My commute is 8 minutes. Your warm-up time of 10 min is more than my entire commute lol. I guess I need a remote start.

I didn't even think of that..

Since we're on this topic what is an ideal operating temp for the oil....based on what I have read is it 180*?

Depends on the oil. And that question is a black hole. Search Bob is the Oil Guy forums.

The 180 temp is typically considered the minimum for being completely warm. The ideal operating temp is likely around 200 or so. But I'm no expert.

All of this. You want the oil hot enough to evaporate out the condensation in it. Too cold is more of an issue than too hot these days, since modern synthetics are good up to 300 or so. Not that you'd ever want to see those kind of temps, but the car won't spontaneously combust at 250.

The design temp for most motors and oils is 212F or 100C. +-10% is perfectly fine, +20% isn't good but isn't terrible; but -20% and +-30% is bad and you should think about using a different viscosity.

For reference:
http://www.le-pilote-automobile.com/...co_vs_temp.jpg

The difference between oils is mostly why I was asking. I know we don't have to use the 5w30 ester oil from the dealer. However, will the ester help me do less damage since my engine is colder? or will a 0w weight? Or will anything for that matter?

Unless you are talking very cold (below about 10F or so), the type of oil or a lower-than-spec viscosity isn't going to make much difference in a DD. Don't worry about lower viscosity if you live south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Is this true for all adapter plate setups? I run a Z1 34 row oil cooler, and it's connected via thermostatic plate. The cooler is blocked off, I ran it for about 20 mins on the highway in 34* ambient temp, and it barely got to 170F. So you're saying the motor is seeing 185-190F?

Yeap, the oil temp is measured after it comes back from the cooler/thermostatic plate.

Cool, thanks!