Scott in H-town

How long do you drive it before you really get on it?

The temp guage is a coolant temp, which doesn't necessarily mean the oil is warm too, so what do you guys do?

Or do you not worry about it at all?

J 2OOI

I am by no means an expert on this topic but I can tell you what I do. I typically wait for the coolant temperature to rise. I know where the gauge is when it is up to full operating temperature, so I usually wait for the gauge to be within 3 bars of that temperature or so. I usually baby it for the first few minutes, then maybe give it a gas a few times up to 3500rpm or so, then once its up to within 3 bars of normal operating temperature i get on it more and so on. If the coolant temperature is up to that level, I would think the oil would be warm as well. thats what I do.

cte430

Good question - instead of putting appropriate gauges in MB's "sport oriented" cars you get a nice big clock in the cluster

vader

Need to get some heat into aluminum and forged pistons before you beat on it...1/2 way up the scale is probably a good idea but I personally wait until it gets to normal...which is probably longer than I need to.

newton22

Just to be safe, always wait til normal operating temperature for the coolant. That's about 90C for me.

Cosmic Benz

I don't have any technical knowledge on this topic, but on the Z06 forum members watched oil temp, not coolant temp.

The suggestion was to wait until you hit @145 F before really getting into it.

The E63's oil symbol blinks until the temp reaches 82, which is the temp the owner's manual says to attain before you drive spiritedly (don't know if this is F or C degrees). I wait until it reaches 100.

zoink

My house is pretty far from highway... ~3-6 miles.... so before entering the highway, I take it easy.... I'm not an expert in this too... but I'd guess 3-6 miles of a little stop and go traffic should be sufficient.

Cosm

what can go wrong from just getting on it right when you start it up ?


Also how long do you wait after you drive hard to shut the car off ?

newton22

Well, essentially the point is let the oil warm up to an optimal temperature where the oil would provide maximum lubrication. In the short run, nothing will probably happen, but down the road, you may experience compression issues, burning of oil etc. Getting on any engine cold will cut engine life by a lot.

zoink

I would worry about the transmission and differential the most. If they are not lubed properly, I think it'll shorten their lives considerably. By how much? I am not so sure...

I usually take it easy the last 3-6 miles before shutting it off.

I may be too paranoid given my little knowledge.... but I don't think it'll hurt.

vader

Internal parts need to expand and find their "home" at operating temperature. I just shut mine off when I'm done with it !.

Cosm

Just wondering because at the track usually the car would cool down after getting to the track then a spirited run to 120mph then back in line and shut down . Then repeat as many times as you get to go around... Is this bad ?

Cosmic Benz

Most of the damage I have seen to pistons, cylinder walls and bearings have been related to over using the engine before it is thoroughly heated.

Cosm

so it is bad when we take our cars to the track to cool down and then start up and run hard then shut down again ?

joemoney415

The 63's have an oil temp gauge in the amg instrument cluster option. Ive noticed that driving my car it takes about 6-8 minutes for the oil temp to get up above 80 C which is supposedly the minimum before you should drive it hard. The coolant temp is up to par in about 5, so if you dont have the oil gauge in your car I would just wait about 1 minute or so after your coolant temp is reading all warmed up.

Cosmic Benz

Without an oil temp gauge, you are just guessing. I think it would depend on how long you have to wait for the next run.

The answer to your question is not esoteric; if the oil temp goes below a certain point and you crank it up and do a burn out--your going to reduce the longevity of the engine and other components.

I'm not sure why you would have to let the engine cool down after a 1/4 mile run. It would probably cool down as well by idling the engine.

I'm sure someone would dispute that strategy by citing improved performance with a cooler engine. Seems like a big price to pay to play.

BenzoBoi

I let it warm up for a minute and by the time I drive normally to the freeway ( 1/2 mile ) my car is nice and "toasty" per say...

02S430

mines about 80-85 i usually wait till 75c

Jrocket

I let all the fluid temps get up to operating levels.I dont get on it too much though,actually drive like an old lady more than anything.Like to just cruise my cars unless provoked of course.

allied107

I usally start my car and let it warm up for awhile till the temp. comes up to normal before it even moves I am usally pretty **** about that.

Cosmic Benz

You might want to do a bit of research on the effects of idling to warm up an engine. It dilutes the oil with acids and moisture and unburned gas can wash down the cylinder creating excess friction. It is not recommended.

The tactic most often recommended is to let the engine idle for 15-30 seconds, then drive the car slowly until normal operating temperature. There many more reasons for using this strategy, but if you try Googling the topic you will see the rationales.

FORCE-FED!

for every car I've ever owned I've always waited till the car reached full operating temperatures......start the car, let it idle for 2-3 minutes, and then drive until the car reaches temp....once the engines up to temp, then let her rip.......I never let the car idle to full temp, that's bad since oil pressure isn't the best at getting to everything at idle......cheap insurance for such expensive engines.......

just my 2 cents

xlr8tin

All I do is start it up and let it warm up for 15-20 minutes. It's plenty of time for mine. But this is also for New England temps

Scott in H-town

Yikes, I'm already well into my office by then.

Cosmic Benz

"The EPA agrees, and states that longer idling actually causes engine damage. The owner’s manual in my Audi warns, “To avoid unnecessary engine wear and to reduce exhaust emissions do not let your vehicle stand and warm up. Be ready to drive off immediately after starting your vehicle.”"

"Generally any piston powered car can be safely driven once full oil pressure and circulation has been achieved, such as within 10 seconds or so. The idea is to drive reasonably gently until its warmed up to avoid excessive thermal expansion of the pistons, (which can lead to scored cylinder walls. )

Extensive warm-ups are a hold-over from the carburetor days where cars would run poorly for at least the first 30 seconds (often longer), until the exhaust-heat for the intake manifold would warm sufficiently to help heep the fuel droplets in suspension in the intake manifold.

Also, rotary engines, especially the older ones benefit from a warm up before you drive off.

Excess engine idling is apparently a bit hard on some engine camshafts, but not all. My understanding is that it's lubrication-related but I am not sure on the actual details."

"Cam-in-block engines like older American cars have rely entirely on oil slung from the crankshaft to lubricate the cam lobes. They get almost none at idle.

Its true that a warm engine is "settled in" to its final expansion, but idling won't get it hot. The water may eventually get hot, but the oil won't. The best way seems to be if you start up, wait for the oil pressure to settle in (10 seconds or so) and then drive gently until full temperature is reached. If you just start driving hard while its cold, it will get some parts like heads and pistons really hot really fast, while the oil, bearings, crankshaft, etc stays cool for a while."

"The longer it takes the car to warm up above the vapor point for the combustion byproducts, the larger the amount of particulate formation and growth. This leads
to sludge, varnish and particulates in your oil. In addition to the wear these types of particles cause, you also end up needing to change your engine oil more frequently because these get you to your oil's particulate threshold faster. The same principle leads to the increased acids in the engine oil, except that when acids are not boiled off promptly
(because you idled your car to warm rather than driving it moderately to warm it quicker) you get corrosion of the engine metals. In addition to long idles to warm up, you can get the same deleterious effects by taking lots of short trips. Since it takes time above the byproduct boiling point to boil off all the byproducts short trips, say under 8-15 miles, especially in stop and go driving leave a lot of gunk behind."

Not to mention when you are idling your care you are getting 0 MPG.

Also it takes longer for your catalytic converter to warm up when you are idling as opposed to gently driving. So you are polluting more.

Modern cars and oils just don't require a car to be idled at startup. Even though the car has been sitting and the oil has drained back into the pan (or pain as you called it in your post) there is still a thin layer of oil on the pistons and piston walls."