[BimmerNugget]

Just a curious young lad wondering if other E90 owners do this....or am I just weird/paranoid?


I live in NYC & Buffalo (for college). Here is my fighter jet start up sequence.


Hot/warm weather start up sequence:
1) Get in the car
2) Key into the slot, turn ignition on but not start it
3) Wait 5 seconds for fuel pump and other electronics to "initialize"
4) Foot on brake and start the car.
5) Let idle for exactly 30 seconds, to let oil circulate throughout the engine.
6) I put on my seatbelt, turn on A/C or music in this time
7) Put into drive and take off.


Cold weather sequence:
1) Get in the car
2) Key into the slot, turn ignition on but not start it
3) Wait 5 seconds for fuel pump and other electronics to "initialize"
4) Foot on brake and start the car.
5) Let idle for exactly 60 seconds or until RPMs drop below 900.
6) I put on my seatbelt, turn on heat or music in this time
7) Put into drive and take off.


I know I might sound crazy, but I just "feel better" doing this lol. If it was a rental car, I wouldn't give a s**T. Does anyone else do this?

[jeddo45]

For the cold weather, I do the exact same thing. I feel like letting the engine drop the RPMs has given it enough time to get the juices flowing. I also try to keep it no higher than 3k RPMs until I see the oil starting to warm up on the dash.

[Antetokounmpo]

thats some paranoid shit man

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by Antetokounmpo

thats some paranoid shit man

This

[The Nightman]

Originally Posted by BimmerNugget

Just a curious young lad wondering if other E90 owners do this....or am I just weird/paranoid?


I live in NYC & Buffalo (for college). Here is my fighter jet start up sequence.


Hot/warm weather start up sequence:
1) Get in the car
2) Key into the slot, turn ignition on but not start it
3) Wait 5 seconds for fuel pump and other electronics to "initialize"
4) Foot on brake and start the car.
5) Let idle for exactly 30 seconds, to let oil circulate throughout the engine.
6) I put on my seatbelt, turn on A/C or music in this time
7) Put into drive and take off.


Cold weather sequence:
1) Get in the car
2) Key into the slot, turn ignition on but not start it
3) Wait 5 seconds for fuel pump and other electronics to "initialize"
4) Foot on brake and start the car.
5) Let idle for exactly 60 seconds or until RPMs drop below 900.
6) I put on my seatbelt, turn on heat or music in this time
7) Put into drive and take off.


I know I might sound crazy, but I just "feel better" doing this lol. If it was a rental car, I wouldn't give a s**T. Does anyone else do this?

Nothing wrong with letting the engine idle for 30-60 seconds so oil can circulate. The issue is idling too long or racing off immediately

[Thorin]

I do this too.

Years of driving a turbo have me doing this in reverse when I shut down the car (sit and let it idle for 30 seconds).

[NFiftyWon]

I always let the RPM settle as well. Good habit to get into

[srmast1]

I personally feel like it's a good idea to let it warm up for a minute or two. Let the oil pressure rise, etc. But I guess I'm just paranoid.

[srmast1]

Originally Posted by Thorin

I do this too.

Years of driving a turbo have me doing this in reverse when I shut down the car (sit and let it idle for 30 seconds).

My friend Adam killed the turbo on my Eclipse GST by running the hell out of it and then not letting it spool down with oil pressure by just shutting it off! This was when I was car ignorant. After that, my next 2 turbo cars both had turbo timers. I learnt my lesson after that but modern turbo cars are unaffected by this so its ok. Reading your post brought back alot of forgotten memories

[Underground6t9]

Originally Posted by Thorin

I do this too.

Years of driving a turbo have me doing this in reverse when I shut down the car (sit and let it idle for 30 seconds).

No need as these are water cooled turbos

[RLe92335]

Originally Posted by Antetokounmpo

thats some paranoid shit man

[rick100]

I just let the rpm settle and go . Usually i try my best to keep it below 3500 rpm for 5-10 minutes

But i m not really paranoid about it , sometimes I go over 3500 rpm , sometimes I dont have time to let the rpm settle.

