How long does it take your car to warm up?
 

Guys,
I've search, but none of the threads I found touch upon this specifically.

Basically, my 986 takes bloody forever to warm up. In about 45 degree weather, it takes the car over 10 miles for coolant to get to 180 degrees. For reference, my 08 911 Turbo has oil at 180 before the boxster even gets its coolant to 180. Same story with my 993TT.

I'm wondering if I have a lower temp thermostat or a fan stuck on or something. No codes or fan noise when there shouldn't be. Its not a big deal and I get that the cooling system is pretty large for a tiny little 2.5L, but its kind of annoying to wait 15 minutes before being able to give the car any appreciable load and rpm.

Is this typical or should I continue to investigate?

Thanks.

A lower temperature thermostat will have absolutely no impact on how fast or slow an engine heats up from cold start, that is a function of other factors. And as your turbo has an entirely different engine in it, I would not be surprised it is different.

well, if the thermostat opens at 160, it will take longer to get to 180 than if it opened at 180.

So is this a normal thing?

Pretty much every other car I own, including air cooled and water cooled porsches warm up much faster. Granted they have different larger engines, but given EPA regulations, it seems odd to me that this car would take so damn long to warm up.

In this cold weather (it was 16F this morning), it took me about 15 minutes to get the engine up to 180 at the instrument panel. Sounds about right.

thanks for your input.

definitely a chilly morning today...brrr

Sounds about right. In summer, it warms up quick, but in this 20 degree weather, it takes a good 10-15 minutes.

How old is your thermostat and water pump?

I noticed that my car warms up much faster since i've replaced thermostat, water pump and cooling fluid (all were OEM from factory - so 13 years old). I think the thermostates get fatigue and stay longer open.

I did go with a normal temperature thermostat and an water pump with a metal impeller. Yes everybody hates me now, but i know what i'm doing and why i've done it. Also i know that there are different metal impeller water pumps for different engines. So just hate me. ;) :D

Regards, Markus

Point is that it will get to 160F in the same time as any other thermostat that opens at any higher temperature than 160F.

yeah that i know

Not to rile the board up, Markus, but what are thoughts surrounding this choice?


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+1.
I consider 15 minutes is too long for water temp to reach "normal" operating temp even at 40 deg. Below freezing temp will affect but not at 40 deg temp. Your primary culprit is the thermostat. It has two primary function.
1. Reach normal operating temp as quickly as possible by remaining closed.
2. Maintain normal operating temps by opening or closing coolant flow.

I suspect your thermostat to be partially stuck open when it's supposed to be fully closed.

Everyone gets to make choices, and sometimes has to live with the outcome of those choices.

And long before the coolant reaches 160F, the oil is showing temperature and the car is blowing heat.

ok, but that has what to do with the topic at hand?

It refers to your original comment about your 911 getting oil temperature's up before it hits 180 on the coolant.

Haha, i knew it.

@grc0456: i sent you a pn.

Regards, Markus

Your 986 doesn't have "warmup" catalytic converters or turbo's which blow heated air into the engine.

My Boxster and Carrera both take about 3 miles for the water temp to get to 180 on a cool morning. 10 miles seems really long.

In Az (Phoenix area) lately I start the car in the garage about 2 minutes before I back out. Its then up to 180 degree within 10 minutes (total time) and less than 5 miles. I'll give you more science in a few days.

sounds like I have a stuck thermostat.

No big deal, I'll swap that and the water pump after it comes out of winter storage.

Every auto tech.....
 

....I know that I trust agrees that the best way to warm up the car is to drive off slowly immediately after the initial fast idle drops and just keep her below 3,000 RPM until she reaches operating temp.

You do NOT want to just let the car sit and idle for ten minutes.

quad it's normal. I'm in PA with similar weather. My 6tt oil temps at 180 in 3-5 miles. Boxster seriously takes a good 8-10 miles for coolant temp to get to 180

Within like a mile the needle should have moved. Give it about 6 or 7 more to be in the middle of the thermostat. Then maybe a few more for a solid 180

Depends on outside temp.

22 degrees thursday night. Drove 20 miles and never got to 180. Drove it home on the return trip an 1 1/2 later, same thing.

Sounds like the thermostat valve is stuck open.

My 02 boxster was the same. Took forever to warm up. My 996tt seems to warm much quicker.

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Even in SE Georgia where the temps are mild in the winter months and super hot in the summer. My Boxster is never driven till the temp reaches 180 degrees. Yesterday I started it up and it was near 70, and it took about 10 minutes on idle to reach operating temp.

