This may be of interest to you all. The RPMs are higher at initial start up to assist with the warming of the engine. It is better for the engine to warm up gradually especially with today's modern materials such as aluminum. Aluminum will weaken over time due to the constant expansion and contraction caused by cooling and heating. Heating more slowly helps to reduce the shock stresses on the metal caused from immediate heating. Furthermore, the oil's viscosity will improve once at operating temperatue. That is why many oils have the double numbers such as 5-30. The viscosity number is lower to assist with start up, then it increases as the temperature rises. Hope that helps, I always let the engine warm up before really hitting the gas hard.

 

I don't know if this applies, but when I watched the M3 in Top Gear I noticed rpm meter gradually increasing as your car warm up. This indicating the point where your car is safe to push it full throttle. From this i get the idea that it is safe for us to drive the car slow under whatever RPM you feel safe. Just a thought.

 

i posted this already and people wrote back it's not needed to warm up my car and I'm just wasting my gas.

the manual does say about 30 seconds for warming up... I do it anyway for a couple minutes due to the cold weather I want to hop in warm.

 

i read somewhere that usually 1 minute is good enough, longer than that is un-necessary.. such like 6 mins. except when it's icy and very cold out.

 

it takes the G about 15 seconds when its some what warm to get to close loop and about 30 when its dead cold

but i let it sit until the temp gauge starts moving 1/8th up and go or when its already warm i'll wait until it enters close loop

 

It will take a long time to warm up your car at idle. Just drive your car slowly at the begining, then wait until the oil tempature reach the mid point of the gauge and let the fun begin

 

Do you have something you can back this with other than something you read on the internet? I'm interested to know.

 

Bimmers have a color indicator that say when its good to go.

 

Our cars don't have an oil temperature gauge.

That's a coolant temperature gauge.

 

for me I just turn it on and i'll drive off in less than a minute. of course, I'll stay under 3K RPM for about 10 minutes or so...

 

I usually wait from about 30 secs to a minute before I start driving off...even in the winter. Once I leave, I try to keep the RPMs below 2000-2500 until the car reaches normal operating temperature. True, this is usually about 5 minutes. Then, I start driving normally.

I did read a thread where someone stated that the engine runs rich when cold, so letting the car idle will cause a buildup of carbon in the engine. Which is not good....another reason for warming up for a short while and then letting the engine warm up while driving. Not sure about the validity of this, though.

BTW, our manual states that we should warm up for at least 30 seconds.

 

my car warms up for atleast 7 ,minutes, or till the needle is right in the middle!

 

I start the car, fasten my seat belt, close the garage door and I am off.

 

Of course, my friend. There is something called carbon deposit.

" Can idling damage my car’s engine?
You bet it can! Because the engine isn’t working at its peak operating temperature when it’s idling, the fuel doesn’t undergo complete combustion. This leaves fuel residues that can contaminate engine oil and damage engine parts. For example, fuel residues tend to deposit on spark plugs. As the amount of engine idling increases, the plugs’ average temperature drops, and they get dirty more quickly. This, in turn, can increase fuel consumption by four to five percent. It’s a vicious circle of wasted fuel and needless greenhouse gas emissions. Excessive idling can also let water condense in the vehicle’s exhaust. This can lead to corrosion and reduce the life of the exhaust system. "