Posted on 01/08/2011 8:20:04 PM PST by cunning_fish
If cars start coming out with ‘start stop’ technology, I will be disabling mine.
You have the Golden Ticket car. Those things gave a headache to everyone. To have one that works is exiting. Do not paint me as a Trofeo hater. I am a lover of that body style. If you haave a 1984 or 5 Toro I am lookiing hard. Need the “Talking Option” though.
I've found that it takes no less than 5 minues from start-up, idling through the complex-road, until I need to press the accelerator at the first light on a major county road.
By the time I need to press the accelerator pedal, I traversed about 2/3 mile. The last oil change I did was about 4 years ago, i.e., 8,000 miles ago.
I drive a '89 Buick LeSabre w/160k miles. Usually that sucker bump-starts, but lately it takes a few seconds to crank it over (given the 10-20 Deg. F. 24 hr. temps over the course of the last few weeks).
Make sure you aren’t closing the outside vents and you shouldn’t have any frost. Even when it’s below zero, I don’t have any issue with fogging up as long as the heater fan isn’t set to recirculate the inside air.
That said, do what works for you. You’re paying for your own gas.
“what’s the penalty for idling?”
You are required to listen to Henry Waxman speeches all day every day for a week and nod approvingly.
Better for the machine to wear-and-tear."I don't care 'bout the machine's feelings. FIRE THEM HEAT'S UP! Get that blower going! I'm cold..."
Clearly there are several issues at play:
NO YOU are TOTALLY WRONG.
YOU are suhject to the greenies decisions; they’ll inform you to turn off your idling engine at gun-point.
Didn’t you know that violines never solve anything? I seem to have some cuts of Cindy Sheehan ‘bout that...
The primary reason for winter idling is to warm up the INTERIOR, before getting into the beast. A last cup of coffee is about long enough to start getting warm air out of the ducts.
“pigboy? no way. I will never idle again.”
OK. How bout this? Every time Maxine Water’s name is mentioned during 2011, you have to comment about how compassionate, bright, and attractive she is.
This may be true but I want the car warm before I jump in it, jackass. What the hell is so hard to understand about that. Sheesh, has everyone in the world gone absoulutely insane?
>>>>>I found all the references to block heaters to be stupid. They require at least the same energy as letting your engine warm up your car. Maybe even more because they are so slow, and all the while much of the energy over a 2 hours period is being emitted into the outside air. Your engine can do the same thing in 10 minutes.>>>>>>
No offence, but you are wrong. It takes MUCH less energy just to heat your engine than runing it. Moving pistons takes most energy in your running engine.
Welllll....
At the gas prices predicted for next fall, I may have to saddle up my old horse!
Here’s one fact about warming up the car (though I seldom do it) - the car is nice and warm INSIDE when I get ready to drive. If it’s 10 below zero outside, and the car’s sitting out there, I WILL warm it up. If it’s 20 or so, there’s no need to do so, since my cloths will keep me warm enough.
Block heaters, or at least the factory block heater I have on my Dodge truck (and never used) are designed to keep the oil a little bit warm so that the engine will actually turn over and start in extremely cold temperatures. It's a low-wattage device. If you've ever started a car in -10 or colder temperatures, you can appreciate how much effect the combination of a weaker cold battery and thick oil has on how fast or slowly the engine cranks. If it turns over at all.
I was just jivin' ya.
I like respectable horsepower as much as the next guy, but I really am impressed with small displacement high performance engines especially turbocharged.
For the street, any car, like a Camaro with a stick and 3.4L (built and turboed with sufficient boost) would be a blast to drive, and without that ton of cast iron (that is a small block) it would also go right or left when you turned the wheel hard. (not to mention still getting good fuel mileage once you hit the speed limit)
I'm not impressed by all the current over-wiring of production cars, where everything is overengineered and hooked together. But when used as an isolated system, EFI can be tweaked from the driver's seat, dialed up and down for performance and economy. Distributorless ignition...same thing. (except Ford, eight coils is asinine)
Half-ton trucks would also benefit from the same treatment, especially diesel. A Cummins 4BT AT or NV3500 would get you down the road with plenty of power reserve and mileage capability.
The W2500s and one-tons already have the bigger version of that engine which still gets respectable mileage. They are time tested and hardcore. (except the front ends fall apart)
You read my mind.
I don’t think there are any environmental issues. Over and above the problems with “global warming” most cars emit cleaner air than exists in most cities, and the fact is a couple minutes of idling doesn’t actually burn through that much gas.
The reality is that it’s my car and my gas and if I want to go outside right now and turn my car on then comeback here for the next hour while it idles away it’s nobody’s GD business.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.