Safe winter engine operating temps?
 

Down here in the balmy South, though North of the sunshine state, the days are lucky to be in the 40's-50's. In this weather and colder the oil temp is usually getting to 150-160 degrees at most. As a rule I was informed that *spirited* driving should be undertaken after the engine has warmed to 180...

With a turbo tail on the back there is no doubt a lot of cold air is reaching the fan. The oil cooler hasn't been in use since October probably, since the thermostat doesn't open. I'm wondering if the 180 guide is somewhat arbitrary, or if there is wear on the engine due to a lack of full expansion from warming.

How hard do folks drive their cars in cold weather?

I give it time to warm a bit (5-10 minutes worth of moderate driving <3.5k rpm) and then let 'er rip. Actually, it seems that at lower temps with lower dewpoints, the car drives as if it has more HP. Reminds me of the way a 2 stroke engine operates....cool dry air makes top end higher.[IMG]http://[/IMG]

I wonder how long it would take you to wear it out if you took it to redline every morning at startup and drove it like you stole it all the way to work and back. Long time I'd guess.

I keep it under 4000 or so for the first few minutes, about the time the needle clears the top of the first long white bar. Redline does not happen for another ten minutes or so (these things take a good long time to warm completely up).

To answer your question, there is no problem with spirited driving once the engine has come up to full operating temperature. Even if that is 160 on your gauge. At full operating temperatures, the parts are all hot and you are good to go.