On Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:26:32 -0400, Bill Putney wrote:


> This is the problem with totally focusing on one aspect of something and
> acting like there are no other considerations at all - IOW gas mileage
> is not *everything* and it's foolish to sacrifice everything else for
> that. While 10 minute warmup idles are wasteful, it is probably better
> to give your engine at least a few seconds of run time before loading
> it. Besides giving the oil a chance to redistribute itself in all the
> interstices that need lubrication, keep in mind that motor oil's
> lubricating properties are nowhere near optimal until it gets up to
> about 160-170°F - so - yes - don't let it idle until it's fully up to
> temperature, but to minimize wear, until the temperature gage is a good
> way towards fully settled out, drive very conservatively, i.e., put
> minimum load on the engine - definitely no WOT accelerating, etc.

I always let my 41 Chrysler warm up, wait until the oil pressure gets to 40lbs, the engine smooths out, let off the
choke a little,then drive off slowly, letting the Fluid Drive warm up. My 07 Caliber with synthetic oil is a different story,
but I still let it warm up for about 10 seconds to do just what you said, let the oil get up into the engine.