Mazda exec says EPA testing is reason company doesn't have Stop/Start feature in U.S.

[cptsideways]

The Mazda6 capacitor is behind the left headlight unit, its about 1 foot long and 8" in diameter roughly.

[gone-ot]

Q = C·E

What voltage (E) are they dumping into that capacitor (C), 12-15VDC or something higher?

[cbaber]

What Mazda said doesn't surprise me at all. If a fuel economy feature doesn't show up in EPA tests, how is it relevant to the consumer? It adds to the price of the car, but the consumer doesn't have any information that says it will increase fuel economy by a significant amount. That's a loser for business, and Mazda is a business.

Car companies are not trying to build cars that get good MPG, they are building cars that will sell.

[cptsideways]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

Q = C·E

What voltage (E) are they dumping into that capacitor (C), 12-15VDC or something higher?

It was mentioned in our training they dump high voltage direct from the alternator (definitely not 12V) its in the hundreds of V's I think & there is warning label near the capacitor regards the high voltage too.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I'll have to disagree with the Mazda executives on that matter. I don't see them going to lose some bucks for extending the offer of start-stop feature to U.S.-spec cars.