Heat up time

[reg]

I have researched the various threads and think I have answered my own question already, but how long does your car on average take to warm up. Can you give me a rough mileage?

I am betting my thermostat is either shot or as lazy a Gov't Minister:rolleyes:

Thanks.

[WhyOne?]

I looked into this for Luke before Christmas when I timed from cold to full operating temperature on 2 mornings.

Day 1 was frosty, day 2 damp but warmer.

The car was driven normally / with sympathy from cold - never reving beyound 2.5 - 3k rpm

Day 1 took about 6 min's, day 2 less than 5.

:)

[rsevo6]

My '98 NA2 takes a lot longer than that.
At present temps beeing about 10 C, it takes almost 15km for the tempgauge to reach just under middle of the scale and then stays there.
I was unsure about this taking so long too, but other NSX owners I spoke to, reported similar experiences

[reg]

My '98 NA2 takes a lot longer than that.
At present temps beeing about 10 C, it takes almost 15km for the tempgauge to reach just under middle of the scale and then stays there.
I was unsure about this taking so long too, but other NSX owners I spoke to, reported similar experiences

See thats the thing. The dealer said the same, but in my experience ALL cars heat within 5 mins or so? I am pretty well decided on getting it changed as its a low cost item.

Will report before and after for a definitive on this car for ref.

[mcibuk]

Timed my 1995 3,0L yesterday - ambient temp 7degC and time to normal working temp was between 5 and 7 mins whilst driving. Performed same test at weekend when temp was 9degC but the car static and time was the same.

[Lankstarr]

Changing thermostat made a huge difference to my heat up times. Anywhere between 2 and 5 miles to see the needle move now.

[indi pearl]

My '96 Targa (23,000 miles) takes steady driving for 10 miles to reach operating temp.This is at ambient temp of 10c and the climate control set to 22c from start.

My daily winter car (Lotus Isuzu Piazza Turbo) takes just 3 miles of steady driving to reach temp with heater on from start.

I put the difference down to the long pipe runs but maybe I need to look to the thermostat if, as reported members who have fitted replacements have substantially cut warm up time.

[trackdemon]

Mine normally takes a good 10-15mins to reach full running temp, consequently I keep under 3000rpm for first 5mins and progressively use more as the temp comes up. Rarely need to use the full 6k+ anyway ;)

[reg]

Mine normally takes a good 10-15mins to reach full running temp, consequently I keep under 3000rpm for first 5mins and progressively use more as the temp comes up. Rarely need to use the full 6k+ anyway ;)

It's a want not a need :D

Anyway, the car is booked into Norton Way on Saturday for the new thermostat. I will time the before and after. Running it up the other day for messing with the rear lights (a whole new fish in fishy) the rad was warm but still little on the guage, its not right.

[sportyking]

I'm not being picky (honest) but people should define what they call "warmed up". The coolant on a well designed (read Honda) powerplant will reach operating temperature very quickly and then be regulated to stay within an acceptable range. The oil, which is quite an essential part of a modern engine will usually take much longer to warm up, 3 times longer is not uncommon.

My Volvo, maybe not so well designed :( has an oil temperature gauge which frequently still reads cold (below 50 degrees C) 20+ miles into a journey.

Initially only coolant in the water jacket of an engine is warmed + a small designed in leakage through the thermostat, then the remaining coolant is fed in steadily as required to maintain a stable temperature in the water jacket, often the extremeties of the engine have still not reached a stable (normal) working temperature when the coolant in the water jacket has and the gauge initially reads warm

The oil will takes longer to warm up and cool down for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it is all being circulated from the get go and that it,s primary job is lubrication, not cooling. To assist warm up on a lot of modern cars the oil is actually heated up (as well as cooled) by the coolant, I know this to be the case on the S2000 and would suspect the same on the NSX.

For me I wouldn't purposefully red line or upper V-tec an engine until it had been running much longer than the temperature gauge suggested.

Lucky me, some more work has just hit my in-tray............

[AR]

I normally iddle for a few minutes until the rpms drop, as I check the tyres and other bits. Then I warm it up for a few more minutes ( 10 at least ) of moderate driving before going anywhere near the the red. BTW the NSX has a built in lower rev limiter if the engine is cold.

