myV8love

the engine needs to be a certain temperature to burn fuel efficiently. ever notice the engine runs a little differrent when its cold. if that wasn't the case there would be no thermostat at all. Is your coolant reserve tank Stained brown yet? that happens to the whole system

SXGT

yeah, i run faster times when the engine is cold. Ive seen the slips to prove it.

TRUEBLUE3934

LOTS of variables in each pass at the track.
The ET is the most prone to variables. Trap speed is typically more consistent.

By "engine is cold," do you mean the water temp or the intake manifold(or both)?
It takes a long time for the engine to get cold after a pass. The weather conditions can change a fair amount over that period of time. Cooler air will have a positive effect on track performance.

My point is that you have to be careful to attribute better performance to just one thing when there are so many variables present.

SXGT

it may have been colder intake equaling out to a faster time. Ive been to the track a dozen times and ran both warm N ready and 60 seconds after a cold start. The cold start times are noticeably lower. My times are always fairly consistent since its an automatic so I noticed right away the difference in a cold start. Also you see a lot of people push their car to the line rather than sit in a lane for 5 minutes at idle.

TRUEBLUE3934

Yes, I hear what you are saying. Certain set-ups are more sensitive to temps. If your water temp is cold, you may be running in a different tune than if the temp has reached operating temp.
On the other hand, some intakes are worse about transferring heat to the in-coming air charge.
I think many guys believe that certain practices they see other guys doing are more beneficial than they actually are. This often goes back to theory vs actual benefit. Many things are good in theory, but only marginally beneficial in actuality.

Do what ever works for you, but you may want to experiment and test out the real benefit of certain practices.

Good luck!!!