive. Living in Maine it gets pretty cold here too.antsmini said:
As for a mechanics dream in taking off right away...well I've got a '91 Caravan that I did the same thing to and it's going on 140,000 miles here and there's never been a drivetrain/engine problem. Not worried about making a mechanic happy since it's on it's first year and well under it's warranty.
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I'm with Joe Dentist up above........sound advise on BOTH points.......
The "most engine wear occurs in 5 minutes" is a reason to drive the car, not let it idle. You want to get the car through the high-wear warm up period as quickly as possible.
This is pretty much the advice given in nearly all publications: Start the car, let it warm up enough so that it takes throttle smoothly - if it's stalling, hesitiating, bucking, or otherwise not getting underway smoothly, let it warm up a bit more. Once you go, drive gently at first, gradually using more power and RPM as it gets fully warmed up. Some even advise not to drive the car hard until oil temps come completely up and oil temps lag coolant temps by quite a bit. But I'm not going to risk a rear-ender on the freeway worrying about some tiny bit of extra engine wear - if the coolant temp is up to normal, I'm going to use the engine as I need to.
This procedure minimizes wear/tear, reduces gas consumption/emissions, and gets you going to where you're going.
- Mark
This is pretty much the advice given in nearly all publications: Start the car, let it warm up enough so that it takes throttle smoothly - if it's stalling, hesitiating, bucking, or otherwise not getting underway smoothly, let it warm up a bit more. Once you go, drive gently at first, gradually using more power and RPM as it gets fully warmed up. Some even advise not to drive the car hard until oil temps come completely up and oil temps lag coolant temps by quite a bit. But I'm not going to risk a rear-ender on the freeway worrying about some tiny bit of extra engine wear - if the coolant temp is up to normal, I'm going to use the engine as I need to.
This procedure minimizes wear/tear, reduces gas consumption/emissions, and gets you going to where you're going.
- Mark
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