By Steve Martin. Republished with permission from the Summer 2016 issue of Fourteener Motoring Magazine.

It is always a good idea to let your engine get warm before really putting it through its paces. Just don’t do it at idle. While the car is at low RPMs the oil pressure is also low, which keeps it from helping with lubrication and cooling where it is needed. Therefore, it is usually better to drive the car while warming it up. Just keep the RPMs at a reasonable level until it is fully up to temperature. This will help keep the oil pressure high while the engine gets warm and ready to be driven harder.