I've been reading the threads on here about warming up the car.. And I am getting confused..

Are we reading the engine temperature gauge or oil temperature gauge before we start boosting? I know that not to move until the needle starts to move, but I play it safe and wont move until the needle is near the normal temp.

Which gauge are we going by? And whats would be the optimal temp before boosting on that certain gauge? Or both?

Thanks!

 

You don't have to be all mathematically accurate with this. From a cold start, just let the car idle for 30-45 seconds (though some people choose to wait a little longer for the temperature gauge starts to slowly move), then drive conservatively until the needle is where it usually is.

 

let the car warm up 30 sec before leaving. take it easy untill oil temp reaches 180 degrees

 

ya i always just start it adn let it run for a little bit and then leave. im usually late leaving to work though so its usually less than a minute.

 

So in order to be okay to start boosting.. Let the engine temperature be at normal? So we dont really need to look at the oil temperature gauge when deciding when to boost?

 

Well it depends on what you mean by "boost." Once you start moving and the car starts warming up on its own and the needle is already in motion, it's not a big deal to give the car a little bit of gas if you need to get moving. But if you want to boost and kick some ***, then you might want to wait until you've been driving around for at least a few minutes.

 

Well when I say boost I mean to push her a little bit. I cant really mash the pedal because I'm still breaking her in, but you know when boost is getting up because that feeling of getting pushed back in your seat, I LOVE THAT FEELING! =]

But yeah, thats my meaning of boost, for clarification.

 

wait untill the oil temp is 180 degrees before going wot

 

I'm thinking your talking about degrees fahrenheit.. Because my gauge is in celsius and it only goes up to 150 degrees. But the thing is, I would drive my car for about twenty minutes, and it still wouldnt reach 85 degrees celsius (a little over 180 degrees). Do I have to wait longer than that to WOT? I dont even WOT at all, I'm only pushing the gas pedal half way down at most (rarely even that far down), never WOT.

 

I do not boost until I see movement in the oil temp gauge. The coolant is usually fully warmed by this time anyways. Until the motor is at operating temp (coolant in the middle, and movement from the oil gauge) avoid full boost. 5 psi won't hurt you but try to let everything get warmed up and expanded before you start wailing on it.

 

With AMSoil 0W-30, operating temp is about 60 degrees C. In stop and go traffic on the hottest of days I never see past 80-85 C. Once the oil temp gauge leaves its peg you are pretty much safe.

 

Okay, thanks for the clear answer JordanS4.. I may have done it a few times, but not over 5 times. (I cant remember if the oil temp needle moved yet, but I will just say it didnt so then I can figure the worst) How much damage have I done? (The engine temp gauge was at normal temperature though)

Also, if I let the car idle for 2 minutes before I shut it off (turbo cooling), shut it off, get gas, and start up, I dont think that any of the fluids had sufficient time to cool down drastically.. Can I then boost right away?

Lastly, my friend asked me if he could rev her in place. I said yes, but since I was still breaking her in, not to go above 5k. Does boost build even in neutral, with quick revs? Because the engine temp gauge wasnt all the way up yet, it was in between "C" and the normal temp. (Which is slightly below half I believe) Did he do damage as well?

Sorry for being SO VERY ****.. It's just my first really nice car and I want to keep her in good condition for as long as I can.. Basically forever

 

You probably didn't do any damage worth thinking about.
Unless you were beating on the car, you don't really need to let your car cool off for that long, especially since usually while pulling into wherever you're going (gas station), the car is already slowing down and not being stressed. But yes, you could boost right away, it's not like everything cools off to a cold start state when shutting it off.
Boost builds regardless. What your friend did wasn't great for the car, but I wouldn't worry about it if it just happened once if he just revved it up. But if he held the rpms really high rather than just blipping the throttle a couple times to hear the engine, then that's not too smart. Worst case scenario, your engine might eat a little extra oil throughout its lifespan, but nothing drastic.

But to me, it sounds like even though you know the break-in procedure, you're too impatient to just stick to the rules and you're trying to find out how far you can push your car and get away with it.

 

 

Yeah my friend was blipping, he revved it once really quick to 3k.. Once it came back to idle, I think he held it at 2.5k for a fraction of a second and then blipped it up 4.5k.. A total of two revs.. I'm just worried about the second rev he did..

As for the just pushing my car.. I only rev to 4.5k max.. ONCE to 5k.. But never any higher, just trying to vary the RPM. But I am a conservative driver, I'm actually kind of nervous to pass the break in, because this car is SO fast. A supercharged 1994 Previa to a 2006 EVO IX MR is a big difference. This break in point alone has shown me that my car can only go way faster. Pretty nerve wrecking for a guy who had to beg his van to hit 70 MPH quicker than 1 min and 30 seconds. Even worse if than had the AC on LOL