how long should i warm up the engine? +brake qeustion

R

rmf26

Member
Location
Beirut Lebanon
Hey guys!
I have a noob question to ask:

I have heard that the FX35 (1st gen) takes longer to warm up then most cars, is this true?

I usually wait until the rpm hits close to 1000 then i start to move ...i do this cuz i worry that this may be true (obviously somone should wait a certain amount of time) it didnt take long for warming up .... until i installed a flowmaster 80 series muffler but then my car never warmed up!:mad.: it was soooo frustrating ...it took FOREVER and yes i did post a thread about the backpressure issue but i want to know somthing

I recently put the stock muffler back again, car warms up much faster now, but i placed on order for an HKS legamax exhaust ... i have stillen cermic headers waiting to be installed too, my only worry now is that i will have the same problem with warming up the car again ... and my main concern is that i REALLY REALLY REALLY do not want to loss too much bottum end torque :tdown: ... what do you guys think i should do? My mechanic said that i should keep the stock cats in order to preserve some more low end torque? is he just messing with my head or somthing?

BTW im am running on a stock ECU now (soon people ... soon):wink (2):

On another note, i also have ordered a 8 piston 14" BBK from ksport for the front BUT now all of my friends are saying that will cause a huge inbalance in the braking ... for example: what it im on a turn on a highway and decide to hit the brakes, with the back slide out?:eek:
 
With no major engine modifications and choosing the right type of motor oil, you don't need to let the FX "warm up". Nothing in the FX manual directs you to warm up the engine before driving.

Doesn't matter what kind of headers or exhaust you put on the FX - you should not need to warm up the engine. If it becomes VERY cold in the winter time where you live, then it is important to determine what type of oil you should run in your FX. If you have major temperature differences between summer and winter, you might want to run different types of oil that protect your engine at particular temperatures.

Also, I do NOT think you are losing any low end torque. You have changed the back-pressure of the exhaust and you might need to tune your ECU. The Air/Fuel amounts are most likely off from the OEM maps that used the OEM exhaust. If the air/fuel is off too much, the ECU can pull timing from the engine and it will FEEL like you are losing power. You need a dyno tune.

Your mechanic is correct that using the stock cats should improve the backpressure and it might improve low end torque but I do not think that is the solution to your problems if you want to keep the advantages of your new exhaust and ceramic headers. Restrictions inside the cats will take away the advantage of the exhaust work you have done. To take advantage of the system the way it is - to improve performance across the powerband, you will need your ECU tuned on a dynomometer after all your parts are installed.

As for the brakes - you need to check with K-sport. Some kit are made to work with the OEM rear brakes - like Stoptech which is what I have. If the K-Sport brakes are part of a four caliper kit, you will need all four calipers. If they are made to work with the FX rear OEM brakes, you should be just fine with them.
 
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Brad, i read the page on bobistheoilguy.com that you had directed us to where i learned that any/every oil is thick when cold and the most wear and tear happens to a car upon start up which means that jack rabbit driving behavior is detrimental to an engine's overall health. for this reason, i let my car idle for at least two minutes after start up. i do numerous short driving so i can be certainly say that my engine does need proper viscosity of of oil for a prolonged life.
 
SJ - we agree on the theories but in practice I don't think the life you are adding to the motor is much benefit to you UNLESS you know you will never sell this car. If you plan on driving it until it dies then it it might be worth the extra effort to pick, test and refine the choice of motor oils until you find one that shows the least amount of wear. The oil needs of the motor will also change over the life of the car.

Well maintained FXs are now showing over 150,000 miles. If you know you will be keeping the FX beyond that mileage the value might be there for you. If not... you decide what is worthwhile to you. I'd guess most FX owners don't have their oil tested to even know if they could improve on what they do have - nor should they, if they use the OEM recommendations because most people trade or sell their cars after 5-10 years. The FX has been around for 8 years so there are not a ton of high mileage examples out there.

To the OP - I really think your only problem is the tune. The right motor oil can help with performance and even fuel efficiency as well as protection. Once you start modifying your FX, some of the other systems need to be adjusted. As a general rule, when you change anything related to the intake or exhaust on a car, you should reset the ECU. Depending on the design of the aftermarket components, tuning the ECU might be the only way to get the system to work properly.
 
The problem is that i live in a country were the mechanics are baaaaaaad, they just suck! i found a tuner with a dyno that said they can do it perfectly (i have heard this too many times), but i worry that my engine will explode (knock on wood) or somthing, i really donot like to take the risk with tuning, i fear the life of the engine will decrease dramatically .... so that really freaks me out

The guy told me that he will remove the speed limiter while maintaining the rpm limiter, thats all ok for me, but i have a qeustion, when i hit the speed limiter (stock) on my car at 195 with 3000 rpms (i think), what will happen once i remove the limiter? what speed will it achieve, it will eventually hit the rpm limiter, has anyone had any expierence with this?

