Rev it when cold?
 

I've asked some questions about turing off the engine cold...now I'm wondering should I rev the engine to say 3k RPM for a while to let it heat up, or just let it sit there for 5-10 min's in idle to get up to temperature? Thanks in advance.

I would suggest that you just drive gently (low revs) until the engine is warmed up. The manual recommends a short period of idling (10 seconds I think).
I usually let mine idle until the revs drop from fast idle (over 2000 RPM) to about 1500 RPM then drive away gently.

The manual says to rev to 3k for 10secs when shutting down cold (for flooding prevention). It's really not necessary if your stopping for a couple of minutes, only if your shutting it down for a few hours. It may even be less necessary with the newer flashes, but better safe than sorry imo.

Did you notice the little blue light on the temperature gauge? It turns off when it's almost at midway

blue light?

Blue light?

Most auto experts agree idling is a waste. And you're only heating up the core. Driving slowly gives the transmission and tires a chance to warm up.

That's not in my manual.

thanks for the advice, I guess i should have been more specific in what I was talking about...

I drive my car one mile to work, in the summer it works fine, in the winter the car isn't even close to being warmed up. After I get out of the car, I won't get in it again for another 10 hours so I want to be sure im warming it up the right way before shutting it off

the "blue light" is a reflection of the cluster lights by the temp gage needle and "appears" and "disappears" as the needle moves to normal (depending on how tall you are and your viewing angle)

Cool, but not functional (kind of like the temp gage itself)

Perhaps it was the quick start guide, I can't find mine. Perhaps it was a TSB. Regardless that's the recommended procedure :)

I warm mine up till it gets to about 1500 rpms, I have tried driving it cold and it cuts out . So after it levels off at around 1500 I take off slowly .

Leave a few minutes earlier and drive through for some coffee! Try to get five miles or so on it to give it some warm up time and make the last bit of the trip a bit more enthusiastic :D so you don't build up any carbon deposits. Or you could walk ;)

ya blue lights. Thanks, But I swear it's on the temp gauge! People on here must think I'm crazy sometimes lol. It's like the little blue light on the tach when you reach a certain RPM. maybe I'll go out and drive just to check it out again :)

Okay, maybe in the dead of winter or the heat of summer you'd drive that mile, but I'm thinking that if I lived a mile from work, it'd be great to just walk there.

Maybe I'm just jealous.

~ Matt

I always let my car idle for at least 30 seconds upon startup, before driving it. That allows the oil to circulate and coat all contact surfaces.

I let it idle for an even longer time when cold.

I don't know about rotories. but I know for a fact warming up your car is important. Before my car start sounding horrible. I would warm up my car everyday. then there was a period where I was somewhat in a hurry and didn't warm up. Yes I did drive off gently. But now my car sounds pretty horrible. Besides if the engine is warmer, your defrost would work better. On cold days I give my car 4 min to warm up. 2 on hot days. of course I only usually warm up my car if my engine has cooled off completely.

what do you think the minimum is for warming up cars on hot/warm/cold cold cold days? I always figured just 30 seconds on hot days and maximum 3 minutes on cold days (as say the environmentalists). I'll probably wait 3 minutes if i'm in a hurry or 5 minutes if I'm taking my time.
and about that little blue light on the temp gauge... ya it was just a reflection. sorry guys.

the less you let the car idle, the less gas you use. you will be amazed how much you eat up just sitting there. no matter what temp it is, let the fast idle come off, then drive away at a reasonable pace.

Is that true? So your saying I would be better off driving the car around the parking lot to get it warmed up rather than just letting it sit there idling (for fuel economy)? I think it might be time to do a test on that...it would explain why i've been getting 14MPG vs the 20 that I normaly get (plus im not putting milage on the car while its not moving).

Warming your car up adequately is not going to appreciably decrease fuel economy. That is a ridiculous notion.

Adequately warming the engine up, and allowing the engine oil to warm and coat all surfaces that bear friction is well worth any barely detectible additional fuel consumption.

A significant % of wear and tear on engine components happens upon start up.

i normally start it up, wait about 30 seconds before driving off gently trying not to top 4K rpm.
then, as soon as the temp hits warm (midway) i immediately look at the clock, and add 5 minutes to this time before I really open it up. Total time usually is around 10 minutes, though it will increase as it gets coler...

When I first started reading this forum last summer, the general recommendation was to let completely warm up before driving. Now it is 30 seconds and drive gently. When I go to work in the morning, I let it warm up completely before leaving. 3 blocks from my house is the highway, and I need full power most mornings just to get on the highway. When I leave work, I don't have that problem, so I give it about 30 seconds and go. It must be working somewhat, as I haven't had any problems with the car.

i think the general recommendation we can all agree is, regardless of warm up time, do not rev above 4 until car is completely warm (i.e., wait 5 min after temp reaches middle).

as far as idle vs drive off immediately, i think if you keep the revs low, driving off after a few seconds (the time it takes to buckle up and turn down the radio), its all good, unless its freeeeeeezing.