fellow Canadians, how long do you guys wait for the engine to warm up before you drive off? This past few days has been really cold... -10c and lower .... Do you wait for 30 seconds? 1 min? 2 min? I find that my c250 coupe takes quite long to reach just 60c in this weather. I normally wait 2 mins max and I'd start driving slowly, but the speed is just too slow, and I really don't want to push the RPM higher than 2000 when the engine is still this cold, What's the best method to do this?

I'm from Australia and I wait about a minute before I drive off, the turbo loves the cold anyway!!

It's always a good idea to allow some warm up time from cold starts (ie. if you can) and with turbo charged engines it's also a good idea to let them idle a little before switching off after a good run.

AFAIK, with the diesels they take a long time to properly warm up even in hot climates so I guess you need to wait a little longer for them on typical cold starts

Does anyone have info on those, guess I'll find out soon enough as owning an 'oiler' is all new to me

I do not have a turbo engine but this is what I do for my CLK; I start the car, wait 10-15 seconds for the oil to circulate in the engine, then drive away slowly. I avoid racing the engine until it is fully warmed up.

I do this, the same procedure, in summer and winter. Here in Toronto, the winter temp can go down to -20c.

The most critical part is that you at least wait for the lifters to settle. Meaning, when you start your car, you will notice that the RPM's idle at higher than usual. Wait for these RPM's to come down to normal idle speed (around 500-900 RPM). Once this occurs, it is safe to drive away.

But I still wouldn't go WOT (Wide Open Throttle) until the engine is fully warmed up. BTW, the temperature gauge is coolant temp, not engine oil temp.

Agree with this. Just wait until rough idle is over and drive off at low rpm. Don't go wot until its warm

This is what I do every morning.

Good to hear everyone is following safe cold start procedures. Keep in mind, this is what should be done at a minimum to achieve mechanical reliability and longevity.

It would also be smart to let the car sit for a few seconds in drive, or not press down the accelerator to increase speed for the first few seconds to let the transmission fluids fully circulate.

I have also heard that it is smart to wait for a car to fully come up to operating temperature before driving away. I have mixed feelings on this. One side of the camp believes that this can cause increased carbon buildup in the engine from increased idle times, while the other side believes that this will give the mechanical components a chance to warm up, preventing brittleness, breaking and improper lubrication of moving components.

If you ask me, waiting for the lifters to settle (RPM's to reach normal levels) is precaution enough. Racked up 60k miles on my 2009 w204 and have not had any issues. And numerous other cars that followed this procedure and have been trouble free.

My 2008 G37 coupe that I had for 24 months off lease did NOT follow this rule of thumb, and was exhibiting rough shifting, rough idle and not running like the other cars that drive like it was the first mile on them, after only 24k miles...