Hello,

I've only had my 20vt LE for about two weeks now and was interested to know how long people let their cars warm up for before driving and also how long they left them to cool down for after driving. For short journeys and longer journeys?

Thanks

Tim

I generally give the car 10-15 minutes gentle driving, before driving on boost, at higher revs.

The jury is out on here regarding cooling down. Having owned previous turbocharged Fiats, (Uno Turbo/Punto GT), I'm quite used to giving the car two/three minutes of resting at idle before switching the engine off. Or the other way to do this is to drive lightly a few minutes before you complete you journey.

That said, the jury is out on whether you actually need to cool the car down at all with the Coupe.

All I can say is the Uno Turbo had 120,000 on it's clock, with the original turbo, by the time I sold it on.

Warm up will depend on the state of your thermostat. Temp should be in the late 60's before you give it any beans. As for cool down, so long as you drive the last mile of so sedately I would not bother. Idle is not a health state for a car to be in IMHO.

same thing about warming up on a cold morning. never let the engine heat up at idle.. start driving 10 sec after you start the car.

I didn't know that idling for a short time was bad for the engine.

Quote:

---

never let the engine heat up at idle.. start driving 10 sec after you start the car.

---

Why is that?

Can't say for certain whether idling is good or bad for the coop, but the drivers manual doesn't recommend it.

Oops, I guess I should RTFM

Engine runs rich builds up carbon deposits IIRC

Thats extended idling. Idling for a short time is unavoidable in traffic and the like so it cant be bad. I personally start it up and give it 10-15 secs then move off and drive gently.

Ross

IM;
warm it : until the temp gauge reaches the first line,
cool down : drive it with off-boost at least for the last mile, and keep it idling for 20-30 secs before you turn it off..

Never had a turbo'd car before
Any thoughts about this 10 years later?

Holy thread resurrection, this must be a record

Whilst you're maybe not thinking about this right this minute, if the fans have been on when you park up let them cool the engine until they cut out before switching off

Surely you never let the car idle when parked. You rev the nuts off it and keep bouncing it off the rev limiter?

At least that's what I learnt at Brooklands this year from folks who have the 20VT installed in other Fiat Products

Erm, read this thread from the beginning, it's all there.

Still just the same knowledge them jim?
any other amateur turbo knowledge is needed

What exactly do need to know PJ? The Coop is an old girl now & needs care & attention plus money thrown at it...... Your real problem is finding a Coop friendly/can work on garage. There's a few Coopsters down Edinburgh-shire way may be able to point you in the right direction...

Agree with this 10 year old post, as this is what I have done in over 10 years of Coupe ownership.

Rather than start and wait, rumour has it that it is best to drive a car gently for the first few miles, as the engine warms up quicker........then you can give it the beans

Yeah, I am with Bob on warm down. Just drive gently last few miles, no need to sit and wait, I'd sooner have airflow going into the engine bay than none