I just purchased my first Mazda with the 2.5 turbo, this is my first turbo vehicle. I watched some YouTube videos on turbo’s and a lot of the “expert mechanics” said the car needs to run for 5 to 15 minutes before driving. Their reasoning was getting warm oil flowing thru the turbo to prevent damage to the bearings. I’m guessing if one lived in the very cold climates that might be a good idea. However, the owner’s manual stated that once the engine runs smooth, coming down off of the high idle, start driving. I live in central Florida so I will never be dealing with those cold mornings. So…..for those of you that have a vast amount of knowledge and experience with turbo engines what is your advice?
CX-5 Turbo warm up time?
- Thread starter John B
- Start date
N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
If that were the case, there would be warnings in the manuals.
From a garage: when my cold start is done and the idle settles, I give it a blip with my foot (1500 rpm) and I deem it ready.
From outside in the winter: an additional 30-60 seconds with the throttle at 1500 rpm. Drive easy until engine is warm (temp gauge outside the blue area and heater vents are giving warm air).
From a garage: when my cold start is done and the idle settles, I give it a blip with my foot (1500 rpm) and I deem it ready.
From outside in the winter: an additional 30-60 seconds with the throttle at 1500 rpm. Drive easy until engine is warm (temp gauge outside the blue area and heater vents are giving warm air).
once the cold idle settles is more than enough.
or you can just put it right in gear and take off. gently driving is the best way to warm up.
or you can just put it right in gear and take off. gently driving is the best way to warm up.
N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
Please don't do this. Not only is it not fun to drive with retarded engine timing, it will lurch forward (or backward) which is hard on the transmission and could cause you to bump into something/someone depending on where you are parked.
It's only 20 seconds...just let it do its thing.
Sometimes I'll wait, sometimes I won't. Either way, it really doesn't matter. 300k+ on the original trans here. It won't wear anything out faster if you do this.
It's primarily for warming up the cat, which will be done when you start to drive anyways.
As long as you drive normally, it's the best way to warm up the engine.
Thanks
yes
sure.
Why? no. Don't do this. you can wait a 30-60 sec, but don't touch the throttle. put it in gear once the idle settles down and take off! you need the transmission fluid to be fully circulating as well. it won't until it is in gear.
for sure
N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
It is -20°F today. Not happening without a warmup.
- :
- 2016.5 CX-5 GT AWD titanium/black 2016 Miata Club ST MT white
With you living in central Florida, the words cold start and warm up should never be heard.
What's the coldest we're talking about here? 40f? (looking at my weather station readout, MINUS 15f with a windchill of MINUS 35f) 40f ain't cold.
Hop in the car, start the engine before you do anything else. By the time you get settled in, put your seatbelt on, get your phone in place and the music to your liking, your motor will be ready to go. Just baby it a lil till it comes up to operating temp.
I totally understand. We lived in central Indiana before retiring to Florida and the winters got pretty cold there too, maybe not -15 but still got cold. My definition of a cold start up is ; the car has set all night and all of the fluids are pretty much at ambient temperatures. I always allow the engine to run until It comes down to normal idle but since this is my first turbo I wanted to make sure it didn’t need to run longer before driving. I’ve been driving, legally, since 1966 but never had a turbo car.With you living in central Florida, the words cold start and warm up should never be heard.
What's the coldest we're talking about here? 40f? (looking at my weather station readout, MINUS 15f with a windchill of MINUS 35f) 40f ain't cold.
Hop in the car, start the engine before you do anything else. By the time you get settled in, put your seatbelt on, get your phone in place and the music to your liking, your motor will be ready to go. Just baby it a lil till it comes up to operating temp.
Thanks for your input.
Again, implying you know better than the engineers, or what? The car knows what rpm to idle at when you start it up.
The initial cold start idle lasts 30 seconds. nothing will warm up sufficiently from idling. Not one minute, not 30. Once the idle drops, it's ready to go in gear.
To sit there for any longer, especially with some throttle application is totally unnecessary. Just let the car do its thing and stop d*cking around with it for once.
N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
Exactly. So I help speed up the process. Just like Mazda. It's better than putting the engine under load with cold oil.
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I'm sorry, let me explain this to you politely, in hopes you potentially understanding.
Both the engine and transmission are designed to function under load (in gear moving under the engines power)
When you are in park or neutral
1. The engine is not under load. It will NOT reach operating temperature, and it will do very slowly.
2. The transmission is not under load.
This means:
- the fluid is not fully circulating through the unit. It will not warm up.
Yet again, back to the original point.
The fastest, most efficient way to physically reach operating temperature would be:
- In gear
- moving.
N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
I shouldn't have to elaborate, but maybe I do.
Just so you're aware, I have the turbo motor with 5W-30 oil. 5W-30 is rated to flow to as low as -22°F.
In case you missed it, I gave two scenarios above. One for normal conditions where I start driving when Mazda's AWS brings the engine down to its normal idle. Extended warmup time is not necessary.
The other is for days like today, when it's -20°F. We're on the bleeding edge of what this oil is capable of, so I'd much rather make sure its circulating a little better before I give the engine a load. There is greater risk from carelessness than giving it an extra 30-60 seconds in these conditions.
