extended idling

[b1motorhead]

I am getting my 05 in 2 weeks and am wondering about starting in winter and letting it sit and warm up for 10 min.is this not a good idea? Plus in the summer I sometimes leave my car/ac on while my wife runs in the store for 20 minutes.Does the mini have an electric fan/thermostat?

[supercharged]

The car heats up a lot quicker when you're driving than when you're idling. Idling the car to warm it up won't cause any damage, but it takes very long and isn't really better than just driving the car sympathetically for the first while. When my engine is cold I keep the revs below 2000RPM till it's warmed up. It sounds crazy, but the MCS has a lot of low end power and it's not very difficult to keep the RPMs down. Another thing to keep in mind is that it takes longer for the oil to warm up than it does for the coolant to warm up, so even when your temperature gauge is at running temperature, you should still take it easy for a little while.

Onto your other question - The MINI does have an electric fan/thermostat. I wouldn't recommend excessive idling though.

SuperCharged

[obehave]

Agreed. Also in some STates it illegal.
Like VA where I live.

[fred3]

Quote: Originally Posted by b1motorhead

I am getting my 05 in 2 weeks and am wondering about starting in winter and letting it sit and warm up for 10 min.is this not a good idea? Plus in the summer I sometimes leave my car/ac on while my wife runs in the store for 20 minutes.Does the mini have an electric fan/thermostat?

always do as you like. The owners booklet tells you that you just get in and drive no matter what the temperature. That's what I've done and living in Maine it got quite cold this winter. Never had a problem. Nothing wrong with sitting in the car and running the a/c. But for 20 minutes I'd get my lazy butt outta the car and go into the store.