Guys arguably the most important thing about warming your car up isn't so much about heat (it is don't get me wrong) it's about establishing oil circulation. Fwiw my old man's been a trans mechanic for 30+ years...he let's the car idle for 2-3 minutes, won't beat on it until it's ran for 10...normal driving not working the motor hard I'd ok in between.

 

You forgot these two
Sport Mode = No Cruise Control
Sport Mode = Lower MPGs

 

That's not true if you drive in Sport MANUAL. You'll only get lower MPG's if you drive in Sport AUTO.

 

Exactly. I use S-Sport all the time and fuel economy is exactly the same as with Normal or Sport. Normal is only useful for the cruise control.

 

Just wanted to help and chime in. I'm also from Edmonton AB, and I have a Ralliart 2009 with over 170000km on it. Transmission still works, even with aftermarket liquid in it. No issues with the tranny at all and I am the second owner. I have reasons to believe the previous owner also drove it pretty hard since it used to have an exhaust from the bowels of hell installed on it. (Had to get rid of it, I couldn't justify that brutal sound to the wife... the same wife who had no problems with a Borla exhaust on a previous one we test drove).

I did, however, make a deal with the dealer to replace a broken AWC center pump. That pump can cost over 2000$ to repair at the dealer. Some people here say it's just broken seals which can be done for about 400$ at a local repair shop, but I didn't try that yet. The center pump unit has issues with Edmonton's -30C days. You'll need to keep it in a garage or give it time to warm up before driving. Also, the older Ralliarts had bad fuel pump relays. There are links in these forums on where to buy the newer/better ones.

 

i heard waiting too long can actually be bad..

Warm oil but cold tranny.

Most people just keep the rpm below 3k until warm up and seem to be fine.


zeRep

 

How long do you usually wait just till temp gauge moves? Just wondering because I just picked mine up and sadly have no garage

 

Most of the time I let it run for maybe 30 seconds or less sometimes and go, but I don't really drive hard until the temp gets a few bars up. Winter might be a different story, I may let it warm up a little longer, but again I still wont drive hard until temp gauge is a few bars or more.
I will also try and let the car run a minute or two after driving before shutting it off, especially if I do some hard driving.
So, far my tranny is doing okay, it's about due for it's 30k mile change though and should help the shifting experience.

 

Okay perfect, that's something I already do.