Proper engine warm-up

[deliriousga]

Originally Posted by underDAWG

Prolonged idling only adds more pullution and more carbon deposit on the injection system including valves. My 2 cents.

Great point with the deposits.

Originally Posted by bhduxbury

i leave mine in neutral when shut off -- should i be leaving it in first? does it matter?

There are two advantages to leaving it in gear. One is on a hill or if parked on the side of the road and hit, leaving it in gear gives you an added hold against rolling. The other is when you put the car in gear after starting it wears on the gear a miniscule amount more than when the tranny is warm. That being said, it's such a little difference you aren't really doing any harm to the tranny so it really does not matter. I'd just keep it in gear if you're on a hill or parked on a street.

[RandallNeighbour]

I heard that Porsche recommends "start and go" simply due to the amount of extra pollution that warming it up for a few minutes in idle produces. They're very conscious about pollution, you know. The black forest must have got its name from all the cars blowing through there year after year

Personally, I start, take off immediately, but keep the rpms under 4k until it's at normal operating temperature... then I nail it and enjoy myself.