Reason is after a shower i start her up, and it takes about 10 mins to finish getting ready, then i lock the house and jump in! by that time all the ice has melted and i can see out of all the windows!

Cant beat getting into a warm car on a cold day!

As for the neighbours, no complaints yet! but i do hear nextdoors ****ty escort diesel trying to start every morning at 5:30, so a scoob ticking over at 8:30 isnt bad at all!

 

How exactly?

 

If the engine is left idling, it will take longer to warm up than if driven at low revs. As most wear occurs in an engine when it is cold (because of the different rates of expansion of the components) then leaving a cold engine idling could be doing more damage than an engine that is relatively quickly warmed-up.

Personally, I let the car idle for about 20-30 seconds (while putting steroe in and putting on seatbelt) and then keep below 2,500 - 3,000 rpm for about 10 mins. I then gradually increase the rate of accelleration for another few minutes, before then applying WOT.

It's worked on my WRX for the past 125,000 miles.....

 

Start car, drive sensibly until water temp is up, then drive "normally". Can't exactly cane it over here, but if the engine is a bit warm, then by the time I've farted about reversing into my parking space, that's fine for cooling down as far as I'm concerned. When I have had the chance to do some long high speed runs on the mainland, or in France, I do try to let it cool for a minute afterwards. I notice the newer models don't have the same warning sticker as my Turbo 2000 did about cooling down. I think common sense is all that's needed. Modern cars are a lot more reliable than even 10 years ago, and I guess when they're designed, they assume that they are going to be driven by all sorts of people. Not looked in my manual recently, but I doubt it suggests a 10 minute idle on startup. Although living in the tropics like I do, my cars always warm

My mate has a Celica VVTi thingy that sounds like a dentists drill, he screams the nuts off it as soon as it starts

 

as i work nights, the car is mostly driven in the colder hours, ie around 9-30pm and 6-00am. when i first got the car id let it warm up outside my house, but after reading about the potential damage, its very rare its left for more than 30 secs now. gearbox is new and when cold very blotchy and stubborn to shift, so i take it nice and easy until she warms up and gears become easier to change.

work is around 5-6 miles and usually give her 30 secs to cool down. very very rarely go over 3k revs there or back.

 

snet sensible post shocker

 

 

Just keep it below 2500-3000 revs and no heavy throttle applications for the first 8-10 miles. Best to get a Oil temp gauge if you really want to know when you can give it some.

Its all very well for people to advocate just going for it from the outset, but always remeber, they ain't gonna chip in when your engine goes pop earlier than you'd like

Personally I let mine get to normal water temp on the drive before moving away as I find this avoids the lumpiness Imprezas often suffer fom when cold, then I warm up as above.

Sitting on the drive isn't a substitute for driving the car though, for starters geraox and diff oil can't warm when the car is stationary

Ns04

 

drive off immediately but gently until warm, idling a cold engine arguably really does more harm than good. Warm up the car by idling (Great Moments in Science, ABC Science)

 

90% of engine wear occurs when the engine is cold, so thrashing the hell out of it from startup obviously isn't very bright (if it's your car anyhow). Best way is to start it, allow about 20 seconds for oil pump to get oil to top end (side end in this case?) and drive off. It's loading the engine more than the revs that'll damage it so keeping it up to around 4000rpm with gentle acceleration until it's properly warm (say after 10 miles) is fine. In my UK classic that's 100mph on the clock so no great hardship really. I would say trying to stay below 3000rpm (or even 2500 as someone said) might be fine at slow speeds but is more likely to strain the engine in 4th or 5th (or just irritate everyone following you). And as someone else said, you're not driving several million pounds worth of F1 car, unless all the previous owners were terminally **** then you're shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Kevin

 

/agree - My dad keeps going on about this to me. He reckons it's far better to warm a car up by actually driving it (at low revs) than to leave it idling to warm it up.

