Im hearing two different stories here. The Mod is telling me its ok to take off after 30 seconds, but then MM is saying s*** is gonna blow! By the way I have a Manual tanny so I dont know if MM comments apply since he was talking about an Auto tranny. Can anyone else clear this up?

 

Open loop is how the car gets itself warmed up faster. The longer the car is cold, the longer the catylitic converter doesn't do its job correctly. The car will remain in open loop untill coolant temp reads (to the computer, not on your gauge) 195 degrees, the front and rear O2 sensors readings indicate a properly heated converter, and one other item that escapes me right now. It pretty much results in, as BlackZ87 stated, excesive fuel consumption. If you allow the car to idle to warm up, this just means even more wasted fuel. That's why you'll often hear that starting and turning offthe car consumes more fuel than leaving it running. Granted, they are ussualy wrong, but that's why you don't listen to people who don't know what they're talking about.[/align]

 

With the manual tranny you dont have the harsh hit when the drive shaft turns the rear because you can slip the clutch/ go easy. It still does not hurt to let the idle drop. The idle will drop before the temp gauge moves. Waiting 1 minute does not use much gas at all either. Figure out how much 2ozs of gas cost compared to the wear on a clutch from starting at 1500rpm from a dead stop or the repairs on a rear end from shifting an auto into gear (basicly a neutral drop).

I should say I dont mean let it warm up until your at 180 degrees, but, let the idle drop.

 

my 305 tpi will not drive until its around 125, it stalls if i give it gas. it idles around 900 and is a pain to start in the cold. after its been idling a minute, i put my foot on the pedal and take it to 1600, and keep it there for 4 minutes or until it reaches 150. its the only way my car will run in sub freezing temps

 

Dude, let the car warm up and catch it's idle. You will stress out everything if you turn the key and go. Give it 5 minutes and then take it out, besides, what's the rush? It NEVER hurts after it's warm, but if everything isn't lubricated then things stretch, grind, and knock. This is not something to take lightly. It's good engine care, if you want to find out for yourself, look at an owner's manual or do a search on the web. If you care about the car, give it just a couple of minutes. I wake up my neighbors every morning at 5:30, but I don't care. Are they going to buy me new parts, I think not. Do what you think is right.
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That what Im continuing to do, its an old engine so I dont want to risk anything right now. Good to hear someone else is warming up their car too.

 

Mad mike has a very valid point which I failed to bring out. With an automatic, you should wait till the idle drops down to normal, you really don't want to drop in gear at while the engine is at a fast idle as it stresses the whole drivetrian, and can even break things.