I have been working on reading my manual from front to back lately. Today I read that you are not supposed to let the car idle to warm up. It says to drive it softly till it warms up. Do you think this is still correct in minus weather?

 

I let mine run for maybe 3-4 mins , then drive easy until warmed up totally. Once, I let it run for more than 10 mins and after the next drive the back end of my car was black... I am only assuming this was from the excessive idle time.

 

That's right, letting the car idle to warm it up is about he worst you can do. The quicker you got the oil up to temp the better for the engine. Start it, drive it immediately (moderate) and wait until the oil is up to temp before revving it higher.

 

I wait till the engine gets to idle from initial start up and drive away. Sometimes I take it easy..but most times I just drive moderately.

 

At start up it revs high i wait till the needle drops then go easy. I heard the m3 do the same at start up and benzs too so when the needle drops its good to go. I cant imagine starting and driving right away is healthy imo. Its like working out gota warm up before u work out or play sports. Was that a good example lol idk

 

+1. I do exactly the same. Warm until the tach drops, drive moderately until at operating temps.

 

Same. I have noticed that it takes two minutes on a cold start for the RPM to drop to its true idle. If I drive it before the two minutes its very sluggish and feels really weird with throttle inputs. I dont wait at all if its a warm start tho.

 

Mine idles high also on a cold start, the pump that pushes air through the exhaust on cold starts runs and when the pumps shuts off it drops.

 

The manual aka the dealer wants you to fire up and go so you car dies and they make money on the service. Cant imagine starting up with no oil running threw the engine and going. Cant be good im no tech but my cars last me 100k miles since my first car. Just sayin must be doin somthin right

 

The real reason that all manufacturers (not just Porsche) recommend driving off immediately is emissions related. If they recommended that you idle for a couple of minutes, there would be millions of cars everyday just idling for a couple of minutes pumping out gases without moving. The environmentalists would go nuts and lawsuits would ensue.

 

When you start up your 911 with Mobil1 0W-30 the oil is flowing through everything within a second or two. There is no reason to idle your car until warm. Drive the car with an easy throttle and stay below 3K rpm until the oil reaches about 200F. ( 10 minutes in summer, 15 minutes in winter )...... and you are good to go.

 

I always idle my car to warm it up, especially in winter. Now you guys have me confused! Gripster's point about emissions makes sense, but, on the other hand, the manual (apparently) says, start and go.

Perhaps the approach to let the tach settle down before moving is a good compromise?

 

warming up in idle is a no-no.

soon as the tach drops from the higher rpm, u r ready to go.

keep it nice and easy (under 4000 rpm) until the oil needle is above 200 degrees.

on a side note - i also make sure i hit the redline at least once during a drive (of-course after the car is warmed up)

my 2cents

 

Likewise myself, and just keep the rpms down to a minimum.

 

Well, let me put this wrinkle in the conversation. Driving the car yesterday and for the second time in about a month I would say, as I'm sitting at a stop light, trans in neutral, the engine appears to drop below the 900 rpm idle and acts like its going to die, then corrects and idles fine.

What the heck is that all about? Anyone else have this happen?