I did a little experiment today with the
mpguino.
I drove to work, but anytime I was stopped I left the engine running. I did my usual EOC, but would bump start it at the last second so I would never have to hit the starter.
I noted my idle gallons, it was 0.07 gallons, out of a total of 0.41 gallons.
The ride home I eoc'd and did not idle at all. idle gallons was 0.00 (out of 0.33 gallons), even though I used the starter several times while sitting perfectly still.
I usually get about the same mileage to and from work so no huge variance there. but I used significantly more fuel when leaving the motor running than just using the starter when necessary. Using the starter didn't even register whereas
idling took %17 more fuel on my particular car/route/driving style.
For my car/commute that would mean (@4$/gallon) I would be spending roughly
$140 per year on idling if I chose to. That is like 1/10 of what I paid for the car
