While some will just drive away and others may... (archive)

Second, engines at operating temperature will function optimally meaning get their best fuel economy and produce their fewest emissions (other than when not running ). The catalytic converters heat to operating temperature, fuel burns more completely, and any kind of cold running fuel agmentation becomes unnecessary.

There's a happy balance somewhere, in the end it's you choice. I recommend starting the car, foot off the accelerator in any modern car, and once idle speed settles (5 to 10 seconds), drive off accelerating at part throttle and only to moderate RPMs (4500). The coolant temperature should reach normal levels within a couple of minutes, oil temperature will follow sometime later. Any good oil will provide appropriate lubrication throughout the operating engine temperature range, I don't hesitate to go to redline once the coolant temperature is normal and my transmission has warmed up (for ease of shifting). That's my method and I've been quite happy with it with every car I've had.

Can some technical guy tell us, what's the best way to start up the engine? I don't know much about engines, but it seems the first few seconds you start the engine are critical, because the engine is dry from oil and it probably takes few revolutions to pump the oil up... So is it good to press the gas pedal somewhat to bring the RPM up quickly, or is it better to just let the computer figure out how much throttle to apply? (what the computer does may not necessarily be the best for the engine, because the computer is concerned with pollution standards, etc.)

Thanks,
Zajo

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