Warming Up Your Porsche

The other day, I received this question on Twitter:

Could you please tell me about warming up, including for the GTS? I feel like the idle stabilizes around when the water temperature gauge reaches about 70°C in roughly 20 minutes, so I try to start driving after that… but since there’s no clear rule, I’m still experimenting.

That was the question.

Back when I wasn’t interested in cars, I had no concept of warming up at all. My family’s cars were just driven normally without any thought, and I’d never been in a car with an oil temperature gauge, so when a Porsche came to our home, it was the first time I realized, “Owning a sports car requires all kinds of special care.”

So, I asked my husband about warming up, and he said, “Following German automotive design philosophy, I don’t warm up by idling; I immediately start driving slowly to warm up the engine, transmission, and moving parts together.”

For environmental reasons, idling to warm up is prohibited in Germany and similar countries. Also, you have to warm up the PDK, gearbox, and other moving parts along with the engine. If you warm up only the engine and start driving while the moving parts are still cold, it’s not good for the car. I do this with both air-cooled Porsches (964) and water-cooled ones. In fact, Porsche’s owner manuals say not to warm up by idling. Once you start driving, it’s best to go slowly at 2000–3000 rpm. I avoid medium to high revs for a while, but with the Boxster (981 GTS), the oil temperature takes a long time to rise—about 20 minutes. The GT3 doesn’t have that issue, though.

That’s what he said.

He continued,

Well, if you really want to warm up the engine by idling for a bit… after about a minute from starting the engine, the rpm settles and drops to below 1000. Starting to drive around that time might be best. During that minute, you can adjust your seat, buckle your seatbelt, or connect your phone, so that should be enough.

I asked, “Is warming up different for the GT3 race car compared to regular models?” and he replied,

The GT3 has a racing engine, so it’s more sensitive than regular models. Since it revs up to 9000 rpm, you absolutely must not rev it high until the engine, moving parts, and pistons have warmed up and expanded to their designed size. That’s why the GT3 has a blue engine light on the dashboard, and while that light is on, you must not exceed 4000 rpm. When the water temperature light goes off, that’s your signal that it’s okay to rev higher.

Porsche Owner’s Manuals

Since my husband said the owner’s manuals cover warming up, I checked them, and sure enough, they say this:

“Do not warm up the vehicle while stationary; start driving immediately. However, until the engine reaches its normal operating temperature, operate the throttle gently and avoid high engine speeds.”

Boxster (2015 model revised edition)

911 Carrera (2017 model)

911 GT3, 911 GT3 RS (2015 model)

Panamera Series (2015 model revised edition)

My husband said,

See, it’s all written in the owner’s manual. I make sure to read it thoroughly before delivery, but whenever I’m unsure or have questions, I always check the manual first—it has everything.

I see… Since I’m still learning a lot about our Cayenne, especially being an E-Hybrid, I think it’s time I give the manual a good read.