Now, most people are familiar with the old adage that most engine wear occurs during the first ten minutes. Well, it’s true. One of the biggest reasons though is lack of proper engine warm up. If you go to motor racing events you’ll see how they warm the engine up there – turning the ignition and then blasting the engine through the rev range a few times.
This is something you can do with your car. Or, if you don’t want to annoy the neighbours, you could just leave it idling for a minute. Now this isn’t exactly ‘green’ I’m sure you’re thinking. On the other hand, if you don’t do it, you’ll wear your engine quicker. And that will mean a new car quicker. Which emits a lot more CO2 etc in its’ creation, as compared to a little extra petrol.
Now the reason for engine warm-up is simple. Engines use oil as lubricant – it also makes sure that any crap doesn’t get sucked up and ran through the system. Think of it like blood pressure. If it ain’t right, there’s problems! Simple answer, let it get warmed up, then away you go. Less wear means a happier car.
It’s worth noting that your car has a temperature gauge for a reason (normally it’ll show this in two stages – warming up and optimum temperature). Before it gets to the optimum temperature, revving the engine or abusing your car with rough or frantic driving will put added wear on all of the components. Our advice should you choose to set off immediately? Slower, steady driving lower in the rev range until that little dial tells you the car is ready.
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