Community Forums:

The hotter the better up to a limit.

"My logic is lower the temp, less wear on the engine."

The opposite is true in a practical sense. When you run cool, you run rich. Gasoline (which, unlike diesel fuel, is a solvent) washes oil off the cylinder walls, increasing wear. And a cool engine is more likely to have the fuel mist condense on the cool cylinder walls than a hot engine.

"Less premature combustion (therefore less pinging and knocking)..."

Maybe, but only when you're in the proper temp zone. Too cool and you'll build up carbon, which can cause preignition.

"Because heat softens the metal thus allowing more steel molecules to rub off..."

Don't worry about that 'til things start glowing cherry red.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)