Warming up your T4R?
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TranceKrayz
New member
i rememebr reading in the manual that you schould warm it up for a few minutes after leaving it overnight, especialyl if it's cold out. i usually warm mine up every morning until the temp. guage is a little above "C". then during the day, warming up is unecessary unless you leave it for a long time and it's cold out.
boston_kevin
New member
different thoughts on the subject
There is a lot of debate about warming or not warming up cars in cold weather, and how long they should sit while idling...
The Pro side:
Warming up your car provides oil to the top side of the engine prior to having a load on the engine itself. Although it does little (if anything) for the tranny and running gears, the internals of the engine are properly oiled and ready to go, and it makes for less chance of operator error while trying to de-fog the windshield with the shop rag you found in the back seat.
The Con side:
Warming up your car is bad for the environment, unnecessarily adding pollutants to the air. Also, leaving you car idling for any amount of time without sufficient air flow throught the radiator can make the radiator more prone to leaks and overheating. It isn't necessary due to the quality of oils we have in the market.
Most racing shops run their engines for a couple of minutes prior to getting out on the track for some serious stress, but never for more than 3-4 minutes. Dyno garages run the engine for 5 minute max test runs with only a brief 15-30 second warm up period...
So what does all this mean? I wouldn't let you car sit idling for 15 minutes while you finish that second cup of coffee. However, 5 minute warm up in cold weather will help get the engine ready to roll and might make that heater come on a couple of minutes earlier down the road.
There is a lot of debate about warming or not warming up cars in cold weather, and how long they should sit while idling...
The Pro side:
Warming up your car provides oil to the top side of the engine prior to having a load on the engine itself. Although it does little (if anything) for the tranny and running gears, the internals of the engine are properly oiled and ready to go, and it makes for less chance of operator error while trying to de-fog the windshield with the shop rag you found in the back seat.
The Con side:
Warming up your car is bad for the environment, unnecessarily adding pollutants to the air. Also, leaving you car idling for any amount of time without sufficient air flow throught the radiator can make the radiator more prone to leaks and overheating. It isn't necessary due to the quality of oils we have in the market.
Most racing shops run their engines for a couple of minutes prior to getting out on the track for some serious stress, but never for more than 3-4 minutes. Dyno garages run the engine for 5 minute max test runs with only a brief 15-30 second warm up period...
So what does all this mean? I wouldn't let you car sit idling for 15 minutes while you finish that second cup of coffee. However, 5 minute warm up in cold weather will help get the engine ready to roll and might make that heater come on a couple of minutes earlier down the road.
NoDak
Senior Member
YMMV.
5 mins up in the northern tier will barely break 0F in the dead of winter.
depending on how cold ambient it is (and no block heater):
-40F or colder 15-20 mins
-20F to -35F about 10-15 mins
0 to -20F about 5-10 mins
times are cut in 1/2 if you run a block heater during the nite or at work.
now im only applying inside cabin temp. i cant drive in a vehicle where its just as cold inside the cabin as it is outside.
also i did notice the v8 seems to warm up alot slower than the 3rd gen v6, and the rear blower heater helped somewhat. the new 4th gen saves money by removing the rear blower.
5 mins up in the northern tier will barely break 0F in the dead of winter.
depending on how cold ambient it is (and no block heater):
-40F or colder 15-20 mins
-20F to -35F about 10-15 mins
0 to -20F about 5-10 mins
times are cut in 1/2 if you run a block heater during the nite or at work.
now im only applying inside cabin temp. i cant drive in a vehicle where its just as cold inside the cabin as it is outside.
also i did notice the v8 seems to warm up alot slower than the 3rd gen v6, and the rear blower heater helped somewhat. the new 4th gen saves money by removing the rear blower.
Usually I just start it up, back out of the garage and give it a minute or 2 to warm up and then drive at a moderate speed no more then 30mph which is the speed limit and I keep it at 2000rpms, I keep it their cause on past new cars I have owned it always said to go no higher then 2000rpms while warming up, thats from the Nissans I have owned.
I've gotten on highways and kept it at 2000rpms, just did it in low traffic and stuck to the right but usually worked my speed up to 45-55mph pretty fast and it warms up no problem.
Depending on the weather, especially this past winter where we hit negative numbers I let it idle for 10 minutes before I would leave cause I had to get on the highway a mile or 2 down the road and the freezing weather really makes the thing slugish.
From experience of owning several vehicles I would suggest letting it warm up if you plan on keeping it for more then a year
I had cars that I put the pedal to the floor after start up and got on the highway and the temp gauge did not even move and I was doing 85
those cars needed some work after 3 years and I probably beat more then a little life out of them
:
Also the car or truck will sound much better a few years down the road, just listen to other cars, cars that are only tops 5 years old and they make all these weird noises, I want my car to sound as good as the day I got it
I've gotten on highways and kept it at 2000rpms, just did it in low traffic and stuck to the right but usually worked my speed up to 45-55mph pretty fast and it warms up no problem.
Depending on the weather, especially this past winter where we hit negative numbers I let it idle for 10 minutes before I would leave cause I had to get on the highway a mile or 2 down the road and the freezing weather really makes the thing slugish.
From experience of owning several vehicles I would suggest letting it warm up if you plan on keeping it for more then a year
I had cars that I put the pedal to the floor after start up and got on the highway and the temp gauge did not even move and I was doing 85
those cars needed some work after 3 years and I probably beat more then a little life out of them: Also the car or truck will sound much better a few years down the road, just listen to other cars, cars that are only tops 5 years old and they make all these weird noises, I want my car to sound as good as the day I got it
FirstToyz said:Still after reading this, I'll wait ... 20-40 seconds
My brother was telling me, cause he is now In Atlanta Georgia for school that many of the cars we referred to as POS are pretty nice cars down their, guess cars being in climates that don't see negative temps and months of freezing weather age better
my04runner
New member
For those 4Runner owners living in the nothern section of the US. Are remote starters pretty much a manditory mod? I could not imagine trying to set there in a cold truck waiting for the truck to warm up. I had one coworker get her car stolen while her car warmed up and she went in the house to get something.
