Is it best to drive cautiously while the engine is heating up?

[teamemmenracing]

Machines needs to be warmed up before thrashing ......... well thats what my wife told me ....... :rofl:

 

[2dogs]

Here's an interesting point taken from the handbook

'Do not let the engine warm up in idling position.
Instead, begin to drive immediately at moderate
engine speeds'.

Thought it relevant

Why is this so bad for the engine? :scratchhead:

 

[Zed Five]

Here's an interesting point taken from the handbook

'Do not let the engine warm up in idling position.
Instead, begin to drive immediately at moderate
engine speeds'.

Thought it relevant

Why is this so bad for the engine? :scratchhead:

It used to be bad for spark plugs and catalyst. Not sure that applies on very modern cars though.

 

[Scooba_Steve]

I don't think much has changed.
At idle the charge won't be burnt as cleanly as it could be, aero engines for instance are never idled with the throttle lever closed as this will lead to plug fouling; with the reduced temps there will be more chance for condensation in the Cat. It also takes longer to warm up overall so a poor method to warm up if that's the aim. Cooling will be reliant on the fan after a while too without airflow.

 

[Rich8]

is it not more about putting load on the engine rather than simply high revs?

If you go racing you see (and hear) many of the cars get started up and immediately and repeatedly revved to quite high revs to warm things through. I have asked this with several different drivers/mechanics in the paddocks (both higher level and lower budget outfits) and been told similar each time that it basically sloshes the oil about, coating/protecting everything quicker than low rev situations, and as not under any load nothing is really at risk.

Hehe. It's not enough to persuade me to rev the nuts off mine from cold, stationary or otherwise.