Well.. theres some interesting information..

like posted earlier I did notice my tranny feels alot smoother that the car is warmed up.

also hearing about damaging internal parts DUE to idling doesn't sound great either.

 

In the manual it says to let the car idle for 30 sec before driving on cold days.

thats all I do.

 

The heater is still useless until the car completely warms up.

 

Warm up? Cool down? I drive like the wind no matter what temperature the car is. I work hard for me G and it works hard for me.

 

I wrap a wool sweater around my G on cold mornings.

 

If you dont hit it hard before the engine is up to temp

You should have a very nice drive =)

 

Just get a remote start and don't worry about waiting 30 seconds.

 

I drive it under 4,000RPM till the temp needle hits the middle
and cooling down.. when I slowdown to get into my drive way, if I hear the fan going crazy, then I just wait a bit to let it do it's job, then I turn off my car
otherwise, I just get out of my car, by the time I empty what's in my trunk, I turn off the engine.. it's enuff cool down for me...

 

In my 2003 manual I think its 30 secs in general. I'll have to check later.

My warm up period is how ever long it takes to scrape off the windows. During the winter I almost always have the car plugged in for at least 2 hours in the morning and shift in to neutral when starting.

In good weather I just wait 30 seconds.

 

+1....Warming up properly is good.....but as you say, only until the idle is about 1k if fine.
I don't bother to cool -- don't think it's necessary without a turbo.

C.

 

I have a garage and when i pull in if i will llet the car idle if i have been running it hard but for the most part you are not going to do the car much good, there are sensors all ove rthe care and they just do thier job, what i'm saying is that if you fell it's doing some good and it feels right for you go for it, but myself i let it idle for a few secs, and then close the garage door and say nighty nite to the car and thats it. After their is a warm car in the garage over nite the seat heaters don't need to be put on as soon, and when i did the MotorDyne spacer install i worried because the car was still warm from being in the garage even though i had waited for at least 18 hours before starting the install, so far no problems, do i idle my car before driving, of course, after a spirited drvie , yeah a little, but i hthink that whatever the actaul effects are , are just in my head and making me feel good for flogging the car and feeling bad for beating it up so bad. Although i swear i am seeing a grin when i turn the light off, and it's not coming from me!!

 

I usually let the car warm up for about 2 minutes before I start to drive...granted 30 secs is probably enough but I just feel better!

As for cooling off...it's not neccessary...if it was it'd be posted in the manual as well. The reason why there are turbo timers is because very hot oil in the turbo can tend to build up over time IIRC...not to mention turbo cars also tend to run hotter than a NA car.

 

When it's cold, my engine starts at ~ 1800 rpm. I like to wait about 30-60 seconds when it drops to ~1200 rpm. When I'm parked outside in the cold for long periods (which is rarely), it takes longer to get the rpms down. I also go easy on the accelerator until the car's fully warmed up (according to the temp gauge).

 

Like many have posted, on a cold engine and especially in cold weather, you want a give the car about a 30 second warm up before driving. All this simply does is get oil circulating through the motor. Extended warmups (over 1 minute) are a waste of fuel because car's run so rich until they're warmed up. The quickest way to an eifficently running motor is to get it warmed up as quick as possible. Letting it idle to warm up coats the cats in lots of carbon because the rich running condition and the engine doesn't warm up uniformly like it would under load. If your engine is still warm, then there's really no need to worry about warm up.

Ideally, you want to keep the rpms below 3000rpms until the car is fully warmed up. With an auto, it may take even longer and it's crucial to let your auto warm up completely before beating on it. This usually takes 5 to 10 minutes of driving. Autos will shift harder when they're cold because the line pressure is high and the fluid is cold. As the fluid warms up, it expands dramatically and ultimately results in better shifts and response.

 

+1 ^^..... Good explanation Dave.....

C.