Idleing

[jro909]

i have the habit to start my truck when its cold and let it idle down for a bit, is this good or bad or just a waste of gas? i know modern engines don't need a warm up period but i figured it woulden't hurt to let the oil flow around a bit before hitting the highway...am i wrong?

[Stevens03]

Nope your right.. won't hurt a thing. I do the same thing for 5-10 minutes depending on the weather.

[Nytemare]

I always wait for the rpm's to drop below 1000 before driving away. Usually about 2-3 min or there abouts.

[jro909]

on that note do you guys think that hopping in and going from a cold start is harmful? i know alot of guys that hop in at 35ish degree weather and slam it in gear when the rpms are stilling up from the start up along with the dash lights all flashing...to me it seems harmful, with the fluidsbeing thick and the motor probably not having oil where it should be right away

[Nytemare]

35 degree weather...it probably doesn't hurt anything...most oils get to the top of the engine about 1-3sec after cranking around 32 degrees. When its really cold is the time you need to give it a min or two to allow the oil to get around. At -20 or lower, even synthetic oil takes significant time to reach the top end of the engine.

 

All in all its just good ju-ju to allow it to idle down from the start before driving away.

[gregrocks89]

when its -30 to -40 out i let my truck idle an hour before jumping in. the longest i had idled it for a was 8 hours straight. burned about a tank of gas. im really bad in winter for just letting it idle.

[amtz.zero]

I used to let it idle for a while but now I just hop in and go. The weather in So Cal. is never really that bad anyway.

[REV353]

There was some study awhile ago saying all you have to do is wait until your oil psi is up. They figured that by the time you back out of your driveway, drive down a city street, and finally get to the hwy everything is good. For the most part I agree, will and do I do that, heck NO!. If it's -0 I usually leave the auto run for about 10 min, when I first start it the heat control is off or set to cold, letting the motor warm up faster, after about 5min I go back out and turn it to warm

[Toadz]

I agree with waiting for the oil PSI to be at a normal level and the RPM to drop. The experts say to just get in and go because idling wastes fuel but I'd rather wait until it's in closed loop (when the RPM drops) and I know everything is good to go.

[jro909]

just read, besides idleing wasting gas it also puts strain on the motor from too low of oil pressure...wow the lowest my psi will go is 35 pounds and last i knew its 10 pounds were 1000 rpms correct?...anyway i will continue idling i'd rather burn a gallon in the course of a week idiling and knowing the fluids and such were circulated well enough before driving, then dealing with harsh cold shifts and my oil psi riding 60...just my two cents...also i've seen alot of guys vehicles that just hop in and go from a dead cold start up end up with clicky valves and rattleing motors, idk if theres a connection but yea