Let the 997 idle or drive straight away ?

[Alb]

So i have a 55 plate carrera 4s, i have in the last week been using it in the cold mornings so 10 mins before I need to leave i start it and let it warm up as id do with all my cars, but i heard yesterday its not recommended with the 3.8 997.1 due to possible bore score? Is this correct or another scare tactic ?
I’d really appreciate any info or opinions please

 

[Gizmob73]

I believe this is the perceived wisdom, don't warm up without driving.
Also, keep it under 3000 revs until water is at temperature and under 4000 revs until the oil is at temperature.
Then drive it like it was meant to be driven!

 

[SilverSurfer13]

I think you’ll find it’s not recommended for any car to let it sit idling.

The best way to warm an engine up is to drive it, without loading and keeping revs low.

 

[Skoosh1970]

I'd agree with the above responses. I get in, start her up and drive her sedately til she's warm which doesn't take long then open her up and enjoy. Warming down just as important as warming up... A lesson I learned from my Subaru days albeit they were turbocharged.

 

[squelch]

Why would you want a warm engine and cold gearbox?

 

[blackie]

Why would you want a warm engine and cold gearbox?

First needs all the help it can get on a 997

 

[Punchdrunked]

The only problem with starting the car and driving off immediately is that you can sometimes ride the clutch while it’s in choke. I tend to start the car, let the idle drop, then drive off.

Air cooled 911’s prefer a long idle, water cooled not so much.

 

[MaxA]

I get in, start the engine, buckle up, shut the door, change my glasses, set the sat nav (if necessary), all while waiting for the fast idle to drop, then get moving, taking it easy for the first 10 minutes or so (more in the winter).

 

[Harryblue]

I've never started my 997 when the ambient air temperature has been below 20c, so I don't know about very cold starting, but as others have said the general perceived wisdom, going back even to my dad advising me when I got my first motorcycle forty years ago, was don't leave an engine sitting there on idle when there isn't that much oil pressure.

Two strokes are different, they need properly warming up or you'll poke a ring through a port somewhere, but four strokes with an oil pump need a bit of revs to move the oil around.

I don't rev my 997 over 3,000 revs until my oil is up to temp, I don't even look at what the water temp is doing, if the oil is up to temp then the water has had plenty of time to warm up and evenly expand all parts by then.

 

[moo75x]

The only problem with starting the car and driving off immediately is that you can sometimes ride the clutch while it’s in choke. I tend to start the car, let the idle drop, then drive off.

Air cooled 911’s prefer a long idle, water cooled not so much.

i couldnt help but notice this comment about air cooled - i dont let mine idle but do only drive really steady for the first mile or so as we have big speed humps and dont do anything revvy until the temp is well up to normal - should i be letting it warm before driving off?

 

[FZP]

Get in
Drive sensibly below 3k rpm
Once engine oil reaches temp
Crack on

 

[MaxA]

I've never started my 997 when the ambient air temperature has been below 20c, so I don't know about very cold starting, but as others have said the general perceived wisdom, going back even to my dad advising me when I got my first motorcycle forty years ago, was don't leave an engine sitting there on idle when there isn't that much oil pressure.

Around here, we all regularly cold start our cars, but you never see cars idling to warm up; occasionally in the far north, I'll see diesels idling in a supermarket car park at -25c, but that's simply not turning them off, rather than warming them up...

Most of the time, if a car is outside, people use a DEFA or Webasto engine block pre-heater, so it just fires up and off you go; the idea being that cold start on a warmed block is easier on the engine in terms of wear, and saves a lot of fuel. You just need to remember to plug it in, or set the timer.

On my 997, I have the DEFA combined engine block heater, interior heater and smart charge, so I'm about as winter-ready as possible. And I'm still on the same OE Moll battery that came with the car in 2015.

 

[Punchdrunked]

i couldnt help but notice this comment about air cooled - i dont let mine idle but do only drive really steady for the first mile or so as we have big speed humps and dont do anything revvy until the temp is well up to normal - should i be letting it warm before driving off?

I watched a YT vid online that highlighted it and I was at a Pistonhead event last summer when a chap with a G body 3.2 must have let his idle for about 15 minutes before setting off. I guess it makes sense that an air cooled engine will take longer to get up to temperature if you drive it straight off the bat - the air is cooling it as you drive, right?

 

[moo75x]

I watched a YT vid online that highlighted it and I was at a Pistonhead event last summer when a chap with a G body 3.2 must have let his idle for about 15 minutes before setting off. I guess it makes sense that an air cooled engine will take longer to get up to temperature if you drive it straight off the bat - the air is cooling it as you drive, right?

i'm not technically minded to say which is better - i always thought take it steady and never give it anything other than a gentle treatment until its well into the normal operating temp was doing no harm........................

 

[Skoosh1970]

Ok ok ok, I meant start her, let the idle drop then drive her til warmed up.... humble apologies.