Hey guys,

I know about the flooding problems (and strain it puts on the engine) associated with turning the car on and off without letting it warm up first. My school is located about 4 blocks away from my house (maybe a 3-4min drive) and i was wondering if that would be sufficient time for the engine to warm up or if i should let it warm up a bit longer. My main concern is causing damage to the engine over time. I was also wonder if a cool down is recomened before turning the car off after driving. Thank you for your help!

 

I have started and driven my 8 for about 10 mins. and have had no problems so far with flooding. I think it is a bit over-talked about. But I live in the midwest so not sure how your location is. My advice is to let it warm up a few minutes before you drive and when the needle leaves the "C" you should be OK.


Rx8Group

 

You might consider walking the four blocks, a shocking idea I know. But there would be many practical benefits from it.

 

I love it! And no warm up time either!:D

 

you wonder why americans are getting fatter everyday? i suggest you walk leave your car safely at home. and just MAYBE drive it to school on friday to "show off"

 

^^^ screw that... i wanna SHOW OFF EVERYDAY!!!

haha...in order to avoid flooding when the car is cold is just give it some gas to like 4K.. and then turn off the ignition.. ive done this and have "on-offed" a few times now with no problem...IMO..

 

I'd walk. Why chance it?

 

why would anyone DRIVE only 4 blocks is beyond me... get a bike, or even a moped to go to school, and save the 8 for longer trips

 

I'd let it warm up for at least 5 minutes before you go. That and the 3-4 minute drive should be enough to get you to operating temp by the time you turn it off. I see you live in CO, I believe cold weather is part of the cause of flooding so I definatley recommend you be careful.

Along with the others I have to agree though, I think I'd just walk. You'll get less door dings that way. Plus in the time it takes you to warm up the 8 you could have walked their already.

 

On top of the slight flooding risk, all those short drives aren't good for the engine. The condensation builds up if the engine doesn't warm up enough to burn it off, and combines with sulfur in the fuel to make acid... not good.

 

Here's a brilliant idea:

WALK TO SCHOOL, YOU FATTY!

 

i didn't know colorado is part of canadia...

 

^ for some reason i thought RX4Life was the original poster :o

 

Throw me into the "just walk" camp.

I think most people will tell you to do that, not because of flooding problems but because it seems dumb not to. Only drive if it's too far to walk, if you need to bring something to/from school, or you plan on going somewhere during or after school.

But yeah if you're going to shut it off cold I think they recommend revving to 4K before shutting down. It should be in your owners guide.

 

Broken record time...walk or get a bike.

going strictly from what the manual says, it states in the money saving suggestions section to avoid long start up times and to start driving as soon as the rpms stabilize, with the exception of cold weather (below 0F) or if it has not been driven for several days.

and i can't find the avoiding flooding sheet, but IIRC, it says to let the engine reach operating temp after you have finished your drive.

 

Repeated short trips like that over a reasonably long period of time is just setting yourself up to carbon lock the motor. A guy in my old apartment complex had a roughly 1 mile commute each way with his 1st gen. Eventually it carbon locked, he didn't know any better and tried to push start it, bye bye apex seals.

 

^ Or that his parents will pay for

 

Just take a long, winding path to school. Or walk.

 

What's with the recent "warm up" threads? Yikes...just turn it over and go...enjoy the car, drive it and don't sweat all this warm up nonsense.

 

Start the car, let RPM's stabilize at about ~1k. Then drive where you are going and if the car is not upto temp run the engine to about ~3k RPM for couple seconds then left off gas and kill the engine.

I think this would be harder on your battery than your engine though... so I vote walk there, then you don't have to worry about people parking to close to you.

 

dunno. it seems all these crazy threads run in groups though. (gas mileage, flooding, warm up, etc...)

i don't even wait that long. crank rpms are around 2.25k, put my seatbelt on, grab sunglasses or turn on lights, depending on time of day, e-brake off, shift and go. in all, 10-15 seconds, rpms have dropped to about 1.75k-2k

 

I understand about the walking thing, on my way to school i clocked the distance, it was .65 miles (yes i'll include the 5), so at least its over a half a mile. i know I could walk, but i also like going out somewhere to lunch. Anyway, thanks for your help. could someone explain to me what carbon lock is exactly? And yes abbid, I would pay for it as i did the full amount of my car

 

Regardless of where I need to go, I always warm up my car until rpm drops below 1000.I do drive sometimes to short distances but not 4 blocks though.It's not worth warming up the car for 5 minutes then drive for 2 minutes & then look for parking.

 

You live in Singapore where it's boiling hot. We have to contend with colder temperatures that may not let the engine warm up properly. In the winter it took a good 5+ minutes of driving before the temperature gauge reached halfway.

0.65 miles??? That's peanuts. Seriously get a bike, skateboard or rollerblades. If you really want to go far for lunch you can bike, skateboard or rollerblade home, pick up the car then drive away. That'll take an extra 3-5 minutes, no?

 

Your right, im not disputing that its a very short distance that maybe i should walk, but another reason is simply because i like having one of the nicest cars in the lott at my high school