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I wait for the car to come down off of fast idle, and then begin driving. This can be almost immediately in warmer weather or up to 30-45 seconds in below 0F outside temps.
As noted, I keep the RPM's relatively low until the engine is fully warmed up. This is not when the coolant temp. gauge reads normal/warm however. It takes the engine oil a few minutes longer to get up to temperature than the coolant. Porsche actually has a oil temperature gauge in addition to the coolant temperature gauge.
My garage is heated at home so the car is fine there, even in the worst of Alaskan winters, but the big, open air, parking garage by my work lets it get mighty cold.
That much said I usually only let it idle down before going on any day over 20. Under 20 I tend to let it idle between 5-10 minutes. Below 0 I'll go a bit longer.
Idling excessively does have some risks. I don't know about DI cars but typically fuel injected cars are tuned to run rich at idle, mostly to account for unexpected load differences suddenly happening. Like suddenly turning on the defroster, or AC, or other features at idle. This can cause excess fuel wash on the cylinder walls and break down oil faster, but again I don't know if that applies to DI cars.
I do know that whenever I'm in Fairbanks, where it can get -40 and even lower easily, I'll let my car, usually rental, idle for a half hour +. You just can't drive it otherwise. Seriously, blocks like to crack there.
I usually wait about 20-40 seconds & use the time to put on seat belts, set heating, adjust radio & close windows. I normally park in the garage & open the windows when in the garage to air out the interior (reduce humidity).
When the car is cold, the DSG trys to shift at higher shift points (close to 4k RPM) to heat the engine quicker.
Obviously, the warmup time depends on your situation, weather, ect.. I live in moderate weather.
My car sits in the garage in the winter at a temperature about 43°. I usually let it idle for about one minute before putting in reverse. Transmission does not hold onto any gears at a higher RPM it typically shifts at 2000 RPMs.
I have a question for the OP:
The economy software mode that your car displays, is that standard in all s4 models?
02-08-2015, 08:08 AM
What do you guys think about warming up your car
