MikeW

How long does a wankel engine take to warm up.

Starting from freezing, my car takes 15 minutes (of idling) to fully warm, up.
Or 5 minutes of idling & 5 minutes of (light) driving.

wakeech

who knows?? you could take a whack at trying to figure out the molar heat capacity, with loose guesses on how much of the 273lb engine is iron, and how much is aluminum, and then add in the 7L of oil, not to mention the coolant...

honestly, i'd say after 10 mins of light, measured driving, everything should be where it's at.

Quick_lude

You should NEVER idle your car for that long unless it's -30 Deg Celsius. Start it, put on your seatbelt, check your mirrors, set your radio and drive away gently.

MikeW

You don't know Chrysler, do you?

That 15 minutes, was just a test.
Normally I warmup the engine until the temp gauge move off the peg, just a little.

Quick_lude

What's a Chrysler? Lol.. actually my parents owned a Dodge Omni.. hehe.. fun times..
With my car, especially since I use synthetic oil, one min is all I wait usually.. then drive off gently.. Car and the catalytic warms up much faster. Good for the environment and the fuel economy.

joofntool

/nod

lefuton

so uh, whuts so bad about having the car idle?

Quick_lude

The engine/drivetrain and the catalytic convertor warm up much slower than if you were driving under gentle load. This also affects your oil in a negative way and emissions. And you are getting 0 mpg while idling.

Efini 8

nothing, its good especially when you are on a cold day. cold cylinders are not good... not sure about rotary walls.

warming up and cooling down the engine for turbocharged vehicles cools the oil so it doesnt "cook" in the oil sump. warming up gets the oil flowing thiner ...because at higher temperatures the molecules of oil are less dense.

B-Nez

Living in Northwest Florida, we do experience winter (contrary to popular belief), but not quite as harsh as other states. With my '91 RX7 I never needed to "preheat" the car - even when temps were 32F and below. Started her up and waited only long enough for the cold start assist to finish before departing. I'd say within one to two minutes I had heat blowing out of the vents. These cars have the best heater-response in the industry. LOL!

Sputnik

I disagree with the NEVER. Especially on cold days, you need to let the engine get to a certain point before you gently drive off. I agree that gently driving is better (and conveniently, quicker, and you're not sittin' around waiting), but that doesn't mean that a little warm-up at idle isn't called for.

I'm not a big fan of letting a turbo car sit around idling to cool it down. I'm not saying shut it off right after you've run the engine hard, but drive it around gently instead of letting it just idle. If you ever get a car with a real oil and water pressure gauge, you'll notice how low the oil and water pressure get when the car is idling. If you've run the car hard, you need to keep that oil and water flowing as best as you can. IMO, if you've just run the engine hard enough that you think it needs a cool-down before it's shut-off, then gently driving it around is better than sitting in the driveway. Especially since that will get some air flowing over the radiator (fans only do so much). If you haven't run the car hard before it's time to shut down, then letting it sit idling (especially on a hot summer day), would actually cause the car to heat up. I mean, think about it: Do cars overheat when cruising down the road at 30 mph, or when stuck idling in bumper-to-bumper traffic?

---jps

MarkRx

If the cooling system is sufficient enough, then it should never overheat.

Smoker

FYI: from this document:
http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4765


Rotary Engine
The rotary engine in the RX-8 requires premium unleaded fuel with an octane rating of 91 or above. It is normal for rotary engines to consume a small amount of engine oil to lubricate internal engine components. Drivers should use the oil dipstick to inspect the oil level when refueling.
During short periods of cold engine driving (such as backing the RX-8 out of a garage to wash it in a driveway) drivers should use the following procedure to help keep the spark plugs from fouling or the rotary engine from running rough:
-Turn the ignition switch to the START position and hold (up to 10 seconds at a time) until the engine starts.
-After starting the engine, let it idle for about 10 seconds, then move the vehicle.
-After moving the vehicle, let the engine idle for about 5 minutes.
-Rev the engine to 3000 rpm, and then let it return to idle.
-Turn the ignition switch to the OFF position.

For additional details and warnings, refer to the 2004 Mazda RX-8 Owner's Manual.

Y&Y

You know I do the same with my 4 banger. I thought it was common sense to warm up the engine a bit and rev it a bit and then turn the car off.

Ahura

In the winter when there's no snow or ice on my windows, I don't let my RX-7 warm up any. I just drive gently until the fluids are up to temperature, which you should do in all ambient temperatures. The only time I let my car warmup is when I have scrap frost or brush snow off my car. Mainly, that's for me though ... the heat Under gentle driving, the motor gets to 180F within 5 minutes around freezing and around 10 minutes when it's colder.

Rotaries are fine in the cold. As long as you supply it with the approriate oil weight, it'll run fine and give you no problems. Unless it's cold enough to freeze gas The only problem I've found out with driving the car immediately is that the gearbox is sluggish when it's around or below 0F.

Fd3BOOST

You dont need to let a rotary warm up. Especially on one thats N/A.
Just drive it.

ChrisW

Maybe, but it seems strange that this advice features so prominently in the sales guide. Are rotary engines more sensitive in this respect than piston engines?

TerenceT

i thought reving it up before shutting down was back from Carburator? you leave some fuel in the carb so it starts easier?

crouzer

Good advice and suggestions by all.

I think the extended warm ups are from the old days of manual chokes and carburators?

My 78 Land Cruiser FJ40 with manual choke takes longer to warm up to an operatable level than an automatic choke with fuel injection.

I hope to convert its stock 2F I6 to multiport fuel injection one day. :D That and the RX-8 will make a good pair. :D