I let my car warm up till my RPM is at a constant 900 RPM @ idle.

 

Technically, you don't have to warm up the car. However, I always warm up my car a minute or two then start driving slow for the first few miles. The car warms up pretty fast by itself once you start driving.

 

i have the compustart alarm\remote start\turbo timer..installed by my buddy at an audio shop and i love the remote start and pager with the alarm..i got charged 500 for it and it is my buddy everywhere else i went for it told me over 800 for the setup just cuase it was and audi s4 most places wouldnt touch it nor would i let them....but if you want and your in new hampshire i can refer you to my buddy in derry nh and he will hook you up....remote start is the ***** when its cold out...lol ...pita for my buddy took him 5 hours...to get everything exactly right and installed the neatest and safest......pm me for details....

 

you need to let the car warm up so the internal parts have time to expand and reach opperating temperture... if not i assume you could see pre-mature engine damage

 

In my experience the car warms up a lot faster when it's being driven. If I start the car and let it idle in the driveway for 15 minutes the temp. gauge doesn't even move, but if I start it up cold and then drive it in town, in that same timeframe the gauge is up to normal. When I drive to work, I'm on the highway 5 minutes after I back out of the driveway, and the car usually is fully warmed up 2-3 minutes after that.

That said, if it's REALLY cold out I'll start the car and let it run a few minutes to thaw things out a bit before I leave. More for my wimpy body's benefit than the car's.

 

start the engine and drive it ( sensibly ) till coolant is up to temp then all should be well,

start the engine and not moving at idle is also ok but not required unless the cold air is at 0c then you need block warmers,

start the engine from cold and rev the engine to get it warmed up then this is where the damage happens

 

if i dont warm up for car for several minutes and drive it in fairly cold temp, my trans (automatic) sometimes slips. i believe this cant be good?