Warm up Engine Before Driving?

[Business6]

Let the cold start idle settle then get going and keep to mild boost (~5lbs) if possible until at least 100º on the oil then 150º+ is fully ready for romping.

There's no reason to let it sit longer than it takes for the idle to settle. Though I say that knowing I'm going to get a nice sheet of ice on the inside of my windshield at some point.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Start and drive is one thing that’s pretty much fine in newer cars.

But usually if it’s actually cold out, it’s more about getting the cabin heat going. By the time your defroster is warm enough to clear the windows, the car is just fine to drive “casually” as long as you can stand to sit in the seats (even heated ones)

Romping at full throttle in a turbo car on a cold engine is another thing altogether. I usually avoid heavy throttle until the car is actually warm. Even viscosity modified oils (like 5W20/5W30) are still thicker at cold temperatures (on an absolute scale vs hot oil) and the turbocharger is more sensitive to having sufficient oil flow than the engine itself, so subjecting it to high loads before the coolant is warm isn’t wise, especially with how hard and fast our tiny turbos spin, especially with aftermarket tunes.

Beyond that there’s not much to worry about, and no good reason to let the car idle longer than necessary for comfort and visibility.

^^^THIS!

There IS a bit of variance allowed by the SAE/other specification setters within those 5W-20 and 5W-30 'grades' though.

Some 5W-30s are almost as 'thin' in actual measured viscosity as the upper range of the 5W-20 specs allow, and some 5W-20s are almost as 'thick' in actual measured viscosity as the lower end range of the 5W-30 secs allow.

Red Line's regular (NOT 'Euro spec') 5W-30 is actually a higher measured viscosity than some of the 'thinner' 40 weight oils out there.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Let the cold start idle settle then get going and keep to mild boost (~5lbs) if possible until at least 100º on the oil then 150º+ is fully ready for romping.

There's no reason to let it sit longer than it takes for the idle to settle. Though I say that knowing I'm going to get a nice sheet of ice on the inside of my windshield at some point.

Yes, sometimes it comes down to not crashing the car and killing yourself because you cannot see out of the windshield TOTALLY outweighs the wasted fuel, fuel dilution from 'washdown' rich idle, and loading up the valves/plugs with carbon deposits, from an idling warmup.

 

[rallytaff]

Thankfully, I don't live in a cold climate. I love the nice weather in California as it's far better for my joints to work!

 

[tri-pedaler]

Curious - the discussion is about the engine internals, but what about gearing/clutch? Any concerns about not getting up to temp there?

So far, I start up, ease it out of the driveway and coast down in N, then go

 

[rallytaff]

Coasting in neutral? You need a lesson in road safety!

 

[tri-pedaler]

Coasting in neutral? You need a lesson in road safety!

Meh - it’s either that or ride the clutch downhill since being fully in R would stall it at the slow speeds I back out.