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Warming up

CupraTgirl

Model Behaviour
Nov 8, 2002
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Cupra R 231 said:
There's nothing wrong with driving off straight away as long as your not coming on boost and your driving steady....
2 main times the engines gonna suffer wear really - initial start up until oil pressure is up, which will only be a turn or 2 of the crank, and putting engine under to much load whilst it (remember parts of you engine are going to expand to there optimum size once up to temp) and the oil (basicly linked together but its a better indication of you engines acctual temperature) are not up to operating temp.

Remember that 90deg on you normal temp gauge (coolant) doesn't mean its warm.... the important bit is the oil temp which is why I always like an oil temp gauge. If I didn't have a R I would of made it a priority to fit 1...

But also as SeanyK says.. Engines are built for jo blogs to drive that know nothing about temperatures and the problems it could cause. They don't expect jo blogs to sit parked up while the engine warms up. It is expected that your gonna start car and drive off in a normal manner.. just not lunatic speed!! if thats your normal manner......

Yeah i know what your saying, its just something i have always done so am used to it but i do agree LOADS of people get cars and dont think twice about 'warming it up'
 

Neel-Cupra

MK2 Leon Cupra 2.0T FSI
Jul 28, 2005
389
0
Thanks for the responses guys/girls .. what about cooling off? for a example a 5 min trip down the road, a medium length journey with no thrashing or a long jo bloggs trip with racing everything in site?
 

CupraTgirl

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SuperCupra_20VT said:
Thanks for the responses guys/girls .. what about cooling off? for a example a 5 min trip down the road, a medium length journey with no thrashing or a long jo bloggs trip with racing everything in site?

If its a small drive or a drive off boost then i wait about 20 seconds (get my bits together) and turn her off

A medium length journey with no thrashing i leave her about 30 seconds

If its a REALLY hard drive racing everything in site then i will leave her about two minutes, as long as i can or as long as i feel is suffice
 

Cupra R 231

Full Member
May 14, 2005
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Lincolnshire
By the way CupraTgirl out of intrest I was checking both my temp gauges and even once the coolant temp was upto 90deg the oil still wasn't even registering on the gauge which starts at 60.........
Drive almost normal once you coolants upto temp by all means but I would be putting my foot down much for at least another 5 mins especially if running revo because that will just add to any wear you might be causing...

As for cooling down - - -
Yup basicly as CupraTgirl says...


Bit of comon sense really. say you've trundled round for a while and taken it easy all the way then there's no real need to let it idle. But as above I basicly take my time collecting my stuff get out of car and turn off just before shutting door..

After a stint at a good pace down a motorway or something like that then I'd say a bit more than 30 sec. More nearer 2 mins but that depends wether you've eased off for a few miles before hand....

After a good hard beasting I'd leave it for nearer 4 mins. But again depends wether you've been nailing it right untill you stop on your door step.. If you steady down for a mile or more before you stop then you could half the time.
As I say common sense... Use your own judgement as to how you've been driving and how hot the car might be just previous to you stopping...


Never ever ever ever ever give the car a good blip of throttle as your turning it off, unless you really don't like your turbo
 

Neel-Cupra

MK2 Leon Cupra 2.0T FSI
Jul 28, 2005
389
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ok so if you have been driving off boost for the last 5 mins of your drive then 2 min cool down would be sufficient after a blast ..
 

helms

Console Race Car Driver
Jan 30, 2005
492
0
Basingstoke
I hardly ever put my foot flat down, im sure you all dont drive foot the floor wherever you go?!

I do when i borrow my brothers car, but thats the only way you can drive it off the driveway or it wont make it up the hill (0-30 in about 10 seconds....lol.)
 

helms

Console Race Car Driver
Jan 30, 2005
492
0
Basingstoke
if your that worried, buy a turbo timer, then atleast you know its ok!
my mate used to rag the HELL out of his RS, then stop the car, take keys out to open the bonnet (only way you can open it) to see the turbo glow..

(any1 witnessed turbo glow? goes almost see through sometimes!!)
 

Cupra R 231

Full Member
May 14, 2005
125
0
Lincolnshire
If you've been driving steady and off boost for 5 mins then a 2 min idle is more than adequate.... I would probably leave for around 1 min.. the 5 mins of driving slow should of done all the cooling down.
 

