I commute thru Philadelphia and on congested roads, I do my best to minimize stopping, timing lights and such. The number of stops is an average, I pass thru many more stop lights, that's just the number of times I usually stop.
I'm not too concerned about EOC causing any undue repairs. I've already got 265,000 miles, so there's plenty of time spent PM'ing this car anyhow. I have a set budget and can opperate within it pretty well and have enough latitude for major repairs if they arise. I also do all the work myself and that saves a tremendous amount of money. I also shop at the U-pull it yards for parts off good wrecks.
Maybe I'll work on a spread sheet to calculate the wasted gas/potential improvement from not idling at stop lights. I've made an eccel spread sheet for the EOC vs. Coast. If I can refine it a bit with real world results I think it could be helpfull in further refining my commute and where the best times to coast or keep the power on.
Also, is this picture some sort of record for Idle GPH in a gas motor
I'm amazed at how low the idle gph can go under the right circumstances...