I was just wondering

in an automatic

is it better to let a car warm up in gear? or out of gear? or does it matter?

may sound stupid, but im curious to see what yours thoughts about it are.

 

Personally have not heard anything either way. I would not think it makes a difference.

 

Alright, thanks

I ask that b/c when you turn on a car from a cold start it revs a little higher, and im guessing its pushing more fuel to make sure it keeps an idle, which i was wondering if it was in gear, which would mean resistance, would use more gas?

I wouldnt think it would make much difference, but then again, im not an ECU, nor Mazda expert.

 

If the engine heats up the trans heats up. The trans lines run through the radiator.

 

oh, I get it!

 

i dunno if this is relative; i've always heard it was better to warm up the car by driving around the block a few times, and that leaving it idle for too long isnt good for the trans. i've noticed the car heats up faster when driving instead of leaving it in park anyways.
-meGrimlock

 

Ofcourse its going to heat up faster, your revving it higher then it would if it were in park and sitting at idle....

And I dont know anything about the original question...

 

The point of warming up a car is to avoid stress on the engine until the oil and everything else is up to the right temp for proper lubrication, so if you put it in gear when it is warming up, it would put a load on the engine, which will make it heat up faster, but it's not the best way to do it. If you have the time, just leave it in neutral and let it idle for 15 minutes, after that you're fine to drive it.

 

thats what I usually do, if i dont let it sit that long, i usually just let it sit long enough for it to have a decently normal tone and actually "keep the idle"

and If im not in a rush, i usually dont even move the car untill the temp gauge moves a lil bit.

 

speaking of which, some jerk a couple mornings ago started their car and waited 10 seconds then while in park pushed the gas for about 15 seconds, and kept alternating for a couple more times and went on for about 1-2 minutes. reason i call this person a jerk was it was right outside my window and the bastard woke me up before i wanted to wake up. anyway, what does that do as far as warming the car up? better/worse/no effect?

 

I would say nothing more than just burning gas...