Cheers,

AR

[reg]

I'm not being picky (honest) but people should define what they call "warmed up". The coolant on a well designed (read Honda) powerplant will reach operating temperature very quickly .....The oil will takes longer to warm up and cool down for a number of reasons...

In the case of this car the guage is very slow and it takes at least 5 mins to register on the guage and then generally the guage doesn't know what to do for maybe 10-15mins before finally settling one mark below centre. Everyone has their own take on how long it takes for an engine to be warm but the primary display that the engine is at normal temperature is the water temperature guage. The oil temperature IME is more related to how hard the engine is working and depending on the time of year 5 miles or so after the guage settled I would say the oil was hot enough. End of the day oil technology has come a million miles and these days there is so much 'slip' in the mixture that even when cool modern oils can still maintain lubrication.

[sportyking]

Ian may be pleased to know that my NSX was never revved past V-tec within the first 20 minutes (from stone cold) of any drive I did. I just used it as an excuse to go kerb crawling :)

I agree with reg that a good viscosity oil is working quite well once it has got some heat into it but that doesn't mean the whole drivetrain is thoroughly warmed through

[WhyOne?]

Ian may be pleased to know that my NSX was never revved past V-tec within the first 20 minutes

I am indeed :D

And Y1 continues to be treated with similar respect and mechanical sympathy.

[mcibuk]

I normally iddle for a few minutes until the rpms drop, as I check the tyres and other bits. Then I warm it up for a few more minutes ( 10 at least ) of moderate driving before going anywhere near the the red. BTW the NSX has a built in lower rev limiter if the engine is cold.

Cheers,

AR
Although i'm also careful never to exceed 3000 rpm until everything is warmed up, i wasn't aware that there is a lower rev limit - do you know what this limits is set to?

[WhyOne?]

I'm not sure on the NSX, but on the S2000 it was set just below the point at which VTEC adjusted the cam profiles - I guess it will be the same on the NSX.

[simonprelude]

I don't know if the NSX has the limit or not, I have never tried.

The earlier B16 / B18 engines don't have a limit and they are from the same time as the C30 and C32 so ???????

Anyone going to give it a go ??

The S2000 limit comes in just after the point where high CAM would engage, I think it's about 7000 RPM.

[WhyOne?]

The S2000 limit comes in just after the point where high CAM would engage, I think it's about 7000 RPM.

Nearer to 5000rpm Simon - high cam' engages at about 5500rpm on the S.

[simonprelude]

I can't check as I'm not running a standard ECU :(

I can go all the way to 9500 at cold if I want :(

[AR]

From what I read on Prime it is set at 7000 rpm.

Cheers,

AR

[reg]

From what I read on Prime it is set at 7000 rpm.

Cheers,

AR

I was told that you also can't engage it when the car is not in gear or reverse is selected. Not that I can reverse worth a damn at normal speeds!

[simonprelude]

The ITR engages high CAM in reverse :)

[WhyOne?]

As does the S2000..........

[sportyking]

Bit of trivia, Early XK/XJ Rs will not rev beyond 3-3500 at a standstill cold or hot. Don't know about the newer stuff

[reg]

I would like to be telling you all how the new thermostat is working. But thanks to Norton Way Honda I am driving a Civic, complete with retina burning instruments and sexuality challenging looks. I am very p*ssed off. I was told 40mins to do the job. I told some friends I would meet them later today for a blat. I told the other half I couldn't get involved with chores today as I was busy.

They cr*pped it all up 9(as 40 mins morphed into 120 mins) and I have spent the day giving a innocent little Civic the b*llocking of its life and them this afternnon chopping down a tree (if I could have used the Civic I would have).

Strike one for Norton. Lesson #1 always speak to the Service Manager.

:(

[reg]

I picked the car up yesterday and after the Civic a few things stuck me (not literally), but first the thermostat.

On the way to Norton, which is some 35 miles from home the guage took its usual 15 mins to get warm. Then it went a little cold again then warm. This is probably worse than a few of the reports on here that I have seen. I checked the clock and the mileage before setting off from the dealer and from cold the temperature guage was just below centre after <5 mins and about 3 miles. After lezaving the car for about 3 hours outside it was indicating warm again <5 mins. I am taking this as 'as new' performance so anyone who's car takes more than 5 mins to warm up couild need a new thermostat. The final bill was £80 and obviously you get the system flushed and new coolant which isn't a bad thing this time of year.

HTH