How long of an idle before it's better to turn off engine?

[tfcmasta97]

How long would you have to be waiting for you to turn off your engine? 5 minutes? 10? 15?

 

[Uhtrinity]

In the summer I would turn off the engine of all of my vehicles if I knew I would be stopped for more than a few minutes. Good examples would be waiting for a train, road construction where you take turns to use a lane, etc. However my Insight has an autostop feature. The engine actually turns off when in neutral, or if the clutch is fully engaged and you are below about 10mph. Put it in gear and disengage the clutch, or hit the gas and it instantly restarts.

 

[Pacfanweb]

For what reason? Fuel consumption? If I was worried about that, I'd turn it off every time I got out. But I live in NC, so you DO NOT
turn off your car this time of year if you're in it. You'll freaking melt.

It won't hurt cars these days to idle for days on end, as long as all your systems, cooling, oil, etc, are in good working order.

 

[SilthDraeth]

I am curious about this as well. They say don't let a car idle for long periods of time. I want to ask why?

As for melting in NC? Try southern California in the Mojave dessert, or better yet, Bullhead City Arizona/Laughlin Nevada, its going to be 115 today.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
I am curious about this as well. They say don't let a car idle for long periods of time. I want to ask why?

As for melting in NC? Try southern California in the Mojave dessert, or better yet, Bullhead City Arizona/Laughlin Nevada, its going to be 115 today.

They say not to idle it because it's a waste of gas. Its not going to hurt the car or anything.

 

[iamwiz82]

Literally just a second or two. Starting an engine does not use that much more gas.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
I am curious about this as well. They say don't let a car idle for long periods of time. I want to ask why?

As for melting in NC? Try southern California in the Mojave dessert, or better yet, Bullhead City Arizona/Laughlin Nevada, its going to be 115 today.

Come on down and get you some of this 90+ degree heat with 70% humidity, then tell me how hot Cali is. This FEELS much worse.

 

[ayabe]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
I am curious about this as well. They say don't let a car idle for long periods of time. I want to ask why?

As for melting in NC? Try southern California in the Mojave dessert, or better yet, Bullhead City Arizona/Laughlin Nevada, its going to be 115 today.

Come on down and get you some of this 90+ degree heat with 70% humidity, then tell me how hot Cali is. This FEELS much worse.

Or 90+ with 90% humidity in FL.

on topic - letting your sit idle for a while in the heat can increase the chances of detonation if you are running a highly tuned motor, but for a regular car I wouldn't really worry about it.

 

[SilthDraeth]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
I am curious about this as well. They say don't let a car idle for long periods of time. I want to ask why?

As for melting in NC? Try southern California in the Mojave dessert, or better yet, Bullhead City Arizona/Laughlin Nevada, its going to be 115 today.

Come on down and get you some of this 90+ degree heat with 70% humidity, then tell me how hot Cali is. This FEELS much worse.

I lived in middle Georgia for 3 years. I felt the humidity and the heat together, even if it was only 90 degrees. I also went to tech school in Biloxi Mississippi.

Everyone likes to believe where they live has the worst weather, and I hate Mississippi, and Georgia weather more than anything with one exception, and that would be the Bullhead City/Laughlin Nevada area.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: tfcmasta97
How long would you have to be waiting for you to turn off your engine? 5 minutes? 10? 15?

If I know I'm going to be waiting for longer than a minute or so, I turn it off. Unless the weather's really hot or really cold outside, there's no reason to leave it idling.

What gets me is all the people who will sit there, inside their cars, for 15-20 minutes waiting to pick someone up, with the car idling the whole time, when the weather is gorgeous, sunny, and 60 degrees.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
I am curious about this as well. They say don't let a car idle for long periods of time. I want to ask why?

As for melting in NC? Try southern California in the Mojave dessert, or better yet, Bullhead City Arizona/Laughlin Nevada, its going to be 115 today.

Come on down and get you some of this 90+ degree heat with 70% humidity, then tell me how hot Cali is. This FEELS much worse.

I lived in middle Georgia for 3 years. I felt the humidity and the heat together, even if it was only 90 degrees. I also went to tech school in Biloxi Mississippi.

Everyone likes to believe where they live has the worst weather, and I hate Mississippi, and Georgia weather more than anything with one exception, and that would be the Bullhead City/Laughlin Nevada area.

I remember a few years back, a kid from either Arizona or Nevada signed to play football at NC State, here in Raleigh.
He came at the beginning of the summer, so he could get used to the heat/humidity, and take some classes. He said he couldn't believe how hot it felt here, compared to where he was from.
And yeah, I know about Florida's heat and humidity....the worst it gets there isn't any hotter than the worst it gets here....it just lasts longer down there.

And back on topic, I'll reiterate that the only thing you hurt by idling your car is your gas mileage. Cop cars and cabs basically are never turned off. As long as your cooling system is okay, no problem.

 

[Eos]

Humidity won't make the interior of a car any hotter at the same temperature. Wouldn't 115 degrees make the interior quite a bit hotter than 90 degrees?

But when you're outside, high humidity and high temp is slightly worse than triple digit temps and low humidity. I've spent time in both and both suck ass.

Idle away, OP. I do without a second thought. Maybe a few minutes a week on average.