Proper engine warm-up
 

I'm curious to see how other Boxster owners start their cars up when the engine is stone cold.

My routine consists of

Start and let idle for 1 min (not applying any gas pedal)

Take off and never let the engine go above 2500 RPM until 180deg is reached
(I have a tip, so it requires constant upshifting)

After 180deg is reached, give it hell :)

On shut down it is:

Let engine reach normal temps first.

Prior to shutting off engine, let it idle for 1 min .
(this lets a slobbery coat of oil coat all the parts at low rpm)

With all the well known int shaft issues, maybe RMS and cylinder sleves I just wonder if this is a result of improper warmup???

I grew up on a ranch and my grandfather would kick butt if I treated any ranch equipment other than the above.

Regards

I have a similar ritual but not quite. I let the car sit until the idle settles to 750 rpm(though Porsche states to just go). I don't exceed 3,500 rpm until up to temp(porsche says you can take it to 4,200 when cold). I just shut it down and let it sit once done.

Well...... I guess your approach wouldn't hurt, but not sure it is neceesary. With today's engine and oil, let the engine idle for one minute is plenty. As for shutting down, I don't have any procedure other putting it in the first gear. :)

I am in San Jose and the weather is like Fresno.

I start it up and since I live about 3 minutes from the freeway I am up to a "tad" beyond the speed limit and in the rev limiter. Then I shut it off when I arrive.

Been doing this for almost 7 years. Car has almost 60k miles. No engine or RMS issues.

Guess I will not be going to Porsche heaven.

My car idles a good 10minutes every morning before i take off.....Never really done anything special on shut down except turn it off...

I could have sworn the manual for my new 987 says to start the car and drive immediately without letting it sit and idle.

I just start mine up and go. I dont go over like 4k rpms until warm. My car rarely sees over 5k anyway.

Yes it does say that and being a Porsche I thought the intstructions would be a little more detailed. EVery other car on the market has those same instructions!! yet I don't know anyone who would ever do that in freezing temps.
Cold engine starts are a cause of engine wear no debating that.
When its real cold I try to let it sit until the temp is up to at least 180 which might take at least five minutes when outside temps drop below 32.

I think they tell you to drive off because if every car manufacturer told owners to let it warm up for three minutes there would propbably be an enviromental law suit. Just think about the amount of oil is consumed everyday in this country from owners just starting up their cars, sitting in traffic, sitting at red lights, drive-thru fast food eateries....

I think mfg's say start the car and drive immediately because they know most people garage their cars and the mfg's don't want the liability of carbon monoxide poisoning.

It was explained to me, for all internal combustion engines, the pistons are actually oval shapped at start up, they do not actually become circular until operating temps are reached.

This being the case, you have more wear concentrated along the wrist pin sides and more "blow by" contaiminating the oil.

As they say "Starting your car is a terrible thing to do" :)

Start your car, put on your seat belt, lock doors, turn on radio,

Drive away slowly and don't hammer the car till engine is at operating temp.

Turn off car.

That's all she wrote!

:cheers:

The manual says not to allow it to sit idling. It is actually dangerous to let the car sit and idle. The problem is the O2 sensors do not do anything until they are warm, ie. no adjustments at all. When the car idles cold, it has a tendancy to not burn off all of the fuel in the chamber. Since the O2 sensors are not adjusting the mixture to keep from having extra fuel, the unburned fuel rolls down the exhaust to the cats. Voila...CAT FIRE :eek:

The chances of cat fire increase the longer you let it idle since more excess fuel collects down the exhaust. If you start driving, the excess fuel is burned off because the engine is running faster. If you have to warm it up before driving, sit in it and keep the rpm up at about 2000-2500 so it burns fuel more efficiently and has no runoff into the exhaust.

Personally, I start it and go. I try to stay under 3K rpm until it reaches operating temp, then stomp it. The reason for warm up is to get the oil to operating temp so it will flow freely through the entire engine. Keeping it at lower rpms until reaching operating temp accomplishes this without the risk of a cat fire.

i would like to start and then get the seat belt on, but that loud seat belt beeping drives me batty. so i seat belt, start, and go, keeping it below 3000 until the engine reaches 175.

i leave mine in neutral when shut off -- should i be leaving it in first? does it matter?

Can someone educate me, please? ;)

Boxster used 0W oil which is extreme thin oil. Cold weather really has very little effect on the circulation of the oil. Cold weather is hard on battery and ignition. But once the engine started. There is no issue. Prolonged idling only adds more pullution and more carbon deposit on the injection system including valves. My 2 cents.

I don't let it sit and idle in the morning, I do drive off after about 1 min. Its just I keep the RPM below 2500 until 185deg is reached, driving it with a slight load on the engine.

Hell, I'm just an IT guy, I my be talking out of my A@@ here. :)

Great point with the deposits. :cheers:

There are two advantages to leaving it in gear. One is on a hill or if parked on the side of the road and hit, leaving it in gear gives you an added hold against rolling. The other is when you put the car in gear after starting it wears on the gear a miniscule amount more than when the tranny is warm. That being said, it's such a little difference you aren't really doing any harm to the tranny so it really does not matter. I'd just keep it in gear if you're on a hill or parked on a street.

