Quick question: when is it safe to barely hit the rev limiter after cold startup?

[Bernz1973]

Just curious if I did it wrong, I did some spirited driving with my R just out of boredom due to the lockdown lol. And I kinda sent it up to 6500rpm from 2nd gear merging onto the highway right after I saw my coolant temp guage just hit the normal operating temp mark. Sorry for the noob question.

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[Oddwayne]

If you’re at operating temp already, any time is fine. That’s the idea behind waiting for operating temp so you don’t cause any damage(knock on wood for you)

 

[Bernz1973]

If you’re at operating temp already, any time is fine. That’s the idea behind waiting for operating temp so you don’t cause any damage(knock on wood for you)

Yeah I’m aware about the operating temp until recently when I did my research that operating temp actually means engine oil temperature of atleast 180F and above instead of relying on the coolant temperature since coolant temperature heats up rather quickly than engine oil temp. I haven’t felt any changes from how it drives or any out of ordinary noise. I’m just kinda paranoid if I did it prematurely since our R’s don’t come with oil temp and pressure sensors/gauges. Lol

 

[koriw1.5]

I bounce off the limiter on the daily!!!!

 

[Bernz1973]

I bounce off the limiter on the daily!!!!

So I’m good? ? How long after cold start before you send it off?

 

[koriw1.5]

I always warm up my car before I do it. I also monitor temps via Ktuner.

Side note: I think the limiter cuts fuel so nothing EXTREMELY BAD happens.

 

[Bernz1973]

I always warm up my car before I do it. I also monitor temps via Ktuner.

Side note: I think the limiter cuts fuel so nothing EXTREMELY BAD happens.

Ohh well mine is bone stock and I thought it’s safe to send it off when the oil temperature is atleast 180F but since there’s no oil temp gauge in our R and the coolant temp heats up more quickly than the oil. So I guess i’ll just give it another 5 -10mins after the coolant temp reaches operating temp before I can bounce the limiter.

 

[tinyman392]

The idea behind warming up the car before doing anything is so that the oil can get up to operating temperature so it can do its job and lubricate. It's still a good idea to wait for the coolant temp to hit operating temps for sure before you do any hard pulls. Some people play it completely safe and wait for the point in which case the oil is at operating temp (this isn't available stock since the car I believe would need an external temp sensor to do this).

That being said, how long you wait is up to you. Do keep in mind that the colder the motor is when you push it, the more the oil will have to work to lubricate and the quicker it'll wear out. The MinuteMinder should take this into consideration.

Edit: do note that some cars actually have a cold engine light to let you know when the motor is cold that shuts off when the manufacturer deals the engine is at operating temp (my friend's Subie has this feature).

The engine idle speed may also be some indicator of how warm the motor is as well. It'll idle higher than 750-800 while it's warming up (starting at approximately 1100-1200 RPM and slowly declining down to 1000, 900, then 800 when it's sitting at idle. When it's blisteringly cold out it will take it longer to reach these (and obviously the coolant also takes longer to get to temp).

 

[Bernz1973]

The idea behind warming up the car before doing anything is so that the oil can get up to operating temperature so it can do its job and lubricate. It's still a good idea to wait for the coolant temp to hit operating temps for sure before you do any hard pulls. Some people play it completely safe and wait for the point in which case the oil is at operating temp (this isn't available stock since the car I believe would need an external temp sensor to do this).

That being said, how long you wait is up to you. Do keep in mind that the colder the motor is when you push it, the more the oil will have to work to lubricate and the quicker it'll wear out. The MinuteMinder should take this into consideration.

So in my case im good then? ?

 

[tinyman392]

So in my case im good then? ?

Depends on who you ask. It's highly opinionated to be perfectly honest. Some people have stated that they have no issues running a cold engine hard, they just need to change the oil more frequently than the manufacturer suggests. Others swear that if you don't wait until your oil is at operating temp you'll blow up.

Edit: this plot from Luján, et al. kind of does show an interesting relationship though. Granted it's on Diesel motors, if you look at the the points that the coolant temps have finally stabilized, the oil temps have also hit similar temperatures. However, before the coolant stabilizes the oil temps are always either the same or lower.

