Just wanted to get peoples opinions on warming up the Jag in freezing weather. I try to at least get the temp gauge out of the "blue area", and dont go over 2000 RPMS until the temp needle is in the middle (warmed up). What does not proprerly warming your car up affect, and for people in colder climates when do you get going on a cold winter morning?

 

Hello!
Its -12C here......today I started her and let her site for 5 min before taking off.....then I drive her like you do until the needle is half way...

 

remote start before i go out........

 

It could be 10* outside, but my garage rarely gets below 40*. When it does have to sit outside I usually let it warm up for 5-10 minutes. Depends on the temp and how long it takes to defrost the windows.

 

We get -50 degree celcius weather, and when i start it up i leave it running till the temp gauages moves out of the blue, keeping it running too long is just a waste of fuel. The best way to arm it up is by driving it. And i usaly don't turn the heater ( ac) on till the guage reaches the warmed up stage, otherwise its just blowing cold air, and somewhat bad for the coils, according to my family lol.

 

There's no need or benefit to letting it sit and warm up. You're just wasting gas and extending the warm up period by doing so. Drive it gently until normal engine temp is achieved.

 

This is a long time debate. It was once thought that when you warm up the engine the tranny and other moving parts were getting undue stress put on them since the engine is warm and everything else is cold sometimes very cold. But the tranny has lines that go to the radiator, so therefore the tranny actually is getting warmed up through the fluid pumping through the radiator. The U-joints, rear differential and brakes are still cold and have to "catch up" to the warmed up motor and trans. Hence the undue stress. I personally have many, many, many "warm ups" in my life time and I don't believe I caused any noticeable damage.

 

No intention of arguing, and every intent to discuss only.

The coolant in the rad remains at ambient temperature until the engine thermostat opens, so the transmission is not being pre-warmed at all until that time.

I'm not aware of any reliability or durability issues on cars that are NOT given any warm-up period at all, so what issues are being solved with the pro-warmup practice?

 

I was told by a tranny guy to wait 10 secs before engaging a gear after first starting the engine but otherwise just to drive gently for a while (5-10 miles/mins). I can just about manage 10 secs!!

 

For dicussion, as you put it Mikey, most "warm ups" are to defrost windshield, have a nice toasty tushy when one sits down. Also when I lived in the colder weather I hated to drive with my "Fargo movie" type of winter jacket on. The ambient temp as you put it would have the thermostat open to have warm air defrost the windshield. I have never seen cold air do anything than make the windshield less visable in the winter monthes.

 

If the reason for the warmup period is for driver comfort/visibility only, then that's fine. I was just clarifying that it's not needed for mechanical reasons on the vehicle.

My personable habit is to start the engine, hit 'windshield defrost' setting and seat heater buttons, then get out and scrape as required. The electric defrosters for front and rear glass kick in automatically. In -21* weather like yesterday, I can do all this and still be halfway across the village before any appreciable heat is available.

I choose NOT to put my winter driven cars in my heated garage to avoid accelerated corrosion, but that's a different discussion.

 

As far as mechanical reasons I agree with you Mikey. A vehhicle is designed to withstand freezing elements in mind. I did it for creature comfort.

Oh and I strongly agree with parking a vehicle in a heated garage!!

 

Aren't the tranny radiators seperate from the engine rad.? Is there a thermostat on our tranny radiators? Or am I not thinking correctly..

 

I warm it up because I hate it when the beer can freezes to my lips.

 

JayT valid point!

 

Strange, I was always in the train of thought that it is best to warm the vehicle up to get the juices flowing....My question is, yes everything else will be cold but how would a warmed up engine cause undue stress? Regardless if you warm your car up or not the other components will still be cold. What would a warm engine do to actually CAUSE the stress?

 

The idea of machines needing to be warmed up probably comes from the days when only single weight oils were available and standard 30 weight poured like molasses in the winter. This, coupled with the uniquely human habit of transferring our emotions to inanimate objects makes us feel sorry for the poor cars and believe that we need to 'do' something.

Metal gears and bearings are no more fragile at -30 than at +30.

In the early 80's I had a Romanian built derivative of a military 4 x 4. When first delivered, it was impossible in sub zero weather to shift the transmission into first gear from neutral with the engine running. The garage switched over to an appropriate multigrade and from that point it was like butta.

 

I hear ya and thank you for insight. I just feel like the car runs like absolute sh*t when it is not warmed up, most prevalent in the tranny. Does not shift properly and I have no idea if that has anything to do with the torque converter or not. Does the torque converter get "warm" from running the car or just by driving it?

 

Mine shifts differently when cold than warm I suppose as a function of fluid viscosity and an electronic function that inhibits converter lock up while still cold (I think, please correct if required).

The transmission does not get effectively warmed by sitting idling in park.

 

The diesel takes an age to warm up, it has just warmed at the end of my 5 mile 10 minute commute. My Volvo S80 petrol 2.4 was warmed up after a couple of minutes tops.