[shyamhegde]

I never switch the engine off at signals/jam or any short waits (might be because my earlier car had a starter issue for few months which got resolved only after replacing it). Many times I shift to 1st and wait with cluch fully pressed - mostly when I am the first on the signal stop. Don't know if that's alright to do so.

[paras211]

Easiest way to find out? Drain your gas tank completely, add a litre of fuel to it post that & then time it to see how long before it runs out.

car wont start with just a litre of fuel
a kanjoos friend of mine managed to run his swift dry after a round rickshaw trip to the pump and a litre of fuel it wouldnt start untill a nother litre and half had gone in

maybe if the car is tilted like the bajaj scooters it may start

[rahul_intlad]

Many times I shift to 1st and wait with cluch fully pressed - mostly when I am the first on the signal stop.

Not a good thing to do,especially if you are waiting for a while,try the neutral+handbrake thing for long stops.

[revtech]

Many times I shift to 1st and wait with cluch fully pressed - mostly when I am the first on the signal stop.

all the cabbies do that thinking they will be the first to take off once the signal starts....i just look at them and smile while they screw their clutch...

[rdkarthik]

Originally Posted by amu1983

As per Maruti website, idling for a minute is equivalent to 1 km ride (doesn't say whether a highway ride or city), so if you idle for 12 mins, you'll burn out 1 litre of fuel.

Actually, I don't agree with the 1st statement. Let's say you put the car in 5th gear, and the road is leveled, and silk smooth, and your rpms are very modest (almost like idling), your speed would then be close to 50 kmph, which covers 0.833 km per min. So, if your car gives 12 kmpl, your idle time for 1 litre is 14 mins, not 12.

Maruti stats seems wierd!!!

When an engine has to lug load of the car, it needs a min of around 20-30% more fuel than at idle, for the same RPM. Couple this with the rpms needed for crusing, and you need about 2.4times more fuel than at idle to cruise in, say top gear at 60kmph/1500rpm...
ex.
if idle @ 750 rpm takes K amt of fuel
slight load @ 750 rpm , fuel requirement is 1.2 X K
for crusing with light load, at say 60kmph @ 1500rpm, min fuel requirement is 2 X 1.2 X K

so, for a car cruising at 60km/hr @ 1500rpm with 10kmpl, if a litre lasts 10 mins, at idle it should last 24 mins....

[rdkarthik]

Originally Posted by mfb

I switch off when it's more than 60 secs and am not the 1st one in the que. The thread seems to talk about 30 secs.....isn't that amount of fuel be spent in restarting the car.

Thats again car and condition specific... It can range from an equivalent of 5 sec to 40+ secs at idle.

[Fillmore]

Note to Mods - Please move this tread under the right category.
This is the only category where the site allows me to start a new thread.


----

Engine idling Vs Stop and Start

We encounter many traffic signals every day which have visual ‘seconds to Green counter displays’ . In such instances when is it more optimum to idle the engine vs doing a stop and start?

Eg if its 20 seconds to green, Do you conserve more fuel by idling it , Or actually shutting down the engine and re-starting?

Or can this be tabularized based on the Car Size / model ?

The following example is just my opinion I could be wrong here
If we are talking about a full sized 6 wheel Truck. I feel idling it for 15 seconds is better than starting and stopping. Cause for such a sized truck the smoke it spools out at the time if a startup seems much more than the emission output if it were left idling for 15 seconds. Same could be true with its fuel consumption.

[condor]

@Fillmore, pls do a search before starting a new thread. Here are three threads discussing the point, and these have quite a few links to other threads & external links which discuss the same.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ffic-jams.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...you-knows.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...pollution.html


@Mods, pls merge this thread with the first link here.

[Rehaan]

Thanks condor.

Threads merged.
cya
R

[avishkar41]

Read on some site, link provided somewhere in TBHP that one minute of idle is equivalent to one kms run

[mooza]

Originally Posted by arun_moorthy

I am not sure if this would apply for turbo charged Engines as the manufacturer recommends that the Engine is allowed to idle for a minute after every start.

I am switching off my Scorpio about 15 seconds after coming to rest at signals, if the waiting time exceeds 60 seconds. (Mine is a 2004, non CRDE Scorp, acquired 6 months ago).

Is my Turbo charger likely to get damaged due to this habit ?