C6 warm up time
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 53
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From: HOUSTON TEXAS
C6 warm up time
Hello Gentlemen,
I recently purchased my first Corvette and will have a few questions from time to time. How long do ya"ll let your engine warm up before taking off? If there is one or two pieces of advice about owning a c6 vette, what would you advise. I know one thing is the lid to the cig lighter breaks very easily and not to use it much. I am looking for stuff as simple as that to what is the best oil to use.
Merry Christmas
Capt George
I recently purchased my first Corvette and will have a few questions from time to time. How long do ya"ll let your engine warm up before taking off? If there is one or two pieces of advice about owning a c6 vette, what would you advise. I know one thing is the lid to the cig lighter breaks very easily and not to use it much. I am looking for stuff as simple as that to what is the best oil to use.
Merry Christmas
Capt George
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,247
Likes: 7
From: Austin TX
you are going to get beat up in here with advice... but here's my .02 cents.
1. no warm up, just drive slowly. I personally keep revs below 2k not only until the coolant reached normal operating temp, but also the oil temp. I still don't get on it until i have driven several miles and know that the manual transmission and rear diff oil has circulated a little also.
2. i've heard of the ashtray door breaking, hasn't happened to me yet. (knock on wood)
3. best oil is highly opinionated. Mobil-1 works great. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. However there are better oils, www.bobistheoilguy.com has several blackstone oil analysis results that will suit your personal flavor.
Most important, esp since this is your first C6, learn the car, how it handles and it's powerband. respect the car. we don't want you to wind up banging gears showing off and wraping it around a telephone pole. congrats and welcome aboard!
1. no warm up, just drive slowly. I personally keep revs below 2k not only until the coolant reached normal operating temp, but also the oil temp. I still don't get on it until i have driven several miles and know that the manual transmission and rear diff oil has circulated a little also.
2. i've heard of the ashtray door breaking, hasn't happened to me yet. (knock on wood)
3. best oil is highly opinionated. Mobil-1 works great. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. However there are better oils, www.bobistheoilguy.com has several blackstone oil analysis results that will suit your personal flavor.
Most important, esp since this is your first C6, learn the car, how it handles and it's powerband. respect the car. we don't want you to wind up banging gears showing off and wraping it around a telephone pole. congrats and welcome aboard!
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 46,295
Likes: 2,596
From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
Could not agree with Mark more. Not really into the bob oil thing, imo just stick with the Mobil One for now. The one thing more than the ashtray door that may break is the actual glove box latch, but it's a warranty item meaning the dealer will replace it with no fuss (almost always 
).
To elaborate, no idle to warm up engine per, just take it easy/drive gently so ALL the fluids get warmed up and ready to be used. The reason to take it easy is so that the fluids can do their purpose: lubricate the parts, like rear end, trans, internal engine parts, etc. Even synthetic oil which works very well at cold temps, but works better when it's warmed up.
).To elaborate, no idle to warm up engine per, just take it easy/drive gently so ALL the fluids get warmed up and ready to be used. The reason to take it easy is so that the fluids can do their purpose: lubricate the parts, like rear end, trans, internal engine parts, etc. Even synthetic oil which works very well at cold temps, but works better when it's warmed up.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,684
Likes: 107
From: Opelika Alabama
any GOOD syn is OK as long as it has the right spec for your motor, IE; LS2 4718M, before I take off in the morn or any time, I wait until the analog gauge on the dash move's off off zero or whatever # it starts on
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,486
Likes: 800
From: West coast CA
No warm-up before driving, which has been true of modern cars for a long time. Just take it easy until the oil temperature comes up.
The component that takes the longest to warm-up is the transmission, which is especially obvious if you've got an MN6. The only way to heat up the rear-mounted gearboxes in these cars is to drive them. Not much heat from the engine makes it back there.
The component that takes the longest to warm-up is the transmission, which is especially obvious if you've got an MN6. The only way to heat up the rear-mounted gearboxes in these cars is to drive them. Not much heat from the engine makes it back there.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,116
Likes: 6
From: Waynesville NC
I don't do a warmup either, but since the road from my house is a slight downward grade, I start out in second to avoid the notchy (when cold) first to second (MZ6) gear shift, all the while taking it very easy until the engine oil temperature comes up.
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Drifting
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 1,456
Likes: 5
From: Bothell WA
If you have a manual transmission, it will help to double clutch your shifts for the first couple miles when its cold outside. I found this prevents the "notchiness" or clashing you can get with the 1-2 and 2-3 shift when the transmission fluid is cold.
- Mark
- Mark
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2,786
Likes: 49
From: Sun Devil Country
I usually let the car warm up to approx 120 degrees before I take off. Lets most of the fluids get to a somewhat good flow temp and releases most of the condensation from the exhaust system. Do it on both of my cars and it doesn't take long. 
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,611
Likes: 5
From: Thousand Oaks California
Hello Gentlemen,
I recently purchased my first Corvette and will have a few questions from time to time. How long do ya"ll let your engine warm up before taking off? If there is one or two pieces of advice about owning a c6 vette, what would you advise. I know one thing is the lid to the cig lighter breaks very easily and not to use it much. I am looking for stuff as simple as that to what is the best oil to use.
Merry Christmas
Capt George
I recently purchased my first Corvette and will have a few questions from time to time. How long do ya"ll let your engine warm up before taking off? If there is one or two pieces of advice about owning a c6 vette, what would you advise. I know one thing is the lid to the cig lighter breaks very easily and not to use it much. I am looking for stuff as simple as that to what is the best oil to use.
Merry Christmas
Capt George
I believe that the engine will warm more quickly, and use less fuel, if driven modestly as opposed to the car just setting with the engine idling.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 6,032
Likes: 124
From: Dallas TX
I'm pretty **** about this and my rule of thumb is to drive off as soon as you can, but keep revs and throttle input down until oil temp is at 150F. I never rev up the motor or drive excessively fast until oil temp is at 150F. It's worked for me over my last two Vettes and I beat the snot out of them after it gets above 150F. I saw 314F in August at a track event in the heat of DFW. That's with the extra quart of oil and the factory oil cooler on the '08 LS3 C6. I backed off at that point and started short shifting for the remainder of the session.
Tolero Apto Victum
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 9,669
Likes: 37
From: Woodlands TX
I bought my 07 with 2 miles on it and it has over 80,000 on it right now. I use it as a DD. I believe that if you do a proper break in period ie. vary your RPM's, change your fluids, keep a maint. log your car will last a long time. I like mobile 1 oil and filter. I drive the car pretty easy until it reaches 120F oil temp. I also like to do a 1 min warm up and a 1 min cooldown before shutdown. I drive my car very hard, new brakes and tires every six months. Overall these cars are built very well IMOP. Happy driven!!!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 844
Likes: 0
From: Houston The Republic of Texas
Read the owners manual as it contains a wealth of information. MarkRx said it best on learning the car. I've had mine almost 2 weeks and it's really been fun learning it. I'm still holding it back, but we've got lots of time to learn about each other.
Favorite part, so far, is cranking it up (I have NPP) and listening to the growl. Haven't decided yet on doing M2W or not.
In any event, enjoy it!
oz
Favorite part, so far, is cranking it up (I have NPP) and listening to the growl. Haven't decided yet on doing M2W or not.
In any event, enjoy it!
oz