I heard that Porsche recommends "start and go" simply due to the amount of extra pollution that warming it up for a few minutes in idle produces. They're very conscious about pollution, you know. The black forest must have got its name from all the cars blowing through there year after year :)

Personally, I start, take off immediately, but keep the rpms under 4k until it's at normal operating temperature... then I nail it and enjoy myself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhduxbury i leave mine in neutral when shut off -- should i be leaving it in first? does it matter?

It depends. IF you have auto, there is no need, since there is no way it will pop out from "PARK". IF manual, I always put in gear to ensure it is 100% safe, and I don't use parking brake either. Parking brake is not reliable, since it runs via cable. Overtime it stretchs and becomes ineffective. It also depends on how hard you pull the handle and how steep the grade on the street. In other words, there are too many variable to worry about. Therefore, put in gear is prefered because once you are in gear, you will be sure it will not go anywhere. Many others also apply hand brake al, but I don't unless I am in very extreme situation, such as offroading at very steep grade.

i should have been more clear -- i have manual and only leave it in neutral where it's totally flat (like my garage). i was wondering more about transmission issues related to that practice. also, i have to back out of my garage so, there, my first move would be to shift into reverse (i suppose it could be left in reverse). anyways, thanks for the insights!

Hey bhduxbury,

It is perfectly fine just use hand brake on level ground (i.e. garage). Since there is no ill-effect leaving in gear when the engine is off, it is a good practice.

Over the years I have read so many horror stories about running away cars, because the drivers forget to apply adequate hand brake. This often happens when the driver is preoccupied. Therefore I always encourage others to use gear when engine is not running. I also tell others that when start the engine, always depresses the clutch pedal even if it is not needed. I guess good habits always come in handy.

Cheers :cheers:

Hey bhduxbury,

It is perfectly fine just use hand brake on level ground (i.e. garage). Since there is no ill-effect leaving in gear when the engine is off, it is a good practice.

Over the years I have read so many horror stories about running away cars, because the drivers forget to apply adequate hand brake. This often happens when the driver is preoccupied. Therefore I always encourage others to use gear when engine is not running. I also tell others that when start the engine, always depresses the clutch pedal even if it is not needed. I guess good habits always come in handy.

Cheers :cheers:

Hi,

To be sure, there are advantages to leaving a Manual Car in Gear when Parked... but there are also some disadvantages.

If you park the Car for an extended period, the Clutch/Gearshift Mechanism can sieze. It's usually a lot more work to disengage a stuck Clutch/ Linkage than it is to engage it if it siezes.

Add to this, if parked on the street and left in gear, should someone hit you, even slightly, it can damage the Clutch and/or Linkage even though it may not effect the bodywork too much, especially with Urethane Bumpers.

I am not advocating using either method, because Handbrakes are also notorious for failing, not because cables stretch as had been suggested by some others, but because if the Brakes are HOT (and therefore expanded) when you apply them, as they COOL off, they contract, loosening their grip on the Discs, and can then slip.

For me, parking on the Street, I put the Car in Neutral, set the Handbrake, and turn the Front Wheel into the curb if on level ground or facing downhill. If facing uphill, I turn the Wheels away from the curb. This way, the Drivetrain is protected and the odds of the Car running up the curb are minimal. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNBoxster If you park the Car for an extended period, the Clutch/Gearshift Mechanism can sieze. It's usually a lot more work to disengage a stuck Clutch/ Linkage than it is to engage it if it siezes.

Hmmm.... I am not sure if you have rebuilt a clutch or manual gear box before. The above does not makes much sense. …..and no punch intended. Sorry.

The clutch (clutch plate) is always engaged either you are in neutral or in gears. The only time the clutch is disengaged is when you depress the clutch pedal. Therefore, this is no chance to increase the seizes that you are talking about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNBoxster Add to this, if parked on the street and left in gear, should someone hit you, even slightly, it can damage the Clutch and/or Linkage even though it may not effect the bodywork too much, especially with Urethane Bumpers.

Have you seen any damage directly resulted from this practice? I would like to know.

Clutch and gearbox are probably the strongest components in a vehicle. They have to be because they have to handle the torque generated by the engine. If another vehicle hits your car hard, the traction of your tires will break before it will damage your tranny. If it indeed damages your tranny, I guess you have more things to worry about than tranny. I hope this will clear up somewhat.

Cheers.

"With all the well known int shaft issues, maybe RMS and cylinder sleves I just wonder if this is a result of improper warmup"

No, these are design issues well known by Porsche.

:cheers:

it seems that all the post cover the issue, switch on and drive away slowly until warm, by the way this applies to every vehicles.
on switching off i would recommend to leave the car idling a little especially after tracking or hard driving, i had a flood coming from the engine once while tracking because i switch the car off immediatelly, apparently there is an overflow for the coolant and with the pressure it just open and run out, any ideas on this subject?

