Warm Up Time / Oil Temp - When is it ok to cut loose?

[Ryan_R]

If I'm going for a drive I'll wait for the needle to point up at 90. If I'm late for work, I ignore the temp.

[ethosguy]

No. They have that because they have aluminium bores in the M5 V10.

I'm curious about your reasoning?

[Corey_R]

If I'm going for a drive I'll wait for the needle to point up at 90. If I'm late for work, I ignore the temp.

That's water temp though... not oil, which is only displayable via the MFD digital readout....

[Greg Roles]

For the record, in my TDI, it takes approximately twice as long for the oil temp to rise to the normal 70-80 degree operating temp on my gauge as it does for the VW water temp gauge to show 90 degrees. So if it takes three mins to show 90 on the VW water gauge, the oil is going to take about 6 mins to reach operating temp. Also, the VW water gauge shows 90 degrees +/- about 10 degrees!

Only a rough guide, but don't kid yourself that the oil is ready just because the water is.

[Corey_R]

and this is generally what happens with the oil in the petrol models too... the oil takes twice the length of time to get to its "operating tempurate" (which varies from model to model) as the water does to hit "90", and the water stays at "90" whereas the oil guage constantly changes depending on load.

[hooba]

and this is generally what happens with the oil in the petrol models too... the oil takes twice the length of time to get to its "operating tempurate" (which varies from model to model) as the water does to hit "90", and the water stays at "90" whereas the oil guage constantly changes depending on load.

It is my understanding that the needle gauge does not fluctuate off 90 in order not to distract the driver unless it is absolutely necessary to warn them about the change in temp.

[xrayshaggy]

That's water temp though... not oil, which is only displayable via the MFD digital readout....

Do the more sports orientated models like the GTi or the R have a non MFD oil temp readout? The majority of my drives are to be 10 minutes drives, and in winter I guess this could cause an issue. Should I possibly be considering an aftermarket guage kit (OSIR have some nice guage surround kits for the MkV I think, not sure about the MkVI) or possibly even remote car startup to get the car warmed up before the short (and usually spirited drive due to lateness) drive?

[Corey_R]

Do the more sports orientated models like the GTi or the R have a non MFD oil temp readout?

I'm not sure what Suzuki or Peugeot do, but no Golf has a non-MFD oil gauge.

[Preen59]

I'm curious about your reasoning?

Aluminium bores are more easily susceptable to damage by lack of lubrication (heat), would be my guess.

But hey.. I only machine the stuff.

[Preen59]

Do the more sports orientated models like the GTi or the R have a non MFD oil temp readout? The majority of my drives are to be 10 minutes drives, and in winter I guess this could cause an issue. Should I possibly be considering an aftermarket guage kit (OSIR have some nice guage surround kits for the MkV I think, not sure about the MkVI) or possibly even remote car startup to get the car warmed up before the short (and usually spirited drive due to lateness) drive?

This was my point in the first place. You get people worrying about things that really don't matter for general driving.

Shaggy, you've got nothing to worry about mate.

[ethosguy]

Your engine can't tell and doesn't care if you're late to work.

Some parts will change size and shape due to temperature very quickly, others will take longer depending on proximity to the heat source, mass and material.

The harder you accelerate the more heat you generate in the combustion chamber, then valves, turbo etc. and the remote or insulated components will stay cool and small. So, if you are mechanically sympathetic you'll let it all normalise before you hook in...

In days without electronic engine management, they didn't run well when cold, now days they go just fine unless, like BMW did with the M5, they prevent heavy loads until all monitored systems are inside acceptable parameters and it won't let you.

Looking at the high end of engines, say F1, why are they are pre heated by circulating hot fluids prior to starting, then have a stationary warm up then a track warm up...go figure? Tradition, entertainment or engineering?

Ultimately it's your car and you get to do what you please but I don't agree it's fine to work it hard when cold. Nor, it seems does the poll.

[Ryan_R]

Does anyone else find that they have to turn down the climatronic (increasing the air/con) after a burst of hard acceleration?
Being late to catch a train to work isn't always a bad thing, since it means I'll end up driving to work and spending more time in the car

[davewave]

Can Anyone tell me the difference between the digital temperature and the needle temperature gauge? There is a significant difference and/or lag between the two. Which one is correct and are they both displaying oil temp or engine temp?

[Transporter]

Oil temperature is in MFD (digital temperature), needle temperature is coolant temperature.
Just don't get to stressed up about and enjoy the car. That's to all who worry too much about touching the accelerator before oil temperature is + 80 deg.
I prefer to bring the engine to operating temperature as quickly as possible to minimize time needed to warm it up to minimize engine wear at cold.

So when you baby it for 10 min and engine is not wormed up and you already arrived to your destenation... that's definitely not good for the engine.

[blanch0b]

this thread is very interesting - i tend to limit the revs below 3500/4000 before the oil gets to 80deg, then i switch to sport mode and enjoy i only live 10min from work so its a bit difficult for me to properly warm up and cool down the engine (with longer drives on the wkdend)... but thats just how its going to be, im not stressing out over it.

interesting that out of 55 respondants 17 drive it hard without warming it up to 80deg (30%) statistically thats quite high....