Just a thought that has been dangling in my mind the past few months I keep forgetting to ask you guys..
Like with most cars, in the morning before driving the car, Its recommended to start the engine and let it idle for 3 - 10 min before actually driving..
With BMW, I was told they have "high-compression" engines, and can be drivern straight after start up even on a cold morning..
Which applies to the S-Class W140? S320 to be more exact..
Should I warm up the engine before driving? Or can I start it up and drive it instantly? Which method is best for these engines and pro-longs their life?
Start the car and drive immediately. Do not let idle, that is unnecessary.
That stated, however, do NOT exceed 2,000 on the tach until the engine temperature has come up to normal operating temps. In the W140, that's about 80-degrees celsius. As you warm up, that limit of 2000RPM can go up, but gradually.
When cold, the engine has drained down all the oil, the thermostat hasn't opened up yet for the radiator to cycle through, the oil itself is cold. So best not to stress the motor and tranny until operating temp is reached.
Stryker, that has always been my understanding as well, but my coupe has the delayed shift cold, and the first shift winds the engine to just past 3000 RPM. I can creep along at 2K for a block but it won't shift until I let it rev once.
A brief run beyond 2000RPM isn't the same as operating the car above that engine speed.
What you shouldn't do is start the car and immediately floor the engine getting on the thruway or start the car and pop hole shots when cold.
Got the concept? Let the engine and transmission oils move around, let the thermostat open up to circulate radiator fluid, be gentle when the car is not up to operating temps.
i actually turn on my car for about 5-10minutes and go out of the car and smoke(but its been hard recently sine i stopped smoking now i find something to entertain me while i wait). once i am done the engine is at normal temperature also i heard if you shift through all gears the tranny fluids move around quicker and spread out.
depending on the ambient. in the winter i let it get to 40, partially because i have that annoying invention that prevents upshift until 40deg anyway. i dont like racing up my street at 4000rpm on a cold engine in 1st gear :i
summer time, nah. it's warm by the time i close the garage door.
I find shifting doesnt happen smoothly - the gears dont shift. Normally I let it idle for a minute or two after I start it up - easy enough to do, as my navi takes about that long to full boot up and connect to the satelite... etc etc... takes about a minute to happen.
Also placing the things in my pockets into the centre console takes 30 seconds... so by the time im comfy and everythings in the right place, the car is ready to go.
Im no techy, so whether its good or bad for the car, Im not sure - all I know is that the car is a lot smoother with a few minutes of warm up... My advice is to give it those few minutes to warm up... its bound to reduce wear.
The sooner you start driving the car , the sooner the engine/catalytic converters will warm up and the happier the engine will be.It only takes about 2-5 seconds for the oil systems in the engine and trans to be at their full working pressures.Idling should be avoided.letting the car "warm-up" does not improve it's longevity in any way.Engines are engineered to operate at a range of temperatures.You would be surprised what an engine is capable of.
Agreed, the start-up of any engine is stressful 30 sec to one min is fine or until the idle speed kicks in. Like mentioned before, prolonged idle can create condensation in exhaust, cats etc.
Don, with regards to compression I believe these motors are 11-1
I agree with FuelFrenzy. I have read a few blurbs about transmissions, which "claim" that it is better for longevity, to NOT place the car into Gear (Reverse or Drive) while the engine RPM's are greater than 1,000.
So, I do the same thing... wait the 15 seconds or so, and let the idle drop from 1,300 to 700, prior to engaging the transmission. I then follow the < 2,000 rpm mantra until Normal temps.
The reason MB raises the transmission shift points after startup is so that the engine RPMs are higher and the catalytic convertors heat up quicker to reduce emissions.
Correct! I thought we all read Page 76 or page 78 of the Owner's Manual.
"With selector lever in position "D", "4" or "3", upshifting from 1st to 2nd to 3rd gear is delayed depending on vehicle speed and engine temperature. This allows the catalytic converter to head up more quickly to operating temperatures."
It's interesting that you brought up that scenario Gyrate, because that's part of many manufacturers test procedures. They start the engines from dead cold and run them up to redline for 24-48 hours,then they shut them off and pour cold water into them and then repeat the process for two weeks.They then run them for over 100,000 miles under various other scenarios and then pull them apart to check for wear.If there is any ,that part is redesigned.