CupraTgirl

Model Behaviour
Nov 8, 2002
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By the way CupraTgirl out of intrest I was checking both my temp gauges and even once the coolant temp was upto 90deg the oil still wasn't even registering on the gauge which starts at 60.........
Drive almost normal once you coolants upto temp by all means but I would be putting my foot down much for at least another 5 mins especially if running revo because that will just add to any wear you might be causing...

As for cooling down - - -
Yup basicly as CupraTgirl says...


Bit of comon sense really. say you've trundled round for a while and taken it easy all the way then there's no real need to let it idle. But as above I basicly take my time collecting my stuff get out of car and turn off just before shutting door..

After a stint at a good pace down a motorway or something like that then I'd say a bit more than 30 sec. More nearer 2 mins but that depends wether you've eased off for a few miles before hand....

After a good hard beasting I'd leave it for nearer 4 mins. But again depends wether you've been nailing it right untill you stop on your door step.. If you steady down for a mile or more before you stop then you could half the time.
As I say common sense... Use your own judgement as to how you've been driving and how hot the car might be just previous to you stopping...


Never ever ever ever ever give the car a good blip of throttle as your turning it off, unless you really don't like your turbo

Yeah i generally notice that it doesnt feel right driving hard even when it reads 90 degrees, that has always just been a guideline for me to know i am happy to move the car :lol:

I dont often drive REALLY hard in my car anyway but if i was going to i would do it once everything is warmed up properly! There would be no point doing in when cold as you would be able to feel it holding back, the car kind of tells you itself when its ready to be driven hard, you know?

I agree with you though, if you have been driving hard and then just stop you would need to leave it longer than if you were driving hard, then cruising slowly, then stopping
 

Jammy

Full Member
Jan 24, 2004
190
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letting it warm up by leaving it idle can do more harm than good as the oil pressure doesnt get up very high and so the oil doesnt get all the way round the engine quickly.

As well as the pressure not getting up (because of lack of revs) the engine will take longer to get to full temp as its doing less work and so loosing less energy to heat.

I'd sugest keep it below 3k rpm untill the water temp says 90. then (if you cant tell the oil is upto full temp) another 5 mins driving where you dont boot it or go above 4k. then batter the hell out of it.

drive home for the last 5 mins in a high gear and let the engine cool a bit, if you've been seriously ragging it, open the windows and put the heaters on full. try not to go about 3k at this time too. A further 0.5-2mins at idle (depending on the thrashing its had) will then let the oil run through the turbo and cool it down.

The problem with turning the engine off immediatly when hot on turbo cars is that the turbo cooks the oil inside the charger and its immediate oil lines, clogging them up.

my 2p :)

JAmes
 

redcupratdi

Offical SCN Pole Dancer
Oct 13, 2005
755
0
cambridge
if your that worried, buy a turbo timer, then atleast you know its ok!
my mate used to rag the HELL out of his RS, then stop the car, take keys out to open the bonnet (only way you can open it) to see the turbo glow..

(any1 witnessed turbo glow? goes almost see through sometimes!!)



yes LCR seem to go white after a ragg remember at a meet it took 5mins just to turn orange! Car running.
 

Jammy

Full Member
Jan 24, 2004
190
0
And surely you cant be condoning leaving oil with a boiling point of ~150*C in a glowing bit of cast iron ~600*C?
 

CupraTgirl

Model Behaviour
Nov 8, 2002
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England
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letting it warm up by leaving it idle can do more harm than good as the oil pressure doesnt get up very high and so the oil doesnt get all the way round the engine quickly.

As well as the pressure not getting up (because of lack of revs) the engine will take longer to get to full temp as its doing less work and so loosing less energy to heat.

I'd sugest keep it below 3k rpm untill the water temp says 90. then (if you cant tell the oil is upto full temp) another 5 mins driving where you dont boot it or go above 4k. then batter the hell out of it.

drive home for the last 5 mins in a high gear and let the engine cool a bit, if you've been seriously ragging it, open the windows and put the heaters on full. try not to go about 3k at this time too. A further 0.5-2mins at idle (depending on the thrashing its had) will then let the oil run through the turbo and cool it down.

