Is it Really Bad to Warm Up Vehicle By Idling ?

[Thermo1223]

I have stopped waiting after startup on my car at my old apt. & my new house. The apt. I would always end up waiting 2-3 mins at the stoplight anyway. So there's my warmup.

New house is all downhill and then on easy going 25mph streets.

So ya no point doing it anywhere above 25F IMO. This last cold spell we had at 15F I let go for 1 min. The center diff/transmission was a little stiff.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: JSRT4
I know everyone says to warm up a car by driving it, as it warms up faster that way and all that stuff. But I can't resist warming my car up in winter by letting it idle for a few minutes. Is there any real harm in doing this, if so what ?. I've tried driving my vehicle totally cold and it sounds absolutely terrible, the valvetrain sounds like it is going to self destruct. This is on 5w20 oil and a 2009 vehicle. I don't buy the argument that driving the engine cold is better than idling and driving it somewhat warm. When I drive it somewhat warm it sounds perfectly fine.

I know all the stuff about this practice wasting fuel and it not being necessary but it just runs better after running at idle a bit. Any opinions on this ?


I let the tach tell me when its time to take off. It is a timer of sorts for me. When it reaches 1000 rpms or a little less I take off. I can't see burning up a clutch or slamming a racing engine into gear to save a few pennies. Opinions vary but this method seems to be working well for me. My older van runs like garbage if I take off to soon when it is very cold. JMO