What is your predrive startup routine?

I think this is a great place to put this.

If my car is covered I will dust off the top of the cover first with a car duster.
Then stow the cover, it has it's own routine of how I fold it. Basically two halves that meet at the front windshield. Then I roll it up from the passenger side to the drivers side so it fits into the bag I have in the trunk. This is also where I unfold it...on top of the front windshield to avoid micro scratches.

Then I check the windows for any detail spray residue that I may have left on from putting her away.

If it has been a week or so I check and adjust the tire pressure to exactly 32 psi front and 29 psi rear (P-Zero specs for my car)

I unplug the charger and stow it and then I get inside and pop the front trunk and put the cover away and the desiccant canisters that are in the cab area also go into the front trunk.

I get in car and push the fob and wait for the two beeps and turn key and listen for the pumps to prime and the Check OK signal.

Turn key and she roars to life.

I allow her to idle for approx 1 minute when she idles down from fast idle at approx 1300 RPM to 1150.

Back out of garage and let her idle for a few more minutes while I fuss with my ipod...this too has a routine.

I turn on the Becker unit and start the radio. With radio on I plug in the ipod and when it shows the ready screen I turn the radio to AUX and then play the tune I have selected or I drive slowly away with the song on ready until I get around to wanting some tunes.

 

Open hood --- start car --- stand outside of car by engine compartment and watch for fires for approximately 5 minutes while engine warms up....

no fires = close hood --- get back in car --- go for drive
fire = shut off car --- put out fire --- call insurance agent

We're talking about Ferraris, right ?!

 

Open garage doors. Remove the partial cover made from an ugly old soft cotton bed sheet which hangs down just below the mirrors. I use the full cover only when the car is ultra clean and stored for Jan/Feb. I use a partial cover because I normally drive the car several times between washes so it stays clean on top but dusty further down.
Unlock the car. Get in and adjust seat. Turn key and check instrument lights while waiting for the OK light.
Start car and check for oil pressure and any residual lights (about 5 seconds).
Immediately back out of garage, maneuver 90 degrees and pull forward to clear the electric gate. Open gate while I'm putting on my seat belt and turning on the headlights. Back into turn around area and head down driveway. Up to now, everything has been at idle or very near idle. Drive at moderate throttle and below 4000 rpm. Check water temp at 80C after 10 minutes or less. Stay below 4000 rpm until oil temp is above 65C, about 12 to 15 minutes total. Drive an additional 5 minutes or so at higher rpm but without thrashing the car and then drive as the mood strikes and traffic allows.

I don't spend any special waiting time at idle warming up the engine, but it takes a total of about three minutes or so from start-up for me to reach the road at the end of my driveway and nearly all that time is at idle.

 

Mine was to back out the family car and drop the lift with the Fcar on it. Take off the red car cover and get in. Turn the key to on and wait until the seat belt light went off (fuel pump filled the carbs).Pump the go peddle 3-4 times and fire it up. When it catches keep feathering the throttle until it gets to a smooth 1200 rpm. Take my foot off the gas and get out and put the ramps down on the lift. Get back in and back it out of the garage and go. Short shift the gears until I see WT moving and drive it. After about 5-10 minutes it up to temp and I'm livin the good life. Enjoy the drive.

 

Unlock door, get in.
Disable immobiliser, prime ignition and put seatbelt on.
Clutch in, engine on, wait a few seconds to check for weird noises then drive off.

Simple!

 

Remove cover, put in key and turn. Find out battery is dead. Hook up charger, forget about charger, boil battery. Purchase new battery, recover car while waiting for rain to subside.

Repeat.

When I drove it daily I'd start car, let idle for about 5 minutes and then drive.

 

Remove cover.Open bonnet and remove power cable to battery conditioner.Remove panel and turn electrics on.Close bonnet get in car and turn key to prime pumps.Start the car and leave for 10 mins minimum without touching anything for that time.After 10 mins stop car open hood and away I go.

I know its bit of a pain but she's worth it.

 

IF it is in the garage : open garage door, unplug battery maintainer from wall and put behind the seat, get in car and put seat belt on (because i hate that buzzing), hit the immobilizer, turn the key, wait for OK and put it in neutral and start the car. Wait a 10-15 seconds and back her out of the garage, let it idle in the driveway another 30+ seconds while I close the garage door and drive away, nice and slow at first.

IF its in the driveway : cuss at the dammed neighborhood cats that left their paw prints in the morning dew on the car, hit the immobilizer to unlock the car, get in and put seatbelt on, put the key in the ignition and turn it, wait for OK, put it in neutral and start the car. Wait about 30+ seconds and drive away nice and slow at first.

 

Turn key and start car
Once RPM start to drop, turn off
Turn back on and wait a few minutes

My guy said by turning off when the RPM start to drop, it resets the computer to allow for something to happen. Once It starts the second time, the RPM drop never happen.

I also use my hand to over the stitching on my scud seats to not rip it

 

Open door,
get in,
key on,
start engine,
fasten belts,
observe rear view mirror,
back out of garage.

Just don't give it more than 30% throttle until engine oil comes up to 150dF.

 

Put in neutral.
Turn off A/C fan.
Start.
Touch nothing until oil pressure comes up. (A few seconds)
Give it a little gas to get the battery light off.
Back out and drive.
Skip 2nd gear and shift below 4k rpms until oil temp is off the peg.
100 mph EVERY time it sees the highway unless not feasible.

 

My car is stored at a friends business. Remove car cover, folding as others describe. Much of our routines are very similar. I start the car and it starts on the first turn of the key. No matter how cold or how hot it is, no matter how long it's been sitting. Batteries are fine, even if it sits for a few weeks during this last Winter. No tender or charger ever.

I back it out carefully after clearing any objects away, both in and out of the building. I back her out and park her for at least 20 minutes at idle. When I hear the side cooling fans kick on, it's very close to the 20 minute mark.

While I wait I wipe her down from the rooter to the tooter.

When it comes time to get in, I realize how lucky I am to posses her.

When I drive away, I feel like the luckiest guy on Earth.

 

I haven't walked over to the garage and looked at my car in three months. I love to hear Ferrari owner wax poetic.

 

Try to not smash the bolster with fat ass while planting it in the drivers seat. Remember to disconnect trickle charger, extricate fat ass from drivers seat, disconnect charger and repeat seating step. Start car and drive.

 

Do u lock your F-car even when it's parked in your garage??

Just curious,

 

Nope, windows down, key in the car, garage is locked why lock the car also ?

 

Kneel by car, facing east (Maranello), pray that car will start. Wipe off knees, get in car, crank. If no start, hit F on speed dial (no, not that F, flatbed).

BTW, to the last post: they say never to lock a convertible (even when not parked in garage) becasue they will just slit the top and do more damage.

 

Actually yes. But mostly because I'm troubleshooting an intermittent alarm problem. A few times I've come out of a store/cafe to find the alarm going off and once it happened at home.

I think I found the problem, but I'm still locking the car to build my confidence data base.

 

This sounds like something I would do!

 

that's a long driveway

 

I do not lock either car in the garage for fire safety reasons where time is of the essence in case of emergency. I allow the OP gauge to come up, pull out and drive at about 40 mph for 7 miles or so until everything is warm and the OP gauge registers. Then, I do whatever I planned for the day's ride. The engine is not the only thing that needs to warm up.

 

I absolutely hate people who let their alarms blare when the car is not actually being stolen or broken into. I invariably characterize them as "total idiots" and I usually add a curse word or two.

I don't want to be that idiot.