how long do you guys warm up your cars for?
and
how long do you guyz cool down your cars for?

and another stupid question
is it "healthy" for the car to be left idle alot?

 

huh?


for the first 1k or so i 'd let it sit for a fwe minutes

now, i turn it on, maybe for 30 sec or less til i back out of the driveway

as far as letting it cool down....
i usually just turn it off, then when i need/want to drive again, i turn it back on...

 

I smoke and have been good about not smoking in any of the cars that i have owned. So basically i turn the car on and smoke and by the time i finish smoking i go.

 

Not more than 30 seconds. Cars warm up more slowly idling than when driven. Just take it easy until fluids come up to temp. I stay off boost until I feel the motor is warmed up sufficiently. The oil temp is what is important and this may take a few minutes longer than the water temp to stabilize.

--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

my latest oil change i put in Mobil 1 15W-50 , so because it is so thick, i wait till the car is completly warm; before i turn it off i wait like 1 min or so.

 

start the car usually 2 min before i leave to work. if I don't decide to warm up the car i keep it below 3500rpms until it's warm on the water temp

 

I just drive easy until the water temp is up to normal. I try to keep in well below 4000 rpm and I try not to boost it. The first part of my drive is all downhill so its easy to do.

 

For those of us who don't have oil or useful temp gagues, what is the easiest way to tell than an engine is warmed up? The "dummy" gague on the dash is junk; the only time it would ever give me useful information is if I have already overheated. I've heard that if your idle is below 1k, then the engine is sufficiently warm.

I happen to live in a location where I am less than a mile from the freeway for my morning commute, so I have about three minutes of normal, sub-3500k driving before I hit the highway. Is this sufficient? Or do I need more than 30-60 seconds of driveway time?

 

i normally warm the car up for 2mins before i start heading out. within those two mins the needle starts to move and thats good enough for me. ill drive underboost until the car is fully at driving temp.

 

Warm it up idling for 1-2 minutes before I pull away on a COLD morning (for SF Calif....30-40F), then I keep it under 3500 until:
1. the water is up to normal temp
2. the fast idle has kicked down to normal idle speed.

I would love to monitor oil temp, however I do not have a gauge.

I usually let my car cool down 90 sec or so before I shut down unless I was really hitting it hard, then I give it 2-3 minutes (depending on location and weather).

I run 5W30 Mobil 1 in winter and 10W40 Mobil 1 April-November.

 

I start it up back it out into the driveway then I sit and decide what CD I want to listen to and by that time she is ready to go. Warming down depends on how I have ridden it. If I have ridden it long and hard then I let her go for about 1-5 minutes, If i have "babying" her or commuting I just shut her down. Good Luck
WRX Rush

 

your not suppose to idle the car when its cold. when you first start the car, it will be in fast-idle mode until its warmed up (blipping the gas seems to take it out'v fast idle mode, at least thats what I've noticed in my car).

best thing is to just drive it.. helps if you live far from the freeway, usually your cars ready for it by the time you get there.

turn it off whenever you want