[kgould]

Hi, I'm a new '84 Carrera owner and new to the board. I've got a potentially naive question, but I have to ask it: For a 20 year old 911, how long do you let it warm up before driving it? The original owner's manual basically states not to wait at all, but just from comments on this and the Pelican board I keep hearing owners talk about letting the oil warm up first. So, do you wait and what do you wait for the guages to read before rolling?

Thanks, and from all I'm reading the participants on this board seem like a great bunch.

[Marc A]

If the car is in the garage no "warm up" is required. The old wisdom is to stay below 3k until you reach the 1st mark on the oil temp guage.

If the car is outside, you may want to let the car idle for a couple of minutes to loosen up the oil . . . especially if you are running 20w-50 oil.

Welcome to the board, and more importantly, to Porsche ownership.

[Parenn911]

Mine is garage kept but since I am running 20w50, I let her warm up for like 5-10 minutes in the morning until she is idling between 1000 and 2000rpm. Just make sure not to rev over 4K rpm until the oil and motor is properly warmed up (usually takes 30 minutes to an hour of driving for as cold as it has been lately), depending on make and model. Welcome to the board.

[Doug E]

Here's my rule of thumb: it all depends on the time of day ... if leaving at 6 am for a Fun Run / DE at Summit Point OR leaving a buddy's garage at midnight after wrenching for hours then warm-up time is real quick ... otherwise I tend to give it at least 5 minutes of idling

Seriously, welcome to the board. IMO you've picked the best place in the country to own a 911.

[KeithLambert7]

Welcome to the board. Good question.

I typically allow my car to idle only for a minute or two before driving, or until the idle stabilizes and evens out which doesn't take very long. You'll get to know the car as time goes on and you drive it more.

Then I drive it, and keep the revs low under 4k until it's reached operating temp. It depends on the outside temp and even the individual car to say just how long it'll take to warm up the car fully.

I will say one thing more. I was surprised when I bought my first 911 just how long the car took to really warm up (tires, grearbox, and engine) after starting the car and driving off. Tires, engine and gearbox..etc. are all a package, and you shouldn't stress them as a package until they're all warmed up, sometimes I have my car on the road for 30-45 minutes before I bounce a redline rev. Maybe I'm too cautious.

Enjoy it, and welcome! Yer gonna love it!!!

Keith - Waterford, VA

[Jazzbass]

I typically give my car no warm up time after starting, because the factory manual explicitly says not to. That said, mine is garage kept and not driven too much in the winter, when the afore-mentioned 30 min warm-up time (and lack of heat, and salt on the roads, blah, blah) means its not much fun to drive.

This being my first real winter with the car, I'm thinking a switch to 10W-40 in the cold months might be a good idea.

[TMR]

Welcome to the board...and P-Car ownership. I typically let mine idle for approx. 5-10 minutes before driving and keep her under 3K between 15-20 minutes.

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by Doug E

Seriously, welcome to the board. IMO you've picked the best place in the country to own a 911.

I don't know....after seeing some of Wayne's photos, I think the best place to drive might be California. Maybe with the support, this might be the best place to own.

Then again, I grew up here so I may be negatively biased. :P

On a technical note....how do you change from one oil to another? Hell how do you get all of the oil out for the standard oil change?? There's so much of it all throughout the car, how do you get it all?
[/i]

[Rick Lee]

Best thing to do would be to buy the numerical oil temp gauge kit, so you know for sure when you're warmed up. The US-spec. Carrera oil temp gauge sucks. You need an electron microscope and an mirror to find the numbers. Do the upgrade and you'll know as soon as you cross 140 deg. that you're good to go.

[type954]

i don't warm it up, drive away after seat belt is buckled but keep revs down/drive conservatively until warm. i think owners manual says not to warm up car by letting it idle but it's your car; reach your own karma