Engine RPM at Cold Start: What's Normal?

Hi.

I have a question for the experts, or for people who have a very good understanding of engines, or who are even involved in engine development.
How many RPM can you safely drive with a cold engine without causing any long-term damage?
In my case, it's a 5-cylinder TDI engine from an A6. Since I immediately drive onto the highway after a cold start, I'm a bit concerned about that. I used to always warm up my gasoline engine properly, and I'd like to do the same with my diesel, but it takes forever to warm up due to its good efficiency (and the thermostat is already new). Outside temperatures ranging from -10°C to 5°C might be interesting.

Best regards, Mario.

As an absolute upper limit, I would consider 2500 RPM (preferably 2000). I believe it's even more important that you accelerate up to that point using, at most, half throttle. Even if that makes you a traffic obstruction in some situations, so be it.

My neighbor who lives across the street drives a Passat (probably from around 1998), I think it's a TDI V6.
Automatic.
If I wake up around 5-6 AM, he always drives off at full speed.
(Regardless of whether it's winter or summer), it starts up and is ready to go within 0.5 seconds.
Surely the oil hasn't even reached the camshaft yet, has it?

Due to the automatic transmission, it immediately revs up to 4000 rpm or so, and only comes down after about 20 meters, before revving up again to the end of the street.

This has been going on for at least a year, and I've never experienced this with him before.
Saw a replacement car from the workshop.

Is this durability related to the additional 2 cylinders?
Or, for other reasons, people here in the forum will probably have to explain.

Best regards, Peter.

The owner of the bar across the street drives a Passat (approximately model year 1998), I believe it's a TDI V6.
Automatic.
If I wake up around 5-6 AM, he always drives off at full speed.
(Regardless of whether it's winter or summer), it starts up and is ready to go within 0.5 seconds.
Surely the oil hasn't even reached the camshaft yet, has it?

Because of the automatic transmission, it immediately revs up to 4000 rpm or so, and only comes down after about 20 meters, before revving up again to the end of the street.

This has been going on for at least a year, and I've never experienced this with him before.
Saw a replacement car from the workshop.
...
The unfortunate thing is that he won't have any problems with it, but his successor will...
While it's certainly not healthy for the engine, a complete failure in the first few years is more of an exception than the rule.
And if that happens, he just laughs about it; it's still under warranty!

People who can afford 'one-year-old new cars' can afford that.
We, the ordinary people, will have to pay dearly for it later...

You guys are really exaggerating.

Modern cold oil maintains stable oil pressure in the crankshaft bearings up to approximately 3,500 RPM.

Regards,

Manuel.

Well,
It is also possible to induce camshaft damage in the V6 engine.

Regarding semi-gases:

It's even more important to warm up the turbocharger than to warm up the engine.
The whistle is already quite loud at first, but it gets even louder later. With a lambda probe (LDA), you can see that you usually don't exceed 0.5 bar at the beginning (for the first minute).
Otherwise (e.g., the stairlift installer with his Vertrassat PD; see above), you might have to buy a new charger soon. After all, you're supposed to let it cool down!
(Once, after a stressful leg of driving on the Autobahn, a Toyota driver gave me a piece of advice.)
I believe that the thermal stress here is much greater than that experienced by the engine itself.

Doesn't oil end up everywhere after just 3 seconds? Or should we, like the Star Motor pilots do before takeoff, give the propeller a few more turns before starting the engine?

Greetings.

Sure.

During the initial engine start after a cold start, the turbocharger is most vulnerable because its shaft can only center itself by floating in the oil.
He forgives it for a while, but then the bearing shells and the shaft are already pre-damaged...

Generally, modern TDI engines, when combined with good quality oils, are quite durable.
The lubrication of the entire engine has been well optimized. Currently, the problem of very rapid and uneven heat distribution under full load and with a cold engine is more critical than anything else! (internal source from the engine test bench)

We have already discussed this topic in great detail in the past.

Best regards, Georg.

Hmm, I would have liked to hear more opinions on the topic.
As I said, I'm still talking about the old 5-cylinder TDI engine.
But if it's possible to achieve 2000 RPM without any problems, then that would be sufficient for me.
I'm already going 100 km/h.

Mario.

I've been driving diesel cars for years, and when the engine is cold, I only let it rev up to a maximum of 2500 RPM.

I've never had any major problems with the engines, so I will continue to follow this procedure.

A friend of mine drives a Golf III 1.8 gasoline engine with 90 horsepower, manufactured in 1993. He revs it up, even when it's cold, all the way into the red zone, 6500 RPM. He received the Golf as a gift with 85,000 km, and to this day, with 247,000 km on the clock, it still runs well, despite almost constant full throttle! Besides a head gasket failure, there have been no major repairs so far.
If it had a turbo, it would definitely be broken by now!