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Old 11-13-2001, 12:38 AM   #1
blackbok
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Join Date: Nov 2001
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Question How long should I warm up?

2002 2.5. I live in SoCal, so it never gets reeeealllly cold. But sometimes it is cold enough. About how long should it warm before driving on those cold mornings.

Oh, and one other question for this newbie:

When I do my 1st oil change, syn or dino?
-What weight? (SoCal remember)
-What filter?(I know, no Fram)

I've seen so much debate on weight, I can't decide.
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Old 11-13-2001, 09:10 AM   #2
kastle
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First off, for the love of god, do a search.

Most people recommend that you use dino for the first 10k miles, though that has been debated since the start of the board. 10W30 sounds about right for you as well. And many recommend the Puralator filter.

And SEARCH DAMMIT!
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Old 11-13-2001, 01:02 PM   #3
Richard L.
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I usually let the car warm up anywhere between 30 seconds to a minute before gently driving off. I don't rev it up until a couple of minutes after the coolant reaches operating temperature. Just remember that your oil warms up slower than your coolant.

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Old 11-15-2001, 05:00 PM   #4
wrx02blk
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I have always heard that it does more damage to the engine if you sit there and idle a cold car. An idling car will not circulate the oil or water in the engine nearly as well as if you are driving it. Just take it easy until the engine warms up. I have followed this advice for 20 years without any problems and it gets below 0 in Iowa!
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Old 11-15-2001, 11:01 PM   #5
Jon [in CT]
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I also believe that letting a car idle to "warm up" does nothing good and wastes fuel. Start it up and drive away. But don't romp on it until the engine oil is at normal operating temperature. I know, you don't have an oil temp gauge. My unscientific, unsupported-with-evidence rule of thumb (ROT) is that it takes the engine oil 3 times as long as the engine coolant to warm up to normal operating temperature.
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Old 11-16-2001, 09:39 AM   #6
Richard L.
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Wouldn't it take at least a second or two for the oil to circulate throughout the engine? Another word, if you drive off immediately after starting the car, wouldn't you be running dry? Also, if we have aluminum pistons, then it will take a few seconds for the pistons to fully expand and fill up the cylinder bores.

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Old 11-19-2001, 01:35 AM   #7
Mark Avery
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Quote:
Wouldn't it take at least a second or two for the oil to circulate throughout the engine? Another word, if you drive off immediately after starting the car, wouldn't you be running dry?
So, put on your seat belt, put the car in gear, check traffic - voila two to three seconds - then drive off.
Quote:
if we have aluminum pistons, then it will take a few seconds for the pistons to fully expand and fill up the cylinder bores.
Don't the pistons have rings.
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Old 11-19-2001, 12:02 PM   #8
Richard L.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Mark Avery
Don't the pistons have rings.
Yeah, pistons have rings, but what about the piston skirts? Have you ever heard all the rackets aluminum pistons, especially the forged ones, make at startup? Why do they make those horrible noises? OK then.

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Old 11-20-2001, 05:31 AM   #9
ivbdn
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I let it warm up for about 15 seconds. That's about how long it takes me strap in my Schroth 3 point and I gently drive off.
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Old 11-24-2001, 11:44 PM   #10
Elite421
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i was told that you dont really need to let the car warm up before you drive it, and if you must that a 30sec to a min is fine. Don't forget that if you let your car warm up all that is warming up is the engine and not the tranny, so don't push the car right off the bat. As for a oil filter, i use the genuine subaru one.
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Old 11-25-2001, 07:46 AM   #11
Shik
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After driving in a friend's RS with an oil temp guage, I was amazed at how long it actually did take for the oil to get up to operating temp.

However, for those with Subaru's water-to-oil oil coolers, the coolant will actually act as a heater, helping the oil to get up to temp quicker.
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Old 11-25-2001, 10:41 AM   #12
Richard L.
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Shik, did you keep track of the number of minutes it took for the oil to get up to operating temp?

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Old 12-01-2001, 03:23 AM   #13
Shik
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No, sorry Rich, would have been a good idea though

FWIW, I was always under the impression that it was OK to "get on it" once the temp guage reached it's normal operating temp spot. Totally not the case. I remember seeing his temp guage in the operating temp spot but his oil temp guage barely moved yet!!!

Now I usually wait about 5 minutes after the temp guage gets to where it should be.
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Old 12-02-2001, 04:03 AM   #14
Evaider
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In my experience it is okay to drive a few seconds after starting it, i have tried waiting for the car to warm up by itself and if I just let it sit and idle it will take it about 15 - 20 minutes to actually get to normal temp in the mornings. But if I drive it it warms up in about the 3 blocks it takes me to get to the main street in my town. Like others have said too, i wouldnt romp on it for 5 minutes or so until everything gets up to the same temp.
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Old 12-04-2001, 12:53 AM   #15
Ken Levin
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Stay with dino until 10K miles. Then change if you like. (Big debate on this still going on.)

10w/30 should be right for you. 5w/30 for quicker circulation of oil but some recommend keeping the viscosity spread as close as possible.

Good advice about driving slowly first few minutes. No need to sit at idle more than 30 seconds. (My .02)

Happy Motoring and enjoy your new ride.
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