The problem with turning the engine off immediatly when hot on turbo cars is that the turbo cooks the oil inside the charger and its immediate oil lines, clogging them up.

my 2p :)

JAmes

The only thing i do is let it drop from 1200RPM to 840RPM when its started from cold (like it would do on any car) which only takes about two minutes, then i drive off keeping it no higher than 3000RPM until its properly warmed up! Even once warmed up i dont always drive hard
 
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Loko

Active Member
Oct 27, 2006
65
0
I ain't telling you thief!
Soon to be Cupra owner...so can't talk for turbo'd car experience. However since I design aircraft engine for a living I know a thing or two about turbines! :p

Driving any mechanical device which is designed to work at a given operating temperature (say 100 deg C for argument) hard when cold causes increased wear and in an extreme a failure. It's called differential thermal expansion. In your average IC engine it just increases wear. If you have a turbo aspirated car it will kill your turbo over time. In essence the turbo's impeller gets hot very quickly as it is in the exhaust gas stream and small. The turbo's housing takes longer to warm up becuase it's bigger (it has a bigger thermal inertia) and this changes the internal clearance in the bearings. In an extreme you get thermal binding, for your average turbo car it just reduces the life of your turbo.

I'm a VDUB man at heart :D and owned only Golf's and Corrados in the past. However, the oil temp is registered on the on board computer and in essence allow it to reach 90degC before canning it - as the chaps mentioned above that's about 12mins normal driving.
 
Jun 29, 2001
537
0
Surrey
Something I've noticed now that the colder weather is here and maybe a dumb question (i'm full of 'em).....

Driving to work, temperature gauge gradually starts creeping up towards 90dC. Get on the motorway doing between 50-60mph in 5th and the gauge starts going back down again. Even after 20 odd minutes of driving, the temp gauge still isn't in it's central position.
Does this mean that the oil may work in the same manner? Or would it be ok to give it a bit of welly.
 

Jammy

Full Member
Jan 24, 2004
190
0
I noticed that once or twice a few years back, a month or so later the sender unit failed.

I'd guess thats your problem too.

JAmes
 
Jun 29, 2001
537
0
Surrey
I noticed that once or twice a few years back, a month or so later the sender unit failed.

I'd guess thats your problem too.

JAmes

OMG don't tell me that, I've got enough problems with it as it is, lol.
My poor wallets taking a right hammering at the moment :cry:

Thanks for the heads up though, I'll keep an eye on things.
 

Cupra R 231

Full Member
May 14, 2005
125
0
Lincolnshire
Yeah unless something is wrong your coolant temp should hit 90 and stay at that even if it is cold...
Either sender unit is duff or thermostat is duff. Not sure on these motors what the thermostat is like but if its a conventional type then it quite possibly be that...
If it is the thermostat then it does really want replacing if nothing is getting right up to temp then nothing is working as efficently as it should.....
 
Jun 29, 2001
537
0
Surrey
Oh it does actually get up to temperature, just seems to be taking quite a bit longer than usual.

Could putting the heater on bring the temp down? I tend to leave the heating off so it heats up a bit quicker. Once the car goes past the 1/4 mark on the temp gauge, that's when I flick the heater on.
Actually, come to think of it, that's just about when I'm joining the m/way in the mornings. If I go over 3k revs (even just once) then it heats up to 90dC ok but I try not to until it's properly warmed up.
 

Loko

Active Member
Oct 27, 2006
65
0
I ain't telling you thief!
Damo,

Irrespective of ambient temperature, your engine is designed to run a certain ISO grade oil for its operating temperature. Vag engines tend to run hotter than most but let's argue 90 to 95 deg C. Viscosity is the main property of oil that dictates how well it can lubricate internals. This is measured in an SI unit called centiStokes. For an ISO32 oil this means it has a viscosity of 32 centistokes at 40 deg C (the common agreed temp where viscosity is measured).

To put it into perspective that same oil at 100 deg C has a viscosity of 4 to 5 centiStokes - which means it is much less viscous.

So, if you've been running for a while and your oil temp gauge is reading above 80 or so degrees... give it some welly boy!
Note that your oil will pick up temp quickly if everything around it is already warmed up, so fear not.

When I potter around at 50mph in 5th gear (doesn't happen a lot :whistle: ) oil can come down to 86 deg C in winter. Blast it again and it's soon up to 92 - 94. Holds at 108 deg C during prolonged high engine speed runing (5,000rpm or so). It's an ABF block, so relevant data for the Mk2 Ibiza crowd.

Thanks!

Loko :p
 
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