jhawkr

I wait a few seconds for the tach to drop below 1000 @ idle. Certainly does no harm and I think it gives the engine a chance to build oil pressure to all the critical areas in the valve train. It's less than 10-15 seconds. No big deal!

Boondoggie

I'd rather warm my car up with 5 minutes of gentle driving than 10 minutes of idling. No reason to run the car below operating temp for that long.

Norm Peterson

Wish I could do that, but 30 seconds out of my driveway is a five lane urban highway where the average speed is 50 and where cars moving at 55 - 60 is not uncommon. Two or three minutes later and it's a 60 - 65 mph divided highway, and the engine still won't be up to temperature according to the gauge. This car is one cold-blooded SOB in the morning.

Maybe sometime I'll hook up my scan tool to see just how quickly the coolant temperature is really rising. Need to do that on the Subie anyway (no gauge, just a blue/red cold/too hot idiot light).


Norm

Simon1

This is my choice. The tolerances on my built motor are very tight. The pistons are forged and take a little heat to let them expand. I usualy let my car idle until I see the temp gauage move just a little. It jumps up to operating temps in about a mile or so.

Those of us with custom FI tunes also have "cold based timing" a fuel tables that are different when our cars are not heated up. Car drives a little sluggish when it's cold and then drives like stock when warm.

GTjoe49

This thread re-opened in May?

Anyway, I think all posters are saying the same thing: wait until your car feels right before kicking it. Some mornings will take longer than others. You should know when the clutch, shifter and throttle feel normal (with an eye on the temp gage).

I've been driving in New England since 1967 and I have been following the same procedure every morning. Turn Key, buckle up, set my sounds, check mirrors and when clutch allows, engage gear to drive off. Keep it under 3K until all feels and sounds right.

This has served me well for many mornings...

deekum1627

i let the idle drop then go. in the winter i let it warm up at least 5 mins

Starfire

Being SCed I let min warm up till the O2's kick in, which is the same time the RPMS drop and the same time my wideband becomes active, typically about 30 secs.

Norm Peterson

Near as I could tell this morning, you need about 150° coolant temperature before the guage registers anything, on the way to 195-ish fully warmed up where the needle is midway across the scale.

I've been told that the coolant warms up a little faster than the oil does . . .


Norm

Derf00

+1, that takes all of what...20 seconds on a cold day?

Anyways, I don't buy the start and run (under 5 seconds)

You still need to lube the motor and until those RPM's drop, the system is running in closed loop which means you're burning rich. Why do people think there is so much carbon build up in today's engines?? A rich fuel mixture creates carbon buildup when combined with the vaporized Oil you get from blowby as the engine is still warming up and expanding.

I have never had a carbon issue with any of my cars and I always change the oil at 3K miles and let the thing warm up.