Basically it's down to common sense and knowing how things work, I've seen the result of oil becoming carbonised inside the turbo after not letting it cool down properly, result is one blown turbo.
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alibali45
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TBH manufacturers (in general) dont really give a toss, if you break it just means more parts and labour sales for them!! It does make a quick reference to a 2 minute cooldown after 'heavy engine load' ie thrashing in the handbook as well, SEAT obviously do care - bless 'em!
Here, here!! Yeah ive changed a turbo for someone who'd done that, impeller ground into housing - not a pretty sight!
what's all this talk about cooler (and therefore lower viscosity) oil "wearing" the turbo and other components?
thicker oil actually protects components better. (drop a ball bearing into 1cm of water (low voscosity) and then again in 1cm thick treacle (high viscosity) and which substance do you think is more likely to protect the ball bearing from touching the bottom of the container....
the reason you dont thrash an engine straight away is partly to do with getting oil into higher and more hard-to-reach places first (cams for instance), and also to do with getting the whole block heated up more evenly as opposed to the pistons being hot at top, cold at bottom, etc, which can affect clearances (piston seal etc)
also, starting a car from cold and letting it idle can damage catalytic converters.
i'd say as soon as the car goes from high-speed idle to normal low-speed idle you're good to go.
thicker oil actually protects components better. (drop a ball bearing into 1cm of water (low voscosity) and then again in 1cm thick treacle (high viscosity) and which substance do you think is more likely to protect the ball bearing from touching the bottom of the container....
the reason you dont thrash an engine straight away is partly to do with getting oil into higher and more hard-to-reach places first (cams for instance), and also to do with getting the whole block heated up more evenly as opposed to the pistons being hot at top, cold at bottom, etc, which can affect clearances (piston seal etc)
also, starting a car from cold and letting it idle can damage catalytic converters.
i'd say as soon as the car goes from high-speed idle to normal low-speed idle you're good to go.
also, i read somewhere else that the oil pump will run on after switching the car off (on LCR) - think is in turbo timer thread. everyone saying you dont really need one because of this...
The water pump runs for 10mins after ignition is turned off (regardless of engine temp, pump will run even if ignition is briefly turned on without engine on a morning, for example). This does not provide much prevention against oil cooking against the shaft of the turbo, however, so should not be relied upon as an alternative for a proper cool down procedure for the best life of a turbo.
I would say same as any car - lots of short runs are not good for any motor, I'm a sucker for the old Castrol adverts for this - the majority of engine wear occurs in the first few mins of driving, when the oil (hot/cold or what) has not had time to circulate around the block so you are effectively running metal on metal for the first few seconds.
Like you say, if the run is short enough that the engine does not get warm enough to be able to 'use' the turbo, then are doing the best you can by taking it steady, but obviously, 50,000 miles of 10 thousand journeys across town is going to be worse for an engine than 2 and a half thousand 20 mile commutes.
Like everyone said, just resist the temptation to thrash it until 10 mins in - this I think is one of the best part of the trip computer.
Im with Traumapat on this one - i always let my car warm up & idle drops down to circa 700 before moving. then about 10 - 15 mins for oil to warm up, usually gets to 50 fairly quickly then creeps up. But is just about right before I reach the motorway 
Then about 1-2 mins after a normal gentle drive, 5+ mins after a hard drive / track session. very heavy track session is about 10 mins and bonnet up, but thats when you cant put your hands near the wheels alone due to the heat
Maybe overkill - but works for me! Mighty cupras on 100k now and regular service. Its all swings and round abouts ehhh!
Then about 1-2 mins after a normal gentle drive, 5+ mins after a hard drive / track session. very heavy track session is about 10 mins and bonnet up, but thats when you cant put your hands near the wheels alone due to the heat
Maybe overkill - but works for me! Mighty cupras on 100k now and regular service. Its all swings and round abouts ehhh!
this is one of the reasons why i miss the mfa computer on my golf vr6
it had the engine oil temp on it, i used to keep an eye on it til it was at least reading around the 75-80degrees mark before even thinking about taking her above 3k.
would normally take around 10mins to get to this temp.
was also an effective way of keeping an eye on oil temps when giving the car a thrash.
i'm on the look out for an oil temp gauge at the moment
it had the engine oil temp on it, i used to keep an eye on it til it was at least reading around the 75-80degrees mark before even thinking about taking her above 3k.
would normally take around 10mins to get to this temp.
was also an effective way of keeping an eye on oil temps when giving the car a thrash.
i'm on the look out for an oil temp gauge at the moment
Even a 50/60 grade engine oil is very fluid at 70-80-90 degrees C.
I personally can't see any components getting starved of oil once the oil temp has reached 70 degrees.
A good oil will always have less polymer to reach its desired viscosity grade, polymer is very sticky and thick at colder temps so this only starts been really fluid at higher temps. Oil which is blended the proper way has less polymer and a mix of different grade base oils to reach its desired viscosity grade, which results in much more lubricity/flow at lower temps.
I personally can't see any components getting starved of oil once the oil temp has reached 70 degrees.
A good oil will always have less polymer to reach its desired viscosity grade, polymer is very sticky and thick at colder temps so this only starts been really fluid at higher temps. Oil which is blended the proper way has less polymer and a mix of different grade base oils to reach its desired viscosity grade, which results in much more lubricity/flow at lower temps.
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LOL and i thought i was the only one with warm up OCD
I drive really slow for ages to warm it up, probably annoys the crap out of anyone stuck behind me
Another Swindon person I see- what car have you got?
Pyro
Guest
I just only use half throttle and drive slow for a few mins
ang let it cool for a min or two and turn it off it's always best to let it warm up whiles driving slowly to keep the oil moving and it warms quicker like that same as cool down keep the oil circulating and if you don't let turbo kick in the it's all good
and drive slow for a few mins ang let it cool for a min or two and turn it off it's always best to let it warm up whiles driving slowly to keep the oil moving and it warms quicker like that same as cool down keep the oil circulating and if you don't let turbo kick in the it's all good 
where i work i come out on a main road at 50mph and the car doesnt even get a chance to warm up! i try and make sure that when i do leave work i have plenty of space to pick up speed slowly and then drive carfully constantly until i reach home and try not to thrash it. my driving is basically like this:
start 50mph for 1 mile, then 25mph for 2 miles through town taking it easy over humps etc, then 40mph on 1 mile dual carraigeway and then 30 mph for the last mile home. i am hoping this doesnt cause too many issues for the engine.
start 50mph for 1 mile, then 25mph for 2 miles through town taking it easy over humps etc, then 40mph on 1 mile dual carraigeway and then 30 mph for the last mile home. i am hoping this doesnt cause too many issues for the engine.
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