When I first crank my car up it revs at ~1500 rpms.

After about 60 seconds it drops back to ~1000 rpms and I then put it in gear and drive away.

It does not seem to be dependent on the outside temperature and does this even if the car has only been sitting a couple of hours.

Is this a common practice among most drivers to wait until the rpms drop or am I being overly coddling.

Thanks.

 

You're gonna get mixed answers here. I don't wait, others will. Its just transferring from open loop to closed look and doesn't really have anything to do with longevity for the vehicle. It takes more than 60 seconds for your vehicle to properly warm up regardless.

 

I wait until the RPM drop. I did the same with my Ferrari. Doesn't hurt.

 

I start the car as soon as I get in. Then I settle, fasten belt, get ready. Usually it's dropped off of fast idle by then. After it does, I drive away gently until coolant temperature is normal.

 

Hey you paid a lot of money for that start up roar. Enjoy it.

 

I tend to wait, but only because I get a real jolt if I shift into D before letting it die down.

 

Pretty much all modern cars do this.

It's to try and get the catalytic converters hot faster, to reduce emissions.

 

Personally I don't bother waiting and just set off as soon as I'm sat down and buckled up. My assumption was its just for a quicker build up of heat to help with emissions like what Cambo said.

 

I wait......and then I don't get on it until the "needle" starts to show warm

Dave

 

I like this answer!

 

one time i started it as usual and after the RPMs dropped down it actually went back UP a little bit for about 5 seconds then came down again....this actually scared me but i didnt see any check engine lights or any other warning come on. So now I wait just to be extra careful.

 

I agree with CaptainHam. This was raised on the XKR a few weeks ago and I timed mine - it was 23 seconds on a fully cold start. But if the car hasnt been off for long (like you've stopped it to refuel or something) it is much shorter.