Porsche5050

I've heard many theories. Some saying that all cars need to be warmed up others saying that none do, and finally some saying it's respective to the vehicle.

I usually let my cars warm up for about a minute then I drive them slowly untill the engine is warm. Is this fine?

John Welch

My owner's manual says to drive the car right away but drive it gently until it warms up.

Dave in Chicago

If outside, I give it 10-20 seconds. If in the garage, it gets a gentle nudge out the door and the 10-20 seconds. I apply the same whether it's 90 degrees outside or it's in the parking garage at O'Hare in 10 below weather.

I drive half throttle (and below 4000 rpm) until the water temp comes up AND the oil pressure at idle drops back down. This is your best indication that oil temp (and engine temp) is truely ready to rumble. From that point on, you can drive like a banshee.

Oil temp is a better indicator than water temp. Most of us will have 4-5 bar at idle cold and see it drop to 2-3 bar warm. Really hot (read track use) will see the bar drop a bit more towards end of a session.

Either way, drive it moderately after initial oil circulation confirmed and drive as hard as you want once oil is up to temp... My 2 cents, adjusted for inflation means... I just outperformed the stock market!

Keep the shiny side up,

Scootin159

I stay under 3000rpm's until the temp needle hits the lowest hash on the temp. gauage. Still normally don't put it up into 5k range until it gets to full operating temp.

Thaddeus

I sit and idle for 1 or 2 minutes; drive gently until the temp guage is above the first mark.

And I let it sit and idle for 1 minute before shutdown, to cool the turbo.

993Maineiac

Depends on the temperature and how long the car has been sitting. If its really cold (and where I live really cold is REALLY COLD) then I would let it warm up enough to have the oil nice and viscous and the heater in the cabin starting to get it to a liveable temperature-or at least enough that it would get there soon. This is related to absolute temperature, cars are not affected by wind chill factors. For the engine in normal temperature days driving sanely until it warms the oil and gets everything running well is fine.

Sami951

I usually do as the manual says, ie. just start it up and drive away. If it's really cold (below -15C or so), I let it idle for a while just to get some heat into the cabin ... it's not much fun to drive around if your *** is freezing!

First 10-15 minutes I go real easy, not exceeding 3000rpm by much and changing gears real carefully (the syncros work very slow in cold even though I have synthetic oil in the tranny).

Most of the time I'm going to the university, which means I take the highway just next to where I live... then driving at 3000rpm in 5th gear seems to warm up the engine nicely, and when I exit the hwy after about 10 km's, the oil pressure has already dropped to 3-4 bars -> drive it like you stole it.

Jeff928S4

My car rarely leaves my driveway until oil temp is normal....it may take 10-15 to warm her up, but it's worth it to me.

I hate driving the car when it feels "sick". I want to be able to shift at 5000+ all the time and want my tranny to shift smoothly each time. Call me ****, but I just can't bring myself to just get in the car and go......when it's 100% ready, then I proceed.

She loves me for it..I just know she does. When it freezing cold and I don't let her warm up (there have been a few odd times where I have been late, etc), the back hatch creaks and the sunroof creaks - the whole car feels "frozen" and I like it when she is all warm inside - the windows work fast, no creaks, etc.

Plus, I'd much rather drive the car with the rubber timing belts nice and plible as opposed to cold and hard.

944S Boyeee

craig001

Generally I let the car idle for about 30 seconds then pull out of the garage. This is enough time for the oil pressure to build up and let everything get a nice shot of oil so nothing is dry.

Brian Wilson

It's illegal to let your car just sit and idle here.

I just drive it easy most all of the time. Luckily all of the fast A roads are just far enough away to let the car get very good and warm.
Then I give it hell.

itsme-itsme

Crank, sit 15 seconds, back out of garage,10 seconds, push garage door close button, sit for another 15 seconds, when door is closed,idlely coast down 1/4 mile drive, 2 mins, hit the road, drive normal & stay under 4000 RPM, (until required)!!! <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

triscadek

Start the car, let the engine smooth out maybe 30 sec. drive like I pay for it until the interior is fully warmed up, then drive it like you stole it.

The motorcycle mags. also say to idle it till it smooths out and then go easy until you're up to full temp.

Type_LT

Like most people I get in my car start it, put it in gear and floor it when it's 10F outside (just kidding). I usually let it idle for a few minutes when it's super cold, in summer I don't really bother. I instantly hit the interstate when I go/leave work each day and I like to warm it up in the winter slowly.

Dave in Chicago

Forgot about the tranny part. I double clutch for the first 5-7 minutes here in Chicagoland. With 143k miles (even with fresh Swepco) that trans takes a few minutes to become fully cooperative.

By the way, I've found that shifting below 3000 rpm generally leaves the revs a bit low for my liking and the infamous rod bearings being stressed in the 2.5. So, 3000-4000 is my shift point until warm.

This comes from a guy that has no reservations about running between 4000 and 6200 rpm all day in this old workhorse at the track. These are very over-engineered cars.

Notice how fast a 944 produces heat in cold weather? Heated outside mirrors too! They really are great winter cars with proper snow tires. Thank you Porsche!

Brian McCoy

Granted I'm way down souh where it doesn't get to cold (30F is about the coldest) - but I start and go. Takes me a couple minutes to get to the interstate (1 mile, but a few stoplights) and I just shift around 3200~3400 rpm. I never really hammer the car (only have 2k miles on it in the past 3 months... heh) - so that's not an issue.

I usually beat the **** out of my motorcycles... start em up and get on it hard (screwing off, trying to spin the cold tires.. heh). I have over 80k miles on a VFR that's dealt with my behavoir for 7 years - 3 of those in DC. I suspect the car could deal with the same level of abuse should I care to deal it.