let your X5 really warm up
 

I would like to share a bit here,In these cold weather months really let your x5 warm up first start up[about 6-10 minutes] I am on my second X5 the worst thing for a x5 engine is to start it and run it right away.
They are really made for hot running.......................

Any info to kind of back that up? Personal experience, anything...?

Because the general consensus is that it is not good to let it warm up before driving.

I usually let it run for just about 30 sec, until the RPM comes to the normal idle, but not as long as you.

sure , in cold weather[18f to 25 f] start your car up pop the hood and listen to your engine[valves] and hear the sound of the engine change.
You can hear the change , also most x5 timing chain guides brake during cold weather months.
My x is sitting out this winter in a heated garage.........

I just let it warn up until it is no longer on high idle. I think the Chain Guide issue is more of a V8 than the I6 engines.

more important when you have an alloy block with steel cylinder liners, the warm up then is critical due to expansion rates of dissimilar metals, however with the BMW motors excluding the diesel i dont think you have steel cylinder liners so not as critical

none the less i agree you want to let it get a little heat into it before you start nailing it

I agree, just to get those 8.5 quarts of oil [Castrol syntech] to the top of block.
plus I figure to write something relevant to the season...............

my bmw mechanic told me not to let it warm up , he was telling me when you do you get extra fuel going pass the cylinders. how he knows I don`t know.

Nope. Start it and drive away gently - the engine warms up best with a light to moderate load. There's no reason to idle for more than a few seconds other than if you need to scrape your windows or brush off some snow. Keeping a light foot until the engine is warmed up makes a lot more sense.

You will always get accelerated wear upon cold startup. The choice you have is whether you make that cold running interval longer by idling it, or as short as possible by driving it moderately. Putting load on the engine warms it more quickly. Stretching it out just results in increased wear.

Start it up, and as soon as you have oil pressure (less than 10 seconds) start to drive it moderately. This presumes you can see out the windows, ie not waiting for the defroster. No high RPM operation during this warm up, and no lugging it. Driving it causes it to warm up more quickly than idling, though, thus reducing engine wear.

Nothing different here about a BMW or any other modern vehicle. Drive them as soon as it is safe to do so.

I agree (and so do mechanics) even with the Diesels. Start it up before you have done your seatbelt, etc. Get yourself comfy, do the seatbelt up, usual pre-flight checks then go. Don't speed/race the engine, drive normally. And, with the diesels especially, don't over rev the turbo until it is thoroughly warmed up.

In cold weather, if I waited for the diesel to warm up idling, I would be waiting 1/2 a day...