Believe me, starting your car and driving away when it's cold is one of the easier things your engine will ever do.
You don't think they do that so the engine wears faster, so they can see which parts wear first? lol Thus, its not a good idea to drive the car hard when it is cold...
It's interesting that you brought up that scenario Gyrate, because that's part of many manufacturers test procedures. They start the engines from dead cold and run them up to redline for 24-48 hours,then they shut them off and pour cold water into them and then repeat the process for two weeks.They then run them for over 100,000 miles under various other scenarios and then pull them apart to check for wear.If there is any ,that part is redesigned.
Believe me, starting your car and driving away when it's cold is one of the easier things your engine will ever do.
+1. oil flows throughout the whole engine in a matter of seconds, and engines warm up much faster when driven then when at idle. it's the transmission that worries me, that's why i wait until rpm's drop to 600 which takes about 30-40 seconds in the morning. by the time i light a cigarete and get the sunglasses out it has been about a minute. even if outside is -20F, the garage is much warmer than that so i never wait longer than 1 minute.
The purpose of extreme testing is to make sure there are no failures in "real life".Since none of us are replacing engines or bearings due to cold drive-away failures, the point is moot anyway.If what you are doing now gives you a warm fuzzy feeling then by all means keep on doing it, just understand there is no technicalreason for it.
As far as the transmission is concerned, engine timing is usually retarded so there are no harsh bangs into gear.
transmission modulates shift pressure (line pressure) and slip duration to compensate for engine rpm. both are causing more wear so you are not getting that bang (which also causes stress)
My former Beast ( M5 ) had warning lights on the instrument cluster, rpm warning lights went off one by one with the engine warm up letting you know when its good to rev up, with a habit I usually follow the same thing, I don't let the car warm up I just let it idle for a couple of seconds till the rpm is back down to normal, drive smooth without high rpm until the engine temperature is at least one tick above from start.
Driving the Car with a cold engine is explained on pages 14 & 90 in the User Manual ,nothing major it just says to wait for the oil pressure to rise .
I let my car idle a little ,open the garage - have a smoke- check the babes out -walk around the car & see if any babes want to join in then go ,by now the temp is just about half way .
Ciao :thumbsup:
I noticed the trans shifts late and whines more when cold, so I just take it easy for the first couple of minutes. After all, normal operating temp is not in the 32F to 90F range (or, 0C to 32C, the normal high air temp for a winter and summer day around here, respectively). Will it run at an engine and trans temp of 0C if the air temp is 0C? Of course...it starts out like that, doesn't it? But there's just so much heat generated by the fuel explosions, it can't stay that cold.
funny thing is that the radiator actually warms up the transmission (and then tries to keep it at 80c). generally transmissions dont like heat, dont care too much about shifting cold, unless severely worn
i am with the waiting group,
start my car put in all the things @ the right place & wait for the rpm to dip,
this is my practice in all the cars & has made alot of difference in my engine,you will know the difference if you have the car from 00 kms,
even my r1 i let it idle for a while & you can see a big drop in the rpm on the superbikes
:thumbsup:
Hey Guys
I have this shaking problem when its cold or after not running for a little.
so I start the car and the engine start shaking and vibrates the whole car and it feels like it misfires so i turn in off and start again but sometimes have to do that couple of times and sometimes start the car and it woks perfect.
So I start the car and it shakes I wait a minute or two then drive otherwise I start driving it feels like the car misfire for couple of minutes and check engine light goes on and then you drive like 40 miles and check engine light turns off only does that when i start driving right away.
I heard it could be the fuel pressure regulator or MAF sensor.
Anybody got any ideas?
ISS if you reading this what did it showed last time we scaned the codes?
something Cylinder #6 misfire?
So anybody got an Idea wat that could be?
I also noticied that the engine bushing is going out but i dont think that it would cause the car to misfire.
so I found this 35dollar ones and would like your guys opinion wich one should i get.
Actually the transmission heats up much more quickly than the engine due to the shearing forces inside the torque converter as the fluid is used as the viscous coupling.The higher the stall speed the more quickly the fluid will heat up, which is why race cars run large stand alone transmission coolers.
Seems good discussions. I too still need to know, whether I need to warm up my car ( B 200 turbo) before driving, especially during these days when the outside temps dropped to -10 c or more.
If so, how long should I keep it warm before I start driving?
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