Warm the engine driving or in the driveway? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

986Porsche986 · 08-08-2012, 05:47 AM

Just wondering what was better, to warm the engine idling in the driveway OR to gently drive it until it gets to normal operating temp? Please fill me in.

seventythree · 08-08-2012, 05:58 AM

Driving ....

Ghostrider 310 · 08-08-2012, 06:15 AM

gentle driving till warm, that's what the manual states or something like that.

stephen wilson · 08-08-2012, 06:28 AM

Driving. Do a search, there's several threads on the subject.

black_box · 08-08-2012, 06:41 AM

turn on engine, put on belts, drop top, play with radio / nav / HVAC, check mirrors, slowly engage 1st / reverse, go. Prob good idea to let it idle at least 30s before pulling out IMHO.

AndyA6 · 08-08-2012, 06:45 AM

Drive! 1,000,000,000 %

Endless disussions about this topic on all kinds of forums etc etc.

thstone · 08-08-2012, 07:10 AM

Driving gently. Short shift. I don't exceed 3K rpm until the engine is warm.

Johnny Danger · 08-08-2012, 07:14 AM

Somewhere I read that holding a hairdryer over the engine for a few minutes before driving works great .

SoK · 08-08-2012, 07:19 AM

i run mine sitting until the rpm's drop (out of cold cycle) and go no higher than 3500 until it's warm.

CoBeerToad · 08-08-2012, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

Somewhere I read that holding a hairdryer over the engine for a few minutes before driving works great .

I believe this is correct only when used in conjecture with putting your keys in the freezer before starting the car.

986Porsche986 · 08-08-2012, 07:56 AM

Wow!!! Thanks for the input. I have been doing it all wrong all these years. I just hope no one wants to race me just after I pull out of my driveway.

Overdrive · 08-08-2012, 08:18 AM

Manual says drive the car immediately after starting. Don't apply full throttle, don't exceed 80% throttle, and don't exceed 4,000rpms, until the car reaches operating temperature...then you can drive it however you want.

Ghostrider 310 · 08-08-2012, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

Somewhere I read that holding a hairdryer over the engine for a few minutes before driving works great .

Well Mr. Shecky Green, back when we used to have winter we installed plenty of these.

I sheared off a shift pin on an X19 that sat one week on the shore of Ontario, it was standing still warmed up when it happened, that's how viscous the gear fluid got.

particlewave · 08-08-2012, 09:20 AM

I usually let idle for 20-30 seconds then bring rpms up to 2500 for 5 seconds or so before taking off. If I don't bring rpms up first, it surges and lurches on first take off.

l3m · 08-08-2012, 10:46 AM

Driving immediately also warms up the transmission.

Mark_T · 08-09-2012, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghostrider 310

Well Mr. Shecky Green, back when we used to have winter we installed plenty of these.

I sheared off a shift pin on an X19 that sat one week on the shore of Ontario, it was standing still warmed up when it happened, that's how viscous the gear fluid got.

New York, eh? I can tell you live in a sub-tropical climate as you only have one cord coming out of the grill. Up here we'd have dual block heaters, a battery blanket, and an interior warmer, and we'd still have to put a pan of hot coals under the oil pan for 15 minutes and spray ether into the air intake before starting it.

Howling winds, deep snow, freezing temperatures... and when we get outside it's even worse!

BYprodriver · 08-09-2012, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 986Porsche986

Just wondering what was better, to warm the engine idling in the driveway OR to gently drive it until it gets to normal operating temp? Please fill me in.

The object of the game is to minimize the load on the driveline until it is at operating temperature. How in the hell anyone can think driving is less of a load than idling where you start it is beyond me.

SoK · 08-09-2012, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

The object of the game is to minimize the load on the driveline until it is at operating temperature. How in the hell anyone can think driving is less of a load than idling where you start it is beyond me.

That's what I was always told. Why operate something that's not at least out of the cold cycle? I usually let mine run for a few minutes when cold, even in the dead of summer, before i take off.

Mark_T · 08-09-2012, 08:00 AM

Yet Porsche, in the owner's manual, specifically states that you should not let the car sit and idle when you start it and that you should immediately drive off. There must be some reason for them to make a point of saying that.

shadrach74 · 08-09-2012, 08:21 AM

Is there any scientific basis for the 2500rpm number that has been posted a number of times? Just to be clear we are running modern engines, with modern synthetic oils (hopefully)... I can see no logical or scientific reason to stay under 2500 RPM. If the system has oil pressure, then there should be no metal to metal contact. Certainly full throttle or Red line ops are a no-no until the fluids are warm, because that may generate oil pressures that are higher than factory parameters. Also, in extreme temps, dissimilar metals contract and expand at different rates. Metal to Metal interference form this phenomenon is highly unlikely, but is still something that we should keep in mind.

2500, 3000, Idle...whatever. The factory says 4K is the limit cold and there is likely some scientific reason for that...other than someone on an internet forum said it once and 25 people repeated it.