Do you do this and why ?

[GbrilliantQ]

Originally Posted by midnighter

I warm up the oven before sticking in the meat.

I'm not about to drive to work in a cold car, only to have it warm by the time I'm there.

[Mr Twisty]

Originally Posted by Number 3

Byron, each of the points posted, while valid, are from an environmentalists point of view. .....

I'm with the engineer on this one. There has been a push, first @ state level, now @ fed level to reduce idling emissions. Look at the sources of information in the OP.

Bob Aldrich of the California Energy Commission
Environmental Defense Fund, which produced the Idling Gets You Nowhere campaign
Hinkle Charitable Foundation's Anti-Idling Primer
The Campaign for an Idle-Free New York City
the Waterloo Citizens Vehicle Idling Reduction Task Force in Canada
Minneapolis' anti-idling ordinance
Alex Scaperotta, who created an anti-idling campaign with a classmate when he was in fifth grade in Wilton, Connecticut

When it's good and cold outside, (20 below really makes the point well) leave some motor oil near your car, and leave some inside. Look at the difference. You can idle for a minute and let it thin, or go ahead and gas on it with your pistons moving at 3,000 rpms on dry cylinders. (and lifters, bearings, etc.)

No thanks, tree hugger, I'll be idling.

[Shifty 6]

I do agree that a driven car gets up to temps quicker than idling. I let it idle for about 30-45 seconds then its off at low rpm.

[PeeBee]

RRS:

Get in, fire it up, usually while fastening the seat belt, drive off slowly. Makes a lovely whooshing sound when the turbo spools up the first time.

Unless the windscreen is frozen, like this morning, then I let it idle until the window's warmed up (in the Range that is).

TVR:

open the garage and fire it up, drive it out of the garage on idle, close the garage, get in and drive off keeping it below 2500rpm under 40°C, then gradually increase with 1.000rpm as temperature rises with 10 degrees. As per manual, basically.

Camaro: will most certainly do the same as with the TVR, once I have it

[cab2g]

my car definitely idles differently for awhile after a cold start when it's below freezing. The initial exhaust roar is also a lot less pronounced. So in the winter I let my car warm up for a minute before driving off. I don't turn off my engine whenever I come to a stop light because that's stupid and a great way to get honked at when you're cranking your engine instead of driving off.

I do turn my car off an lock it if I am just running inside a building for a minute. But thats only because I don't want to leave the keys in the car.

I also bought a V8, so suck it environmentalists