Quote:
Originally Posted by rbrowning
For years I have felt that allowing the engine to run for a minute or so (no a half hour!) before driving in cold weather delivered better FE.
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using fuel to do no work(beyond heating up the heads/block) will result in more fuel consumed.... that being said, idling for 60 seconds and taking off on a ~50 mile trip, the difference is probably within the margin of error for calculating fuel economy based on full tank fills/empties. idling for 60 seconds, then driving for 60 seconds, you could see a ~30% increase in fuel usage....
it's all relative.
i would much rather idle for 60 seconds(probably more) after startup when cold and be assured that enough oil is getting where it needs to be than starting and being mobile within 5 seconds of letting go of the key. a lot easier to replace some fuel than it is to replace the engine.