NoDak
Senior Member
remote starters are nice, but decent one's run in the $300-400 range. personally i just have a 2nd door lock key made and lock the vehicle while its running. if your gonna leave your vehicle running with the doors unlock, your just asking for someone to take it. in small towns or rural towns you could probably get away with this, but any decent size city i wouldnt leave them unlocked.
Iowa4Runner
New member
Re: different thoughts on the subject
More prone to leaks? How?
If your car overheats from idling, then you've either got a problem under the hood or you're driving a domestic brand. :sobbing:
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of long warmups. 30 seconds is usually plenty long enough regardless of oil quality. If it's super cold or you have too heavy an oil in the cranckcase then it may take a while for it to circulate and you'd want to wait a bit longer before driving.
boston_kevin said:
More prone to leaks? How?
If your car overheats from idling, then you've either got a problem under the hood or you're driving a domestic brand. :sobbing:
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of long warmups. 30 seconds is usually plenty long enough regardless of oil quality. If it's super cold or you have too heavy an oil in the cranckcase then it may take a while for it to circulate and you'd want to wait a bit longer before driving.
boston_kevin
New member
idling problems
Unless you have a cooling system designed for long periods of ilding (such as police cruisers, buses, contruction vehicles, limos, etc), the radiators may not get sufficient air flow (even with the fan running). Every manufacturer warns against letting a vehicle idle for long periods due to this problem. When enough heat builds up under the hood of the vehicle, the top welds of the radiator (around the neck and top seal) are more prone to leakage over the long term. Ask any radiator shop, they can show you the effects. The fan only pulls air through the core, not over the entire radiator.
That being said, it looks like most people never leave the vehicle idling for more than 5-10 minutes anyway, so this should never be a problem. If there is a breeze, you should still get the air flow under the hood.
Unless you have a cooling system designed for long periods of ilding (such as police cruisers, buses, contruction vehicles, limos, etc), the radiators may not get sufficient air flow (even with the fan running). Every manufacturer warns against letting a vehicle idle for long periods due to this problem. When enough heat builds up under the hood of the vehicle, the top welds of the radiator (around the neck and top seal) are more prone to leakage over the long term. Ask any radiator shop, they can show you the effects. The fan only pulls air through the core, not over the entire radiator.
That being said, it looks like most people never leave the vehicle idling for more than 5-10 minutes anyway, so this should never be a problem. If there is a breeze, you should still get the air flow under the hood.
o9stealth5
New member
I agree. The manual says something about just 10-12 seconds or so--unless it's really cold out, then leave it for a few minutes. But I think the radiator temperature isn't as important as the oil pressure. If we had oil gauges on our 4nrs, then we'd see that it takes a while for the pressure to build up when you start the engine.
Iowa4Runner
New member
Re: idling problems
The manual for my 2000 Subaru Impreza RS doesn
boston_kevin said:
The manual for my 2000 Subaru Impreza RS doesn
Re: idling problems
Noone makes a system like you describe Town Cars, Cabs, Crown Vics and Ford Trucks are coming out of the factory no different then the cars the general public buy, maybe public transportation buses are made differently but I would doubt not all of them
boston_kevin said:
Noone makes a system like you describe Town Cars, Cabs, Crown Vics and Ford Trucks are coming out of the factory no different then the cars the general public buy, maybe public transportation buses are made differently but I would doubt not all of them
boston_kevin
New member
Extended Idling problems
Correction... They used to have problems with Radiator top welds. Manufacturers have since stopped making radiators this way (sorry - last new car was a '91). All radiators now qualify as a heavy-duty cooling system (having thicker cores). The new heavy-duty cooling includes an oil and tranny cooler for commercial applications. And yes, they did make them this way, I'll scan the page from my Honda manual about extended idling. This was done to cut down weight on the vehicle.
Now it appears that there is no significant damage you can do from excessive idling except make that hole in the ozone a little bigger...
Any mechanic out there will tell you if you start to overheat in traffic, to pull over, let the engine idle WITH THE HEAT ON FULL BLAST inside the car to pull heat off the heater core and cooling system. Letting the engine idle just reduces the load on the engine and will not cool off the engine very quickly. I can't tell you how many RV's I have seen bursting into flames through the Mojave desert region pulling over to cool off the engine but the owners kept the A/C on full blast (never reduced the load on the engine). RV's burn pretty colors!!
Correction... They used to have problems with Radiator top welds. Manufacturers have since stopped making radiators this way (sorry - last new car was a '91). All radiators now qualify as a heavy-duty cooling system (having thicker cores). The new heavy-duty cooling includes an oil and tranny cooler for commercial applications. And yes, they did make them this way, I'll scan the page from my Honda manual about extended idling. This was done to cut down weight on the vehicle.
Now it appears that there is no significant damage you can do from excessive idling except make that hole in the ozone a little bigger...
Any mechanic out there will tell you if you start to overheat in traffic, to pull over, let the engine idle WITH THE HEAT ON FULL BLAST inside the car to pull heat off the heater core and cooling system. Letting the engine idle just reduces the load on the engine and will not cool off the engine very quickly. I can't tell you how many RV's I have seen bursting into flames through the Mojave desert region pulling over to cool off the engine but the owners kept the A/C on full blast (never reduced the load on the engine). RV's burn pretty colors!!
