driving hard
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 2,056
Likes: 211
From: Central Ohio
Redline 
Oil and tranny temps are the biggest concern, coolant temperature plays no factor in it.
I keep mine below 4K when its cold, but to me its more about not flooring the car and letting her hang out until she has some heat in her.
Oil and tranny temps are the biggest concern, coolant temperature plays no factor in it.
I keep mine below 4K when its cold, but to me its more about not flooring the car and letting her hang out until she has some heat in her.
Banned Scam/Spammer
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 3,263
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From: Chicago Il
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 565
From: Mesquite NV
Same here ... also, on ramp to interstate is about a mile from my house, by the time I hit the interstate, I'm doing 80mph+ ... have always driven it 'hard', have 90k on the motor & it's still going strong 
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 4,457
Likes: 1,391
From: SC
The dry sump cars with unregulated air/oil coolers take FOREVER to warm up the oil. I can drive 20 minutes to work and the oil just hits 150F (in warmish spring weather). For comparison, my 5.7 Hemi which has an oil warmer/cooler in the radiator hits 150 in about 3 minutes on the same drive. I'm seriously considering replacing the GS radiator with one that has the oil cooler in the radiator for faster warmup.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 6,271
Likes: 113
From: Texas
Oil doesn't protect more at 220 F than it does at 50F. That's why it's mulit grade stuff. GM emphasizes NOT TO USE any but the recommended oil weights and they will work fine. It's not like its metal to metal until the oil gets to X temp. If it were, we'd destroy our engines at 1k rpm. No need to get to 5k.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,436
Likes: 875
From: Bay Area CA
I keep a simple rule and that is not to go WOT until engine oil temps are at least 150* F, by then engine coolant is at normal temp and the manual trans oil is good.
Last edited by Mike's LS3; May 6, 2016 at 10:59 AM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,001
Likes: 243
From: Surprise, Az
The main reason I wait until the oil is up to temp is to allow the engine to "tighten up", as the engine comes up to temp, the engine tolerances become tighter, less blowby, tighter bearing tolerances, etc.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,436
Likes: 875
From: Bay Area CA
Slowly bringing up the bearing tolerances minimizes wear. There is a greater difference in engine component temperatures when the engine is first start up. Going WOT will increase the chance of wear to those components when cold.
Last edited by Mike's LS3; May 6, 2016 at 11:38 AM.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,944
Likes: 339
From: Mesquite, Nv
The dry sump cars with unregulated air/oil coolers take FOREVER to warm up the oil. I can drive 20 minutes to work and the oil just hits 150F (in warmish spring weather). For comparison, my 5.7 Hemi which has an oil warmer/cooler in the radiator hits 150 in about 3 minutes on the same drive. I'm seriously considering replacing the GS radiator with one that has the oil cooler in the radiator for faster warmup.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 116
Likes: 16
From: Collinsville IL
I don't accelerate rapidly or go over 2000 RPM until the engine is fully warmed up. I figure by then the oil should be warm enough. Actually, I drive my car pretty tamely most of the time even when the engine is plenty warm enough. Most of the time.
Pro
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 708
Likes: 47
Mark
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 3,189
Likes: 145
From: the island of misfit toys
I start the car and let it warm up for about 90 seconds, and drive slowly around the corner to the light at the intersection. By the time I hit the second intersection, the horses are awake.