Do you let your car idle and warm up before you drive it on a

Most car manuals will tell you to not do this and instead drive it lightly to warm it up. The engine suffers the most wear by far when it's cold and you're prolonging the amount of time it spends cold significantly by letting it idle.

The quicker your engine gets to operating temperature the quicker everything can expand. If you let your car idle in the cold it will take a long time to reach operating temperature so the tolerances will be tighter increasing where and as long as your engine is below a certain temperature the fuel mixture will remain rich thus polluting the atmosphere at a much higher rate. Turn your car on give it 10-15 seconds for all the fluids to go through and you're good to start driving casually until you reach operating temperature then you can drive normally but letting it idle in freezing temperature to warm up is a very bad idea

Living where its cold af, kek.

DEFA engine heater has my engine at about 35 degrees celcius every morning. If I have to leave suddenly with no chance of letting it warm up I'll just drive off normally. I might let it sit for a minute or two while I take a piss or check my kit before leaving if I have the time and the engine heater hasn't been running, but its not something I am too concerned about as I run 0w40 oil

Turn it on and floor it for 5~10 seconds. That's probably enough to get it nice and warm.

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>>14218452

I don't turn the heater on until the temperature gauge has moved up to normal.

Usually takes about the amount of time it takes to uncover the windshield and drive a mile or two.

If I need the defroster to be running, then I wait longer before leaving but still don't turn it on until warm.

It doesn't really matter.
It will warm up faster if you turn the heater off though.

And you should keep load and rpm low until at operating temp.

>>14218433
>letting it idle in freezing temperature to warm up is a very bad idea
If there's a difference between letting it idle and driving it 2 miles - it's immeasurably small.

I usually get in, start the engine, get my shit together and go. My car sucks at warming up from just idling. Idling doesn't warm up the transmission or ancillaries.

If I do warm it up by idling I usually put it in D with the e-brake on, it seems to warm up faster with a tough of load on the engine, duh.

>fire up truck after waiting for two glowplug cycles
>let high idle for 30 mins
>drive away

>>14218423
In Ohio it's actually illegal to leave a running car unoccupied although I've never known anyone to be ticketed for it and it may require the keys to be in it protecting remote start users.

I really can't see the difference to the engine between idling and light driving. I suspect it's just tree huggers wanting the official position to be not wasting gas/producing exhaust.

>>14218438
What kind of "kit" do you have? And why do you call it kit?

>>14219205
Ski boots, snow boots, helmet, harness, hooks and clasps for riding wire, small tools, some rope and some miscellanous stuff. I don't have space to keep it at work, and I also have to unpack and let stuff dry when it has been in use or some snow might have entered the backpack to prevent rot and rust

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>start car on cold morning
>start driving within ~60 seconds because I have a strong, independent engine who don't need no warming up
>crash ~65 seconds later because you couldn't see where you were going

Bravo.

>>14219802
Thats what ice-scrapers and de-icing spray is far

>>14218423
Absolutely. The G35 5AT likes to bang the 2-3 shift while the tranny is still cold.

I just go right away, the 1-2 shift is always really crunchy when its cold but it will be anyway it goes away after a few shifts, no use waiting around for 30 minutes

>>14219919
I actually wait for the idle to drop in warm weather too. Cold oil is nobodies friend. Why do you hate your car so?

>>14218431
But this is more of an EPA recommendation not the car manufacture

Click and Clack have always seemed err on the side of 'no longer than 10mins' or so just to get things limbered up a bit. Otherwise may cause some disservice. I still go about 15 sometimes 20 depend how cold it is

>>14219223
Backcountry patrol or goernment hydrologist?

I generally start the car before I put my coat/shoes on. Takes me maybe 1-2 minutes to make sure I have my spectacles, testicles, wallet and keys and get my boots on. Then I get in the car, put the seat heater on, and by the time I'm at the end of the street I put the heater on low until it blows hot. Drive easy but at medium/more than economical revs until the car gets to operating temp.

Never had a car wear prematurely.

>>14218452
>>14218452
>>14218452
Lel this actually works
It is less than a half mile to the highway ramp from my driveway
>below 10F & 3:30AM because work
>Start engine
>Get going
>Stay in 2nd at 25 (2400RPM)
>Mash pedal when I hit on ramp
>2-3 at rev limiter (58 @ 5500RPM)
>3-4 at rev limiter (Nearly 80)
>Warm air on my face by the time I coast back down to 65
>Pleasantly surprised

>>14218423
I have a piston engine and a rotary. The piston engine I will let warm up about a minute or two, then I will drive under 3k rpm till both engine and tranny has warmed up.

My rotary, I will let the engine warm up almost completely before driving away. Even after that, I will wait a minimum of 10 minutes before any track or spirited driving for sake of tranny. Of which is noticeably slower when cold.

For piston engines, it is ok to drive while still a bit cold as long as you don't floor it. For rotaries, you need to let it warm up inside first for all the parts to lubricate and run properly.

So what's low revs?
If it's cold i keep my Mazda2 at 2k, still accelerates up to highway speed just takes a while. But it's usually juat early cold mornings with no traffic.
I let it idle for like 2 minutes if anything.

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I usually let my car idle for 15 minutes in the winter. Like this morning, when it was 0"F outside. My commute isn't too far so it helps give the battery time to recharge.

>Today
>Get in the Jetta
>Barely turns over
>Disengage parking brake
>Shift into reverse
>Lots of resistance
>Try to drive forward
>Can't, now stuck in the alley
>mfw
>Get out, warm up the Grand Prix
>Borrow roommates truck, drag jetta back into parking space
>Get into GP
>Go to work

Eventually it warmed up 14 degrees and I was able to drive it free (mostly). Gotta break out the hammer and chisel now.

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I lightly rev it up while it's sitting.
I wait until half of average operating temp until I drive off.