I always always always warm up before I take off. In the mornings I run out start it, run back in make my lunch and then by the time I get back out it's been at least 2-5 min. The temp light is still on sometimes, if I don't let her warm up she doesn't like to shift very easliy. Very sticky trans. when cold. I usually do not turn on the defrost either until the light goes off, unless theres ice. I try to baby my baby.

 

In the xB especially but in other cars as well the car will not shift right away to force the engine to rev higher which will cause it to warm up faster. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

when you start up your engine, you should wait for about 15-45 seconds at most for your lube time. after that take it easy on the gas and go. it is taught in automotive tech to do so because your engine warms MUCH faster when a load is placed on it because it requires more fuel which also causes more heat generation. but make sure to sit for about 30 seconds to make sure you've lubed your valvetrain properly.

also, during lube/warm up, dont high rev. people always say never to high rev when the engine is cold but noone ever says why. the first 5-10 minutes of your engine being started, your oil pressure is two to three times higher then normal. this is because the engine is trying to lube it's self as quickly as possible before any wear damage is done. because of this, when you high rev, not only tdo you risk extra wear on your internals but you also risk oil line blow outs and brieched seals. ever wonder why chevy Vet guys end up having oil leaks all the time? it's cause they are always cocky and as soon as they start up, they gota do a burn out as they leave thier driveway on a cold start... i don't know how many people i've had to help because of this problem and every one of them had these bad startup habbits. now i have a neighbor of who which i'm going to have to teach how to warm his car properly. he starts up and rev spikes his gas 3 to 4 times every 5-10 seconds or so and guess what... he's got oils leaks now and they are getting worse as he does this EVERY time he starts his car.

start up, wait about 30 seconds and then take it easy and you're good to go. if you sit and wait 2-5 minutes, sure it's a real good warmup that way, but it wastes alot of gas doing that. keep in mind when the endgine is at idol, fuel mixtures are very rich specificly to help warm the block. just wait 30 seconds and you're good to go, the internals are warmed enough at that point.

 

Well put! I had heard to just warm up your car as long as it takes to put on your seatbelt about 30 seconds.

I know in some of the older cars made before the 90's they run better once you had warmed them up or they would tend to die. That could have been a sign of a different problem idk.

I agree and confirm from my experience fuel economy goes down when I use remote start. I lose about 20miles a week about a gallon of gas. I usually remote start my car for about 5-10 minutes every morning in the winters. A then I don't have to feel guilty about my lead foot.