Cold engine - surging under light throttle?

carguy · Dec 29, 2014

So I first have to say that at around 1700 miles I am still getting the biggest grins as I drive my GT PP. Thought the honey moon stage might start wearing out...not yet!

Now on to one little concern; when my engine is cold and the oil temp is still in the white on the gauge and not yet into the green, I get a surging feel from the power delivery. I am extremely light on the throttle to the point of actually being the "slow guy" for the first few miles until she gets in the green. This feels a little odd to me. It literally feels like the engine is either pulling timing or fuel or both. I don't know how else to describe it other than it is a very obvious surge, cutting in and out the power.

Every other car I have had you can always tell a difference when driving until you reach normal oil temp, but this is at another level.

Is this normal Coyote characteristic?

The car performs and feels fantastic once it's at normal oil temp. As a matter of fact it's quite healthy base lining 391 to the wheels dyno jet at only 500 miles.

Thoughts?

dwaleke · Dec 29, 2014

There is a noticeable difference between when the engine & oil is ice cold compared to warmed up.

When you notice this surging what does the oil pressure gauge read?

B-Fox · Dec 29, 2014

I've noticed a light surge when cold, driving out of the parking lot on a few 5.0L F-150's. chances are its somewhat normal.

It kind of "hitches" when you tip in. I always thought it was in the 6R80 trans tuning or adaptive values.

carguy · Dec 29, 2014

dwaleke said:
There is a noticeable difference between when the engine & oil is ice cold compared to warmed up.

When you notice this surging what does the oil pressure gauge read?

I'll check that tomorrow, but I believe it is around 80ish.

B-Fox said:
I've noticed a light surge when cold, driving out of the parking lot on a few 5.0L F-150's. chances are its somewhat normal.

It kind of "hitches" when you tip in. I always thought it was in the 6R80 trans tuning or adaptive values.

Interesting, mine is a PP so it's a manual so I would say has to do with the motor somehow. But again, once the oil temp is in the normal range the motor is as smooth and strong as I could ever hope for.

SilverSpoon09 · Dec 30, 2014

Mine does that same. My oil pressure is 80-90 at this time and I do get weird surging. I drive the same way you are talking and feel like "that guy" goign all slow and shit till it warms. It also kind of concerns me along with all my trans issues as well. At 1300 miles on my car.

carguy · Dec 30, 2014

SilverSpoon09 said:
Mine does that same. My oil pressure is 80-90 at this time and I do get weird surging. I drive the same way you are talking and feel like "that guy" goign all slow and shit till it warms. It also kind of concerns me along with all my trans issues as well. At 1300 miles on my car.

Thanks for the post. It will be interesting to see how many other have the same thing. I'm thinking/hoping most.

carguy · Dec 30, 2014

Ok, so oil pressure is between 80 and 90 when cold.

Anyone else experiencing the surging?

Tim 2015GT · Dec 30, 2014

carguy said:
Ok, so oil pressure is between 80 and 90 when cold.

Anyone else experiencing the surging?

Mine does the same thing when it is cold. My 2011 GT did the same thing as well, so I would consider this normal.

carguy · Dec 30, 2014

Tim 2015GT said:
Mine does the same thing when it is cold. My 2011 GT did the same thing as well, so I would consider this normal.

Thanks Tim, this is really good to hear. I was suspecting it was normal only because once it's at normal operating temp the car is a champ.

Mikeiscoo2 · Dec 30, 2014

just let the car warm up.. you really shouldn't drive any car until oil temps are at normal.. the oil is just cold and slow moving and you get a bit more wear on components. it might not kill anything fast but over the life it might wear things down a bit faster than they should. I just walk out to the garage and start her up about 5 minutes before i leave and just finish up what i have to do before work or where ever im going and she is fine by the time i get back out there.

Grimace427 · Dec 30, 2014

Mikeiscoo2 said:
just let the car warm up.. you really shouldn't drive any car until oil temps are at normal.. the oil is just cold and slow moving and you get a bit more wear on components. it might not kill anything fast but over the life it might wear things down a bit faster than they should. I just walk out to the garage and start her up about 5 minutes before i leave and just finish up what i have to do before work or where ever im going and she is fine by the time i get back out there.

Letting the car idle for 5 minutes is a waste of fuel IMO. When cold I let my car come down from the high idle then just drive softly until fully warmed up.

carguy · Dec 30, 2014

Grimace427 said:
Letting the car idle for 5 minutes is a waste of fuel IMO. When cold I let my car come down from the high idle then just drive softly until fully warmed up.

This is what I do as well. I never leave with it at high idle and usually wait about 2 minutes max.

Wvmike · Dec 31, 2014

Carguy, what rpm are you driving at when this happens. I have not noticed it in mine, but I keep it between 1700 and 2000 until warmed up. Are you lugging it perhaps?

carguy · Jan 3, 2015

Wvmike said:
Carguy, what rpm are you driving at when this happens. I have not noticed it in mine, but I keep it between 1700 and 2000 until warmed up. Are you lugging it perhaps?

I believe it is around 3000 rpm. I feel shifting before 2000 when cold causes too much strain. Maybe I'm thinking about this backwards?

FlowForm_Wheels · Mar 19, 2015

Thought I would bring this one back up since many of us have had our cars for a while. I still have the surging and it still feels bad. Again, once the oil temp gets into green the car is great. It's just the time until then even with the most gentle throttle it surges like its running out of gas.

Can we determine that this is just a trait of the Coyote? If so, then I'll be fine with it.

Cold engine - surging under light throttle?

carguy

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dwaleke

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B-Fox

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carguy

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SilverSpoon09

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carguy

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carguy

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Tim 2015GT

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carguy

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Mikeiscoo2

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Grimace427

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carguy

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Wvmike

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carguy

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