Just curious to know if others have a warm up procedure prior to driving off. With my old Fcar and it's 20W-50 10 quarts of oil I had to wait around 5 minutes when cold before I would drive it . With all of my other cars including the Jag I start it and wait until it goes into closed loop or down to normal idle. After that I just drive it normally and don't get on the go peddle until maybe 10-15 minutes .

 

The weather around here never gets that cold and the XKR is always in the garage so never gets below probably 50F. Regardless, as with ALL my vehicles, I do not drive it until it "Idles Down" to the normal RPM. Since all the other fluids are still chilly, I do as you and drive awhile before I do any spirited driving.

 

Just don't put in gear until RPM drops. My 2007 XK warms up at least 3 times faster than my Honda CRV.Butboth Jaguars are in a heated garage; Honda not!
Jaguar has plumbed the car for very fast warm up............
I live on steep hill so I just take it easy...........'experts' say to move off without long warm up period once rpm drops.
Of course a Metallic Red Coupe always warms up faster!!

Adrian 2007 XK

 

Totally agree guys.
I have seen some insanely wrong advice being dispensed by the automotive experts. Love to know who you think has the right end of the stick.
Their argument is that you should get to full operating temperature by driving as soon as possible- because while cold the extra fuel is stripping the cylinder walls of oil by diluting it. They also unanimously suggest that you should not put load on the engine until it warms up.

My argument is that an engine can take tons of ring and cylinder wall wear- its designed for that, not even an issue for 200,000 miles. What is an issue is head gaskets and various other components and seals very susceptible to rapid expansion and pressure while still cold. Especially all the new plastic crap. Now here is the kicker, with modern speed limits, you are being forced to put some serious loads on the engine right out of your driveway, as its 45mph even on country roads. I.e you are putting it in overdrive before it warms up- i.e. lugging the engine.

It reminds me of the old days when they used to tell us to stop with our engine and not brakes. They realized since that rotors and pads are lot cheaper to replace than a clutch and engine (needless revs- with tons of blowby due to no combustion)

 

Agreed. My 2011 drops to normal idle very quickly... i take it easy for first few miles. I think of more importance is to avoid short trips that don't allow the car to fully warm up.

 

Mine takes around a minute to drop to normal idle if I've left it overnight or for the day, but pretty much immediately if it has only been an hour or so. The XE wouldnt take 20 seconds to drop, and the MiTo (my daughter's learning car but I drive it a bit coz it is fun) doesnt seem to drop at all. But yes, I wait for that before going.

There is a saying "never overrev a cold engine". I think they were talking about wives, but it is also appropriate for cars.

 

Some say champagne is the gentleman's warm up procedure.

 

Q&C,
The experts are essentially right, quickest warm up is from driving, no extended idling, light loads until the engine is at operating temp, then drive normally. If very high loads are expected then wait until the oil is at operating temp, then have at it.
Re brakes, when racing it is advantageous to allways be in the right gear, hence changing down for corners, for normal driving this is not required. Using the engine to slow is another racing thing, saving the brakes for when you really need them, or using engine braking to augment the brakes. Again in normal driving it's not reccomended, unless you are using your brakes constantly to control your speed such as going down long hills or mountains, then by all means use your engine to control your speed. It is still possible to overheat disc brakes by over using them on long downhill sections, brake fade is a very exciting thing to experience and entirely avoidable by using engine braking.
In general I agree with you, most driving is not done in racing style conditions, therefore racing techniques would be inappropriate.
It reminds me of a sign above the door to a pilots lounge "There is no excuse for flying through a thunderstorm during peacetime".
Regards,

 

Start XKR...adjust memory seating, fasten seat belt, back out of garage which is a total of about 30 seconds. Backing out of the garage, closing door, and getting ready to drive forward another 30 seconds. After 1 minute I am rolling. Driving under 25 MPH to get out of the housing area then down a 4-mile stretch @ 45 MPH before hitting highway. XKR runs perfectly. Never any problems.

 

^^^ This is the proper line of thinking, though the art lies is determining the preferred warmup procedure of your partner. Some run rather hot out of the gate, while others require a more structured approach.

 

Start Jag let revs fall to normal, back out of garage, go slowly to street - slight uphill don't get above 2k - 2.5k revs. on street downhill about 1/4 mile let car coast. then one block level don't get above 25mph. Then downhill for 2.5 miles at 45-60 mph mostly with foot off the gas. Now ready for normal driving.

 

Is there also a proper way to put your socks on in the morning. Check for holes, check socks for left and right, position left sock under left foot, slide left sock over left foot, position sock comfortably on foot...repeat with other foot.


Seriously, I always let the engine idle down before drving and slowly drive it for first 10 minutes. However, I've recently read in a technical journal that letting an engine idle at low temperature is not good for the engine because the oil is thicker and the oil is difficult to push up on to the heads until the engine temperature increases. The article says the quicker the oil warms up the less wear on the engine components because the oil is able to circulate quicker to vital parts. The article claims letting an engine idle to warm up is not good for it.

 

I still put my socks on while standing but those days will come to an end.
What oil viscosity did the article talk about and how old was the article. With todays 0 or 5W technology it flows pretty good at low temps. I remember back in the 70's when I had my XK-E we went skiing in northern NY. Got up in the morning to come home and it was 25* below. Motor wouldn't make a sound. Wheels wouldn't turn and could hardly move the shifter. Road had packed snow so a guy in a pickup towed me down the road to get the wheels turning and I got it in 3rd gear and kept letting the clutch out. Finally got the motor turning where it would jump start. Wouldn't do that today but when you were young and needed to get home risk wasn't a problem.

 

See this is what I mean about old fashion thinking by some of these pundits. So much is different nowadays- oil pressure is crazy high, oil is thinner, moreover engine wear is non-existent (due to infinitely better lubrication). When was the last time you heard of someone needing rings, valve guides or anything else lubrication related? in the past, one needed piston sleeves and all.

What no pundit is taking into consideration is how modern plastics react to being stressed while cold. This is the part I want to know about warm up, is it better to let the plastics reach above 40F before putting any torsional forces on them.

The vast majority of crap I have had to replace on all my current cars has been stuff like plastic head gaskets. Love to see a study of effects on gaskets and fittings if one doesnt move till some warm air is circulating inside the engine compartment.

 

Cheers Mate,

Yes its the caveat of load that my real question is about. I feel that hitting top gear (lugging) before the engine has reached operating temp is significant stress. And most will do that with speeds of 45mph right out of the driveway. In the old days they used to say dont get on the highway until the engine is hot, now you are at highway speeds pretty much out the door.

Personally I never let the driving rpm drop below 2000 before engine reaches operating temp. Its not the high revs but the low revs that pose the greatest load to an engine.

We are lucky that Jaguar designed reverse flow into this engine allowing it to warm up faster than others.