So I've done two things to help out my car: one is described above. The second is that I'm using Pennzoil Ultra Platinum which has the best cold flow property of almost any oil on the market.
There is no need for further pedantics. I think I've explained my position well enough, and won't post here again.
Just so you're aware, I have the turbo motor with 5W-30 oil. 5W-30 is rated to flow to as low as -22°F.
In case you missed it, I gave two scenarios above. One for normal conditions where I start driving when Mazda's AWS brings the engine down to its normal idle. Extended warmup time is not necessary.
The other is for days like today, when it's -20°F. We're on the bleeding edge of what this oil is capable of, so I'd much rather make sure its circulating a little better before I give the engine a load. There is greater risk from carelessness than giving it an extra 30-60 seconds in these conditions.
So I've done two things to help out my car: one is described above. The second is that I'm using Pennzoil Ultra Platinum which has the best cold flow property of almost any oil on the market.
There is no need for further pedantics. I think I've explained my position well enough, and won't post here again.
Antoine
Administrator
Being aggressive, argumentative, confrontational etc is not only completely and utterly unnecessary, it’s against Site Rules. Such behavior will not be tolerated on these Forums.
This is a final warning.
Now back to the thread topic and civil discourse, thank you.
Fellow canadian here with a 2018 CX-9 where temps go down below freezing half of the year. The only thing I want to add is that the car engine runs differently in the cold until it is warmed up past the bue section of coolant temperature on the dash. The car either protects itself or run a different cycle in an attempt to warm up faster. In that period the car has noticeably less power. My guess is that the turbo is being bypassed during that period, but i could be wrong. The engine definitely has to rev higher than usual to get the same acceleration. As soon as it is out of the blue section it is back to normal.
These turbos have been designed with reliability in mind, they are not the performance add on that required a shut down timer that they used to be. If you go on the CX-9 forum where this turbo has been in use since 2016, I don’t think i have seen a single post about turbo replacement.
Drive the car like you normally would. A short bit of idle at start is always good for the car in general, avoid high rev with cold oil and things will be fine.
These turbos have been designed with reliability in mind, they are not the performance add on that required a shut down timer that they used to be. If you go on the CX-9 forum where this turbo has been in use since 2016, I don’t think i have seen a single post about turbo replacement.
Drive the car like you normally would. A short bit of idle at start is always good for the car in general, avoid high rev with cold oil and things will be fine.
The higher revs you're noticing on cold start is actually the torque converter in the transmission staying unlocked... Keeps the revs up to warm up faster and give the engine an easier time to maintain speed..
@N7turbo
Here is some of the information which was recorded during a simple drive; which I think you'll find valuable. This log involves a cold start in my garage. Notice at around the 50 second mark, (which is when ignition timing is initially retarded. Notice how engine load is at 100% during this process. This is on a fully custom 91 Octane tune. (Skyactiv 2.5 NA) and with a cold start delete, which essentially lowers engine rpm to around 1250rpm, as seen in this log.
So, regardless whether it is cold or not, start the car, let it idle until engine speed drops, and put it into gear.
Or, you can skip the process and put it in gear sooner. Engine operation adjusts, and it goes into gear the same as otherwise.
I like to park backwards at the end of my drivetrain, start up while rolling, pop into gear. Less strain on both drivetrain components.
So if you're really concerned about placing high load on your engine when cold, its trivial whether you wait or not. What really matters is how you treat the vehicle in general.
As you can see in this drive (which includes hills) I am quite gentle on the throttle, staying mostly under 2000rpm. Yes, occasionally rev to 2500rpm, where it makes most of its torque. Yes, I do take it full throttle. to around 5000rpm. But I am not 17 anymore. I do it when needed, with purpose.
if you care about your engine, especially with the additional complexities of a turbocharger, keep your engine load around 50% or so.
Here is some of the information which was recorded during a simple drive; which I think you'll find valuable. This log involves a cold start in my garage. Notice at around the 50 second mark, (which is when ignition timing is initially retarded. Notice how engine load is at 100% during this process. This is on a fully custom 91 Octane tune. (Skyactiv 2.5 NA) and with a cold start delete, which essentially lowers engine rpm to around 1250rpm, as seen in this log.
So, regardless whether it is cold or not, start the car, let it idle until engine speed drops, and put it into gear.
Or, you can skip the process and put it in gear sooner. Engine operation adjusts, and it goes into gear the same as otherwise.
I like to park backwards at the end of my drivetrain, start up while rolling, pop into gear. Less strain on both drivetrain components.
So if you're really concerned about placing high load on your engine when cold, its trivial whether you wait or not. What really matters is how you treat the vehicle in general.
As you can see in this drive (which includes hills) I am quite gentle on the throttle, staying mostly under 2000rpm. Yes, occasionally rev to 2500rpm, where it makes most of its torque. Yes, I do take it full throttle. to around 5000rpm. But I am not 17 anymore. I do it when needed, with purpose.
if you care about your engine, especially with the additional complexities of a turbocharger, keep your engine load around 50% or so.
