Are you pro- or anti-start-stop?

[dremd]

As far as ultra low effort fuel savings go, stop start has to be near the top of the list, right?
My rental has it, other than the engine starting it’s really nice not to have to listen to an inline 6 idling for no good reason.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by dremd

As far as ultra low effort fuel savings go, stop start has to be near the top of the list, right?
My rental has it, other than the engine starting it’s really nice not to have to listen to an inline 6 idling for no good reason.

It is - especially for the manufacturer - but US fuel economy standards and fines are low enough that it doesn't makes sense for manufactures to add it.

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by Batman Junior

Man, I miss that car!
...
Man, I miss that car

I can see why.

[Istas]

I'm definitely in favor of the automatic engine stop-start as a concept. In practice, I suppose it depends on how well it's implemented. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions definitely needs to be a high priority, but I don't know how the savings of stop-start compares to the extra material needed in the cases where the car needs a whole extra battery.

It seems a no-brainer in cars that are already hybrid though. My first-gen Insight uses the 70-pound IMA battery to start the car when you turn the key and it starts up soooo smoothly and effortlessly compared to the 12v starter in any car I've driven.

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Man, I miss that car! Amazingly efficient.

Stop making me want to add a boattail to my first-gen Insight!

[MetroMPG]

Base pressure peer pressure!

[116HDi]

My mother's Golf, which I used sometimes, has Start-Stop, and I never got used to it. Sometimes the system did the exact opposite of what I've expected.

So, I like to manually switch off the engine. If I'm going to wait at least 15 seconds, I turn it off, otherwise I keep it running. But since I don't drive in cities 90% of the time, unnecessary idling isn't much of a problem for me.

Concerning unnecessary idling: In my country it's forbidden and fined with up to 5000€ if you leave an engine on idle without a reason. And I think that's good.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

When I invested in an AGM (roughly twice the price of comparable lead acid), suddenly the feature started working. Though now, when the battery is 3 years old, it hardly works during winter, even though I trickle charge once or twice per week.

This sounds odd to me. I have (knocks wood) absolutely ancient AGM batteries in two cars and they are still going strong. Granted they are not doing stop/start. But one of them is in a car that is notorious for getting wonky when the battery is in poor condition, and that car is quite well behaved. I have a CTEK charger that has a "battery refresh" feature, and I have run both batteries though that quite lengthy process. My understanding is that AGM batteries are much more amenable to that type of process, compared to lead/acid.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Toretto

Start/stop tech is a sure way to shorten turbo life. I always disable the function on turbo engines. There is a minimal amount of oil starvation.

Even though not oriented toward start-stop tech, some aftermarket turbocharger manufacturers such as Biagio from Brazil are making some interesting designs in order to prevent oil starvation.

[PaulB2]

I don't care for techno-masturbation, which includes start-stop. But if others like that stuff, that's their business. I keep thinking I need a 1st gen Dodge truck with the Cummins engine, heh.

To me, if you are spending a lot of time in stop and go traffic, then you live in the wrong place.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by PaulB2

To me, if you are spending a lot of time in stop and go traffic, then you live in the wrong place.

I don't live anywhere near a big city or where there could be stop and go traffic.

But if living where there's stop and go traffic is wrong place, then the great, great majority of drivers live in the wrong place.

Personally, I would say the ideal place to live would not include any driving. Work, school, food, shelter, clothing should all be within walking distance.

But everyone has their own needs and circumstances. For an example, I've come to the realzation that if I want to live where I can actually afford a home I'm going to have to move to some sort of urbanized environment... quite probably with stop and go traffic and all... Or the middle of the desert and communte a couple hundred miles to and from work. That might be a good reason to get a sports car I guess.