When you said "reset the ecu", did you mean i should disconnect the battery or somthing like that? would that give me any help?

Hey jumbo did you expierence any problems when you tuned your ecu? did you receive any siginificant gains a all? I read a thread saying that the tuner opened the throttle to 100% WOT ... what does this mean? how much percent am i running on stock?
 
rmf26 said:
The problem is that i live in a country were the mechanics are baaaaaaad, they just suck! i found a tuner with a dyno that said they can do it perfectly (i have heard this too many times), but i worry that my engine will explode (knock on wood) or somthing, i really donot like to take the risk with tuning, i fear the life of the engine will decrease dramatically .... so that really freaks me out

The guy told me that he will remove the speed limiter while maintaining the rpm limiter, thats all ok for me, but i have a qeustion, when i hit the speed limiter (stock) on my car at 195 with 3000 rpms (i think), what will happen once i remove the limiter? what speed will it achieve, it will eventually hit the rpm limiter, has anyone had any expierence
Click to expand...


You'll most likely hit the aerodynamic wall where your car just won't go any faster. So don't worry about hitting the rpm limit. It'll creep up slowly assuming you still have road. I think the upper limits on these cars are around 130-140 mph. Tires permitting.

So probably 15-30 km/h pass your current limit.
 
rmf26 said:
The guy told me that he will remove the speed limiter while maintaining the rpm limiter, thats all ok for me, but i have a qeustion, when i hit the speed limiter (stock) on my car at 195 with 3000 rpms (i think), what will happen once i remove the limiter? what speed will it achieve, it will eventually hit the rpm limiter, has anyone had any expierence with this?

When you said "reset the ecu", did you mean i should disconnect the battery or somthing like that? would that give me any help?

Hey jumbo did you expierence any problems when you tuned your ecu? did you receive any siginificant gains a all? I read a thread saying that the tuner opened the throttle to 100% WOT ... what does this mean? how much percent am i running on stock?
Click to expand...

I understand your situation. Seems like you have a few more challenges because of your location.

To reset the ECU, yes - just unplug the battery for at least five minutes. You know it reset when you lose all your radio station presets.

Gains from the ECU tune were huge - larger than any bolt on modification. Some of the general controls you can change include the rev limiter and the top speed limiter. For daily driving, changing these things doesn't matter very much.

rijc99 said:
You'll most likely hit the aerodynamic wall where your car just won't go any faster. So don't worry about hitting the rpm limit. It'll creep up slowly assuming you still have road. I think the upper limits on these cars are around 130-140 mph. Tires permitting. So probably 15-30 km/h pass your current limit.
Click to expand...

+1 - agree. The top speed of the FX is limited by aerodynamics, I have not heard or seen anybody going faster than 130mph without engine modifications. An ECU tune will not improve your top speed, but it should give you better acceleration.

If a local shop has experience doing what you want to do then ask to speak with past customers? Just having the software does not mean the shop knows how to tune. They can DEFINITELY give you a bad tune that damages your engine. If you can send your ECU to the US - maybe Technosquare - you can not drive your FX while it is gone, but if that does not bother you - it might be the best way to go. You might have to send it more than once, for adjustments after the first tune.
 
Seriously you guys never cease to amaze me with the amount of detail i recieve from this site ... ughh i really wish i was in the US right now ... too much money spent with shipping tax and installations here, they want 1100$ for a dyno tune :eek.: ... and im sure that quality is no were near as good as technosquare :embarrassed: ... im guna save up for sending out my ECU, maybe not US, but we will have to seeee! ... anyways im going to post a review on the current parts ONCE they are all here with tons of pics ;P (ordered them from the US ... it takes FOREVER!!!!!!!)

Hey jumbo, i must ask, how long have you been running with your ECU tune? have you expiernced any issues at all? what was the main thing that came out from the tune? e.g. did you remove the Rev limiter? Did the tempurature increase at all? and of course, how was the fuel economy?

As for the accerleration, i got all the major bolt-ons (except a supercharger), now im wondering ... what would be an estimated 0-60? , i know this qeustion is too general, here are a list of engine modds so far:

HKS exhaust
Stillen ceramic headers
Stillen Z-tube intake kit
1/2" MD Plenuim
Standard pulley set Stillen
The ECU tune (eventually)

I just want to beat a stupid an audi 2.0T A4 and a volvo c30 t5 (i hate that i lost against a volvo :@)
 
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