I read that excessive idling builds up varnish on the cylinder walls. I'm not sure I'd call the difference between 1 min and 5 mins 'excessive'. Just saying it probably doesnt help. I can go to work one of two ways. One way has some big hills, the other is flat. If I had pull the hill right out of the driveway, I'd probably let it idle longer before moving. We dont really have the option of staying under 2-3K on the hills.

The bottom line, if youre actually trying to give your car time to reach operating temp before beating on it, you're doing a good thing and I dont think the idle time is really that big of a deal. If you're pulling out cold and flogging it right out of the driveway, good luck with that.

 

btw, Blackstone says excessive idling will cause fuel dilution. Again, I dont think this is means warming up in the morning but rather heavy traffic and perhaps people like couriers.

This is all from her taking off when cold and she takes the road with hills.

http://www.timware.org/pf/pf_oil2.jpg

 

I think there is wear on the engine whenever you start it up cold. The question is, how much extra wear, if any, does the engine take at low speeds once the oil has had a chance to circulate?

 

I have no idea, i thought maybe you could tell me.

Well, now I have to ask if you don't need to warm up before driving, i would imagine that's because you're saying the oil is capable of lubricating everything at that temp just fine.

Then why can't i take it to redline if the oil is lubricating everything good. I would imagine it is because the oil isn't lubricating at 100%. The same reason i wouldn't want to drive it at all before it's warmed up a little.