MiamiC70

So just wondering do you warm up your engine when you start it and let it cool down before you shut it off?
I grew up letting engines idle at least for a bit till reach operating temperature before driving off and allowing some time for fluids to cool before shutting off. However, in the Porsche manual it says something to the effect of be prepared to drive as soon as you start the car. So does this mean you should not warm up a Porsche? I mean I live in South Florida so warming up is realtive but still isn't it a good idea to bring any engine to operating temperature before your drive it and allow a little time for it to cool before you turn it off?
Just want to get some oppinions from you guys.

DreamCarrera

I warm it up for about 1-2 minutes berfore driving but I do not let it "cool down" before turning it off. I think these cars tend to run very hot while idling so a cool down I believe would have the opposite effect.

I always keeps the revs low(<3,500) until the engine is up to normal operating temps.

rwiii

I warm my engine by driving off. I cool it down by turning off the ignition.

OZ951

The only time I do any kind of cool down time is after coming off the track.

Rickker

Letting an engine idle to warm up is not a good practice. It is better to have the engine under a low to medium load. The engine will warm up to operating temperature much faster this way. So, the best thing is to start driving right after starting the engine. But drive gently....light throttle and low revs at least until you see the temperature gauge coming up.

BruceP

Drive off when the oil pressure is where it should be, and keep it under 4500 rpm until the temperature gage is in the operating range. Warming it up at idle is a terrible idea, IMHO. The risk you run is the engine developing hot spots. You want the whole thing warming up uniformly, and it only does that under load, in motion.

seanmcr6

I was specifically told by the dealer to let it warm up and cool down.

I let mine warm 1-2 minutes...until the air pump stops roughly...and I let it idle for like 30 seconds before shutting if off if I drive it hard. I don't drive it hard until it's at normal temp.

on a side note...on a few times I was running late...I tried to just drive off and the car would have nothing to do with it. It would bog and sputter and just about stall every time. It just wouldn't ever be happy unless I let it warm a couple minutes.

BruceP

Your dealer's advice conflicts with what your manual says. That would give me pause.

That doesn't sound right at all.

ivangene

+1 for Bruce...

Dealer is telling you something the manual says is wrong...

Manual says DO NOT idle till warm, start the car and drive it.......something like that, read the book it is pretty clear

Rickker

I would agree about a cool-down period, especially if the car has been driven hard, or certainly after doing laps at the track. Let the engine idle for a few minutes before shutting it off.

rwiii

I disagree. If it's warm after aggressive driving the most effecient way to cool it is to shut it down. You're not going to have the parking break on so you have to be on flat terrain in neutral if it is running. Too much trouble. Put it in gear and shut it down.

Macster

There is warm up your engine and warm up your engine.

I would hardly ever -- never in fact -- let my Porsche's engine (any car's engine) idle long enough to get to near or full operating temperature unless there was some compelling reason which I won't cover here.

However, I always have allowed my Boxster's engine a bit of idle time to gain a bit of heat from a cold start. I let the secondary air injection pump's run time 'time' this. When I hear the pump shut off I head out, unless of course the windows aren't clear, like this AM when there was the first frost of the season.

I have found the engine a bit more tractable when I do this vs. when I drive off just after starting the engine.

If the engine's hot or still quite warm from not having been off very long I'll just start and go.

Of course I take it pretty easy on the engine until it is fully up to operating temperature, keeping rpms under 4K and usually only moderate loads. (No climbing Mt. Everest grades in 5th at 1K rpms...)

I also allow the engine to idle a moment or two before shutting the engine down especially when coming off a high speed drive like exiting a freeway to fill the car's gas tank. One can go from 80mph to stopped in under a minute and if I'm unable to drive a minute or two at low speed to give the engine time to shed this heat, to obtain some better thermal balance, I let the engine idle.

As an aside: I've never tracked my car but if you do you should budget at least one cool down lap before you pull off the track and after you pull off the track you can even let the engine idle a bit with the A/C on which will run the electric radiator fans and this tends to help remove alot of heat build up. The cooldown lap removes heat from every part of the car: engine to be sure, but brakes, drivetrain too.

Plus I have found that if I let the engine idle -- just a moment or two -- before shutting the engine off the engine is less likely to smoke upon the next cold start.

(Might add here that IIRC my Turbo's owners manual advises one let the engine idle 2 minutes before shutting it down to let the turbos cool down.)

Now I do the above (with both my Boxster and Turbo), knowing fully well the owners manual advises against letting the engine warm up any. But from an engine's point of view a bit of idling helps more than it hurts.

Sincerely,

Macster.

Thundertub

When I start a cold motor, I let it idle only long enough to make certain the lifters, etc. are fully lubricated (no clicking noises) before I move off. I drive it conservatively until the engine reaches operating temp (the temp needle is no longer climbing). I never free rev a cold engine, nor jump on it until it is at full operating temp. Same applies to entering the track for a run session.

When preparing to shut the engine down, I let it idle for just a few seconds until all needles are stable at idle, usually no more than about 5 seconds.
After a track session, I use the entire last lap to drive the car in a gear that will allow it to cool down. I don't free rev the engine while entering the pit or paddock. I stop with no hand brake applied. About 10-15 seconds of idle to let things stablize. Then shut it off.

Van

I back out of the garage just moments after starting the car. It takes me a few minutes to get out of my development - I keep it slow, so I don't get over 2500 RPMs or so. Once I get to the main road, I'd say the engine is 1/2 up to temp - so I'll accelerate to 3500 or so. Once it's up to temp, the sky's the limit.

Coming home, same thing, I go slow through the development - that's the "cool down lap" as it were.

robert r

Like mentioned above, start her up and give it a few seconds to get the oil pressure up and flowing throughout, then drive easy until you get to operating temp.

On the slow down after a hard run, "slow down" don't stop, keep the air flowing. Stopping and idling will just let the heat soak increase.