+1
I always start it then drive straight away . Very slowly for first minute but driving it nevertheless .

 

+1 There's nothing wrong with driving the car when the engine is still cold. You just don't want to "get on it" while it's cold because like someone else already said, the metals expand at different rates and you don't want to "warm" up the engine's metals too fast or you will end up with gaps between the metals and possible warpage, causing leaks. That rule applies to any engine. Had two of my best friends blow head gaskets because of this.

 

The best way to warm a car is to drive it gently. Sitting and idling is not good. The owner's manual says to let it run for 10 seconds before driving.

Ever notice this in Mazda's anti-flooding instructions: You can turn it off if you've driven it enough to bring it up to temperature. But if you let it idle to bring it up to temperature, you have to do the 3000 prm thing. That's got to be a clue that something ugly is happening by just sitting and idling.

Ken

 

wrong- it will warm up lots faster if you put some load on the engine .
Way better for the motor and way better for fuel consumption to drive it (gently) while warming it up.

 

I usually start the car and wait until the rpms rpms drop to under 1.5 rpms, i then rev it up to 3k quick and make sure the revs go back down to below 1.5 rpms. This is usually about 3 to 5 minutes when temps are below freezing. Quicker when temps are warmer and a little long when temps are below 0 F.

I then don't go above 3000 rpms until the engine is warm, granny shift until the tranny is warm and don't go around any turns sharply for about a mile or so to make sure the diff is warm.

 

Wow,,,, all this reading and no further ahead. Everyone seems to have a differing opinion.

 

Everyone doing something different is part of the reason why some people have miles of trouble free motoring and others don't ......

 

Brettus, ken-x8, and swoope all suggest exactly what the Click and Clack brothers have always advised their readers/listeners. I have always done the same thing: start the car, wait 10-15 seconds and start driving, keep it under 30-40 mph/3K rpm/under boost for the next 3-4 miles/5-7 mins (depends on outside temp) or until it's up to operating temp. After that, you can romp on it. It's applicable to all types of engines (n/a, turbo, s/c, rotary, etc.).

If you just sit there and wait for the car to warm up, you're just wasting gas/time and may even shorten the life of your engine. You'll also pollute the environment more. An engine under load warms up much faster than an idled engine because the engine oil gets distributed quicker and more even.


The Click & Clack brothers are MIT graduates:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=2100834