I think Jim is talking about the fact that if the car sits for a long period of time (say a couple of weeks or months) it's possible for the gears to fuse if any type of corrosion occurs inside the gear box. The fact that the pressure plate is pushing the gears together in the same spot for a long period of time combined with condensation would give it that chance. I never think about this because I live where we can drive it all year long every day so that's not a problem, but I can see how it could happen if you store it or only drive it occasionally.

Tracking's a different issue. The engine gets so hot you should let it cool down some by idling so all of the fans are still running until the engine gets back down to normal temp. Same thing if you're in the upper end of the temp scale when driving. If the engine is really hot and you just shut down, all of the heat builds up and has nothing pushing it out so you can cause blown hoses, cracked coolant reservoir, etc.

Uh...

OK... Let's see...I have totally rebuilt and restored numerous of my own Cars - 1963 Jaguar E-Type (Engine and Tranny), 1959 Triumph TR3 (Engine and Tranny), 1962 Volkswagen Beetle, 1966 Mustang Fastback Hi-Per (Engine and Tranny), 1969 Lotus Elan SE Twin Cam (Engine and Tranny), 1970 Lotus Europa Twin Cam Special (Engine and Tranny), 1985 Lotus Turbo Esprit (Engine and Tranny). And these are just my personal Cars. I did all the work except the requisite Machining. And 2 of these Cars went on to become National Concours d' Elegance Winners and have all seen Track Time.

In addition to this, I maintain and run my own Formula Vee Car in SCCA Club Events and have helped Friends rebuild 6 more Lotus Esprits, a 1968 Lotus Elan+2, a '69 Corvette 454, a '70 Buick Gran Sport Stage 1 455, and have built both a Birkin Seven and a Caterham Seven.

4 years ago, just for ********************s and Giggles, I went to school and earned an ASE Automotive Technician Certification. Oh, and somewhat relevant, but perhaps unrelated, I hold an SCCA National Competition License and am a former US Navy Certified Test Pilot. I also have an MS in Materials Science and an BS and an MS in Aeronautical Engineering.

So, perhaps you are correct, I may be a little limited in my knowledge and experience compared to some.

If you leave the Car in Gear, you can quite easily cause damage to the Drivetrain if the Car is struck. You are correct that the Clutch is engaged except for when the Pedal is depressed, but I was referring mostly to the linkage, you simply put greater emphasis on the Clutch which leads me to believe that perhaps it is you who don't fully understand the concepts here...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

PS So far as having seen a Rear Impact damage the Drivetrain which was in Gear - YES - A friend's Esprit was bumped rather mildly in a Parking Lot. The sudden jolt to the Drivetrain broke a Tranny Mount and shattered the Pilot Bearing from the Primary Shaft to the Crank. We had to rebuild the Bottom end after pulling the Crank to have the receiver machined and an insert pressed into the Crank to accept a new Pilot Bearing. Cost - $850 Parts and 22 MH Labor, in addition to a new Rear Valence and Paint (which would have been required anyway from the impact)

If you put it this way, I must admit that I really don’t understand the concept. You win!!! Please forgive me for stepping on your toes. It is totally out of line.

I apologize to everyone that I have misled you. Please do not put in gear when parking because it may break your tranny mount, connecting rod or and transaxle. Along the some logic, it may be wise not to apply hand brake either because it will put extra stress on the bumper when other bumps into you. Ooop, I spoke too much again.

Hi,

You probably would have been safe to simply let it go after the 1st sentence... You might have overlooked my statement that I am not advocating any particular practice, but rather described my own and the reasoning behind it...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Hay, how about those New England Patriots!! :D

There is an old expression worth remembering.

"Sarcasm is cruel wit!"

Lets all just remain calm and friendly!

:cheers:

You know what I love the most about the back and forth sarcasm and arguing on this particular thread? I'm not in the one causing trouble this time! :D

BTW - I am a neutral with hand brake guy myself unless I'm on a hill, and I rarely park on hills in Houston, Texas. We do have very steep hills though. They are called overpasses.

I always get out and place a chock under the right front tire.

:p

"chock" . . . lmao!! :cheers:

WTH is a "chock"

This is exactly right. I remember a friend in college who would park his car in his mom's driveway (very slight incline) and only use the handbrake. It would hold the car fine for a few hours but more than once we came outside to get in the car and it was sitting in the middle of the road...

Block or metal wedge!

Are you being funny or sarcastic? It is a fine line, you know? :p

cheers....... :cheers:

It is a beautiful day. Let's have some fun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNBoxster You probably would have been safe to simply let it go after the 1st sentence... Jim'99

Man..... You are really in love with yourself, aren’t you? Dr. know-it-all. Ooop, sorry you only have a master degree. Mr., right? :D :D :D

Dr. underDAWG :cheers:

Been up all night long. Too tired ot read thsi thread or check for speling mistakes. Are we at DEF-CON 2 yet?

(j/k) :D

Well...

Oh Never Mind... waste of Time and Bandwidth... I'm done here...:ah:

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99