Drove the Boxster and Carrera this weekend with the outside temps at 50. Both a parked in a garage. I start the car and pretty much take off immediately driving the car slowly until they warm up. In both cases they both hit 180 at exactly three miles and about 5 to 6 minutes.

Why, in Ferdinand's name, would you do that? :confused:

In all seriousness, idling to warm up is not ideal because it does nothing for the gearbox. If you think it's warmed up from idling, then take it out and get on it immediately, you are abusing your gearbox.

Ferry says to always drive under 3k to warm up.

Porsche 9, If just starting and left on idle, maybe it would double your driving time warm up. My VW Jetta TDI manual says don't exceed 28 hundred RPM's till operating temp is reached. I feel it's just best to let the cars engine reach the proper operating temps, especially in extreme cold temps. Shucks, I don't do well till I warm up.

When driving any car I don't exceed 2,500 rpm until the coolant is up to operating temperature and then I just double the time/distance before exceeding 3,500 RPMs to get the oil up to operating temps. Idling just takes longer, wastes gas, pollutes more then necessary and exposes the engine to below operating temps for longer. The engine just doesn't produce much heat at idle.

The owners manual specifically says not to let engine idle to warm up. It actually recommends to drive the vehicle at moderate speeds and avoid engine speeds above 4,200 rpm during the first 5 minutes. The TDI may be different but check the owners manual. 2,800 rpm on a diesel is pretty equivalent to 4,200 on the Boxster.

Porsche 9, what do you do when the wife says, honey warm up the car it's cold outside. :D
If it's cold out side here, I just turn on the heated seat for the wife and set the temp for 72 when on idle. In a few minutes it's toasty. :D

I'll check out my manual for the info you mentioned

Thanks!

I mostly let my boxster idle until warm too, I always thought it was a good thing, but I sold my boxster at 50k miles. Not saying idling to warm was the reason but my ims was also in good shape when pulled. The only problem my car experienced was a leak from a cam cover.

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Paid more attention to it today. 22F in the morning here. Took 10 minutes for the gauge to read 180F. I did not idle prior to driving off.

Something to consider for the idle until warm guys.

Is Warming Up Your Car Bad? - Why You Should Never Warm Up Your Car in Winter

We always advise warming up, and most, if not all, of our customers do. And as we offer UOA with service, the data collected over several years completely refutes what that article claims.

Hmmm.... it's starting to sound like the question about which oil is best.

Has anyone done a scientific study on this with data to support the conclusion?

JFP in PA, do you have any details you can share?

I haven't warmed up a car in decades since fuel injection has been common with no ill effects to any of my cars that I am aware of. May have something to with having always lived in moderate weather states. I don't know but would love to see evidence of which is better. If the facts show something different I'm happy to change my mind.

With having to ask my customers for permission to post their data, we offer UOA service which many customers avail themselves. As the result, we see quite a bit of data over cold weather usage on vehicles, some of which are religiously warmed up before driving, and others that are started and driven off. What I see as interesting concerning article is the claims for massive fuel dilution of the oil on cars that are allowed to warm up vs those that are not and subsequent oil breakdown. From our data, I see no statistically significant differences when comparing the oil analysis data from both segments, either in the level of fuel dilution, or the condition of the oil properties. As such, I have a hard time buying in to the concept that warming your engine is killing your oil by fuel dilution.

Hello Quadcammer,

I have been recording my warm up times over the past several days. I really hope I don't piss off some people reading this thread, but here it goes....;)

I live in Arizona, in the Phoenix area. It has been pretty warm these past several days in the upper 40's and low 50's...Sorry mid west--SUCK IT!!!

On two occasions I started the car in the garage 2 minutes before driving and it took exactly 10 minutes to hit the 180 mark. Than another 2 minutes to reach the peak stable temperature (about one needle width above 180). On another two occasions I started the car and drove right away. Again, same exact results down to the minute.

These times were all consistent over a temperature span of 42 degrees to 54 degrees (OAT).

EDIT: I am using Total Motor Oil 5W40.

So....your car is right in there and sounds like its doing great OR we are both screwed.

Hope this helps!

thanks for the additional feedback.

I actually google mapped it, and I guess I overestimated.

The car reached 180 degrees within 5.4 miles and 10 minutes, but only just. I don't get on the gas hard as soon as the coolant reaches 180 because I know the oil temp lags behind it quite a bit. Still seems long compared to my other cars, but such is life. Seems to be normal. Still going to do a 160 thermostat for track days, but doesn't seem to be an immediate necessity.

thanks again.