Note: your engine is not yet warm enough if this gauge indicates that it is | car

When the temperature gauge of a car indicates that the engine is warm, it often takes at least ten to fifteen minutes longer before you can floor the accelerator without engine damage. That’s because the coolant temperature is not a good indicator to determine whether your engine is ready for the heavy work.

This meter only indicates the temperature of the coolant. At normal outside temperatures, that meter can be at 90 degrees after about five minutes. For an engine, however, the oil temperature is especially important. If you want to know whether the engine is at operating temperature, you have to rely on other instruments: the oil temperature gauge or the oil pressure gauge. These are built into many sports cars.

The data from these meters show that motor oil generally only reaches the optimum temperature after more than fifteen minutes. Sports car engines such as the Porsche 911, which sometimes have more than ten liters of engine oil on board, take even longer. Pressing the accelerator pedal full too soon can lead to engine damage, because the oil is still too thick.

Also, giving a lot of gas with a cold engine can lead to too rapid expansion of certain engine parts, which can, for example, cause the head bolts of the cylinders to break or crankcases to tear. If your (sports) car does not have an oil temperature gauge on board, an oil pressure gauge can also indicate when it is safe to drive faster. After fifteen minutes the oil is thin enough and then you immediately know at which meter reading your engine is really at operating temperature.

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