Edit 2: obviously you can't just trust one source. Here's another from a user who measured off of OBDII on their Porsche. The oil hits about 60C by the time the coolant is at 80C (and stabilized).

Also keep in mind that most oil temperature readings will read based off of the large tank which will no doubtably take longer to warm. However, the oil when it's actually doing its job will be a far thinner layer that is easier to heat. That oil may reach 80C even if the oil in the cooler is only sitting at a 60C (or even lower). This means that the oil will be able to do its job, but it will be hitting more variable temperature changes which will damage the oil quicker than if it weren't being in put in such conditions. Basically the oil could be going from 60C -> 80C when it's in the block -> 60C when it's in the cooler, etc. As the oil warms up, the difference in temps will go down (so 70C to 80C, etc.). While completely cold it may only do something like 10C -> 40C -> 10C, etc. (if it were 10C out).

 

[Bernz1973]

Depends on who you ask. It's highly opinionated to be perfectly honest. Some people have stated that they have no issues running a cold engine hard, they just need to change the oil more frequently than the manufacturer suggests. Others swear that if you don't wait until your oil is at operating temp you'll blow up.

Edit: this plot from Luján, et al. kind of does show an interesting relationship though. Granted it's on Diesel motors, if you look at the the points that the coolant temps have finally stabilized, the oil temps have also hit similar temperatures. However, before the coolant stabilizes the oil temps are always either the same or lower.

Depends on who you ask. It's highly opinionated to be perfectly honest. Some people have stated that they have no issues running a cold engine hard, they just need to change the oil more frequently than the manufacturer suggests. Others swear that if you don't wait until your oil is at operating temp you'll blow up.

Edit: this plot from Luján, et al. kind of does show an interesting relationship though. Granted it's on Diesel motors, if you look at the the points that the coolant temps have finally stabilized, the oil temps have also hit similar temperatures. However, before the coolant stabilizes the oil temps are always either the same or lower.

Edit 2: obviously you can't just trust one source. Here's another from a user who measured off of OBDII on their Porsche. The oil hits about 60C by the time the coolant is at 80C (and stabilized).

Also keep in mind that most oil temperature readings will read based off of the large tank which will no doubtably take longer to warm. However, the oil when it's actually doing its job will be a far thinner layer that is easier to heat. That oil may reach 80C even if the oil in the cooler is only sitting at a 60C (or even lower). This means that the oil will be able to do its job, but it will be hitting more variable temperature changes which will damage the oil quicker than if it weren't being in put in such conditions. Basically the oil could be going from 60C -> 80C when it's in the block -> 60C when it's in the cooler, etc. As the oil warms up, the difference in temps will go down (so 70C to 80C, etc.). While completely cold it may only do something like 10C -> 40C -> 10C, etc. (if it were 10C out).

you sir just made me ease my paranoia. Thank you so much?

 

[Lust]

I wouldn’t worry about it too much. The oil temp in these cars trail pretty closely to coolant temps in my experience. I’d definitely wait until 180F on the coolant before doing any pulls. Run a high quality 0w-20 oil like Motul 300v and you shouldn’t have to worry.

 

[metal_driver]

Maybe its the old school in me but I always make sure I let the car warm up before heading out and especially if you are doing some spirited driving. Same goes for the tires.

 

[The Vyzitor]

Coolant temp isn’t the indicator you’re looking for. It is oil temp. Oil does its job best at operating temp. it can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to get your oil up to temp. Much longer than coolant.

 

[AdamD19DFK8]

Yeah don't go by coolant temp. I always drive for a bit before I go full throttle anywhere. I've noticed that if I try and give the car too much sauce too early that it won't pull as hard as it would otherwise, though I don't have a source on it, it seems like the ECU has measures against pushing too hard before it's warmed up. I know with my 8th gen Si, it won't actuate the vtec rollers on the camshaft until the engine is warmed up some.

It sucks there isn't a way to monitor oil temperature out of the box. Good thing about 0w-20 is that it gets flowing through the engine pretty quickly being so thin.

Lol I look at my IAT/IAT2 to judge when the engine is warmed up since if the temperature at the throttle body is warm, then the engine bay is warm. Obviously that's not the best way to gauge it. You just have to wait and drive for ~10 minutes to be safe.

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