Idling or Turn Off/Restart ... better on gas?

[deftron]

Like a 5 minute time frame.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Like when you're waiting for a train? I just put it in park.

 

[deftron]

No ... running in for a delivery


(courier)



So about 15 times a day

 

[david46675]

try them both for about a week and see which one uses more gas?

 

[Nohr]

In that situation I'd turn it off so it doesn't get stolen.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

I'd just turn it off then. It could always take longer than you expect.

 

[dartworth]

why don't to run an experiment...

publish it

profit..?

 

[SVT Cobra]

NO!

leave it in idle...unlesss you are going to be more than 15 minutes always leave it idle...otherwise you waste more gas

thought ppl knew that

 

[bootymac]

I remember reading somewhere that idling more than 10 seconds uses more gas than starting the engine.

Edit: Maybe it was 1 minute, or 10 minutes. I forgot

 

[deftron]

Is either better for the car?


Too many restarts or sitting idle bad?

 

[deftron]

hmm..

I have been told (but have not verified it), that it takes 1/4-1/2 teaspoon
of fuel to start a car engine (more if the engine is cold).

As for idling, I can use my own car as an example. My car has a computer
which measures instantaneous fuel consumption. Typically, it consumes 1.1
L/h. It's a 4-cylinder, '98 model, ie. fairly new, and fairly fuel
efficient. Older cars, and cars with larger engines would probably use
slightly more fuel. Also carburetted models tend to use more fuel than
fuel injection models.

So, at 1.1 L/h, 4 minutes of idling at the train track would use about 73
mL of fuel. Compared with the teaspoon or so used for starting, it would
seem a lot more worthwhile switching your engine off.

Hope this has helped,

Jonathan Feldman
University of Technology, Sydney

 

[myusername]

restarting is harder on the car. Increased wear on all oil-lubricated parts, increased wear on starter and battery. No idea what the real world implications are though.

 

[kranky]

One minute is what I've always read was the cutoff. Longer than that, you save gas by turning it off and restarting.

 

[eelw]

But since you're starting the car so often, better to leave it running idle than replacing the starter motor prematurely. Yes, bad for the environment and yes wasting gas unnecessarily, but in the long run be less expensive than replacing a starter motor. Unless this is a company car, then turn it off when you do your deliveries.

 

[deftron]

hmm

link

It's a good practice to shut off the engine when your vehicle is going to be stopped for more than:


a. 10 seconds
b. 10 minutes
c. 30 minutes

a): Right. More than 10 seconds of idling can use more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it.

b) or c): Wrong, the answer is "a." If you're going to be stopped for more than 10 seconds, you'll save fuel and money by turning off the vehicle and then restarting it when you're ready to drive away.

Guess turning it off is better.
Which is what I always do.
Just wonder if its hard on the starter and engine.



Doh .. read farther down

Restarting my car many times, rather than letting it idle, is hard on the starter and other parts. True or false?
TRUE: Sorry, this is a common misconception. Studies show that restarting the engine many times has little impact on components such as the battery and the starter motor.

FALSE: Right. Studies show that restarting the engine many times has little impact on components such as the battery and the starter motor.

TURN OFF/RESTART FTW

 

[Linflas]

I wonder if this is one of those things that used to be true in the pre computerized and fuel injected engine days but no longer applies?

 

[myusername]

Originally posted by: deftron
hmm

link

It's a good practice to shut off the engine when your vehicle is going to be stopped for more than:


a. 10 seconds
b. 10 minutes
c. 30 minutes

a): Right. More than 10 seconds of idling can use more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it.

b) or c): Wrong, the answer is "a." If you're going to be stopped for more than 10 seconds, you'll save fuel and money by turning off the vehicle and then restarting it when you're ready to drive away.

Guess turning it off is better.
Which is what I always do.
Just wonder if its hard on the starter and engine.



Doh .. read farther down

Restarting my car many times, rather than letting it idle, is hard on the starter and other parts. True or false?
TRUE: Sorry, this is a common misconception. Studies show that restarting the engine many times has little impact on components such as the battery and the starter motor.

FALSE: Right. Studies show that restarting the engine many times has little impact on components such as the battery and the starter motor.

TURN OFF/RESTART FTW

Well hey, if you want to trust the canadian government's environmental arm to tell you something involving engineering having "little impact", go right ahead.