saphriel

Hi all,
When I used to own a 928, I've found that I necessarily had to do a warm up of the engine before I could drive it off. Basically I left it to idle for about 10-15 minutes, then it would drive great.

So far, I've had no problems with starting up my Boxster every morning. Unfortunately, since I live farther from work now, there is a greater tendency to just start the engine, wait for a few minutes and drive off. The gearbox would usually be a little cold at first but the engine had no problems whatsoever turning over from a cold start.

So my questions is: is this ok to do on the Boxster on a daily basis? I know this isn't ok to do on my previous 18 year old Porsche, but I was wondering whether ) newer technology now has circumvented the issue or if 2) the engine is just too new, and I am possibly increasing wear and tear by doing this.
Regards!
-Joe

tommyscanner

Is your Boxster brand new? 0 miles? You're supposed to keep it under 4 or 5k RPM for the first 2,000 miles. Then after break in for the first 5 minutes keep it under 5k RPM. I now have 13,000 miles on my 02 S & no issues.

designman

The way I understand it, it is never good to let an engine idle because it should have resistance as is the case when the transmission is engaged. In the idling state without resistance the parts vibrate more causing more wear. I start my car and drive after no more than 15 or 30 seconds. However, don’t take it past 4000 RPM until the engine is up to operating temperature which is when the water temp is around 180 degrees F. I think this is especially important with the disparate viscosities of 0-40 oil which gets into circulation quickly because it is very thin when cold, but does not reach full viscosity and volume until it warms. I would think metallurgical aspects and temp have significance also.

In any event, Porsche cautions against extended idle and also against driving at high RPM until the engine has reached full operating temp.

AlpharettaRK

I start it up, drive off immedately and keep it below 4500RPM until the temp gauge reaches the 8 in 180

originalmotorhead

But what about the high idle for the first 3 - 4 minutes ? My 2000 boxster idles higher and I can hear a whine from an electric motor, for the first 3 ro so minutes that I start the car for the first time each day. I can distinctly hear the electric motor kick off and the car idle down after that time period ? What's the deal with that ?


Tom
Columbus, Oh

deliriousga

According to the manuals (for both the Boxster and 928 we have) you're not supposed to warm up at idle. They say to drive them immediately upon start, but as mentioned before, keep the rpm down until reaching normal running temp. We do it with both and have no problems. Even our Dodge says the same thing, exactly opposite of what daddy told us when we started driving. The Dodge manual says it's a fire hazard to have it running at idle for several minutes due to heat from the catalytic converter.

NetManiac

Hmm... Interesting. When I'm at the track I just start the car and let it warm up. I don't really want to go out on track with a cold motor, bad enough the brakes and tires are going to be cold. However, at home I just start it and go.

saphriel

So I've kept up the 'get up and go' routine whilst keeping the revs low until the engine warms up. The Boxster seems to like it better.

Thanks for all your input (this is why I love the Rennlist)!