 

Just read through the owners manual on-line, admittedly the US/Canadian version, and the only thing I can find that seems to be relevant was in section detailing the gauges etc.

We recommend that you drive moderately
until the pointer of the temperature gauge
reaches near the middle of the range.
Engine operation is optimum with the
engine coolant at this temperature range
and high revving operation when the
engine is not warmed up enough should
be avoided

Now as the Yanks seem to need to be told everything in great detail, to stop them suing your as$ off when they get a burnt lip from a cup of coffe, The above seems to suggest that a 10 minute warm up isn't needed. Even in the section dealing with cold weather it only says to make sure you use the correct engine oil.

Use an engine oil of proper grade and
viscosity for cold weather. Heavy summer
oil will cause harder starting

 

So...If its agreed that most engine wear (if any) occurs when the engine is cold.
Applying any extra load to the engine surely cant be good when cold, with high revving being the extreme in this case......

 

All this idling must waste a lot of expensive petrol does it not? How much would you lose leaving it for 10 minutes?

 

I don't think anyone is advocating trying to warm the car up fully on the drive, 10 mins seems a bit much!!

Some people just give it a minute or two -whilst they're faffing around with their stereo etc to get up to near normal water temp (this is not to be confused with oil operatiing temp, as has been pointed lots of times) but in my experience the car is significantly less lumpy during the warm up period when driven from this point.

You certainly don't need to do this though. Just drive gently for 8-10 miles and you should be absolutely fine. Best thing is to get an oil temp gauge so you really know whats going on etc..

As I've said before, gearbox and diff oil can't warm if the car is stationary, so trying to warm the car up on the drive porperly would be futile.

Ns04

 

My oil temp is about 65-70deg C within a couple of miles of setting off. I just start car and drive normally. Dont thrash your engine or let it labour on low revs. Drive steady for last mile or so and switch off immediately when arrive home.

 

Drive off straight away, as everything else needs to warm up.

Keep it below 3000 RPM until oil temp is about 85 degrees. That's about 10 miles.

 

I've always just had REALY cheap small cars before my first scoob so they got thrashed without thinking twice really- no other option
I don't warm the scoobie up at tickover, just pull away and drive it sensibly until it is warm. I'm in Aberdeen and with all the traffic lights by the time i get out of town its plenty warm enough i recon... like someone else said, aint an F1 car. I ALWAYS let it tickover for a bit after a descent roasting tho

 

i turn mine on wait 30 secs then drive it at minimal revs for about 10 minutes.

bit of a useless fact, the tvr cerbera speed 12 (w112 bhg anyone know of it?) to start that up properly, you turn electrics on, but not engine, push a button then the oil warms up, after 20 mins you then crank the engine over till it fires up then wait a couple of minutes until engine temperature has increased a bit. then your good to go

 

I give it a minute or so on the drive and then drive off slowly around the corner to let it warm up by a church with a large church grounds around it so that I'm only hacking off the dead, rather than my pleasant neighbours.

Once water is up to normal temp I head off at minimal revs until oil temp is up to normal. It takes about 3-4 minutes after the water gauge on the dash shows normal before the oil gauge rises to at least 80c at which point I start loading it.

I'm a bit more **** about it as it's a forged engine (by RCMS) and it sounds hideous when fully cold, plus it's got a 3" fully decatted RCM exhaust so it's LOUD

 

As others have said, your engine will be warm before gearbox etc. Thinking the engine is nice and warm you will then give it some beans when other parts of the car will not be up to temp.

When I had my STI Type R I use to start it up, open garage door then by the time I had driven out of the garage, locked garage and got sorted in the car that would take few mins. Then drive off boost for a while/keep it under 3k rpm where possible for say ten mins or so then just drove it normally, but not ragging it as most of my journey was in 30-40mph zones anyway.

Had my Type R for 2.5 years and never missed a beat.

 

start it up back down out of the drive onto the road run through the village then onto the motorway and sit at 2500rpm for the first few miles then speed up abit never done mine any harm