[flexinator]

I just drive off in any weather but I keep it under 3k rpm until the oil is at operating temperature. I give the turbo time to cool down only after pushing the car hard. Even though it's water cooled it still needs to cool down and you need to have the coolant passing through to cool it down. Just idling an engine will allow oil flow but it is a very inefficient way of warming an engine up. Just drive it, don't race it until warm!

[Eddien123]

This has been covered. BMW states in the manual there is no need for a warm up period. You do more harm than good by letting it idle for long periods of time. Wait for the revs to drop maybe but as long as you remain below 3000 you're fine.

Oh really cold days I'll hold a gear higher than normal for a minute or so and that's usually just to try and get my heat going quicker. These engines are far to advanced to need to warm up in a driveway while you sit there freezing your buns off worrying about your engine that's going to be at 210 degree in 2 minutes.

I get what you're worried about though. Just don't romp on it until your temps come up and you're fine. And btw the fuel pump primes when you unlock the car. By the time you sit down and press start engine, the fuel systems been sitting with ample fuel and fuel pressure for about 30 seconds already.

[HerrGruyere]

These aren't old warbirds. Just get in, start, ensure car is running, and go! No need to sit and idle.

[VTECaddict]

Originally Posted by flexinator

Even though it's water cooled it still needs to cool down and you need to have the coolant passing through to cool it down.

Electric water pump will keep water flowing as needed even when the car is "off".

[YouAreMyWorld]

Originally Posted by Eddien123

This has been covered. BMW states in the manual there is no need for a warm up period. You do more harm than good by letting it idle for long periods of time. Wait for the revs to drop maybe but as long as you remain below 3000 you're fine.

Oh really cold days I'll hold a gear higher than normal for a minute or so and that's usually just to try and get my heat going quicker. These engines are far to advanced to need to warm up in a driveway while you sit there freezing your buns off worrying about your engine that's going to be at 210 degree in 2 minutes.

I get what you're worried about though. Just don't romp on it until your temps come up and you're fine. And btw the fuel pump primes when you unlock the car. By the time you sit down and press start engine, the fuel systems been sitting with ample fuel and fuel pressure for about 30 seconds already.

Lmaoo, BMW used to also state 15,000 (maybe 10,000) mile oil change intervals in the manual. You better start thinking logically as opposed to taking everything you read in a cars manual as law. Other than that, everything else you said is fine.

Wait for the rpm's to drop (anywhere from 15-30 seconds) and keep it under 3-4k rpms until proper oil temperature.

[n55jb4]

Funny, but never heard of a single failure from not idling engine to warm up. I would imagine if engine would blow up from not warming it up - manufacturer would have placed a 2x4 inch red warning sign in the middle of the windshield permanently engraved

To get oil circulate through engine one needs 3 seconds probably - time it takes for you to put it in a D and drive

[Eddien123]

Originally Posted by YouAreMyWorld

Lmaoo, BMW used to also state 15,000 (maybe 10,000) mile oil change intervals in the manual. You better start thinking logically as opposed to taking everything you read in a cars manual as law. Other than that, everything else you said is fine.

Wait for the rpm's to drop (anywhere from 15-30 seconds) and keep it under 3-4k rpms until proper oil temperature.

You literally just reiterated exactly what I said in my original post...

[lordbmw]

I don't warm up the car before driving off.

Old cars needed that, not modern cars.

Now I do let the engine oil come up to operating temp before thrashing it since I heard that's really bad for n54 engines.

[JasW]

I just drive off but I don't punch it or high rev it until the oil temp needle has moved a tad. At least I try to do that. It's the only "rule" I know about warming up.

[Indyeah]

That EngineeringExplained guy on YouTube did a video on this. He seems to be on point about other topics and I find him generally trust worthy. His view is that the longer the engine is cold the more wear. This includes idling while cold. Name of the game is get the engine up to temperature more quickly with LIGHT driving. Drive too hard, engine not lubricated yet and you do damage. Sit idle and engine stays cold longer and also wears more quickly. Light, normal driving is the best compromise. Also as most people have said modern cars are not terribly susceptible to serious damage from cold. We're talking about small gains/losses.