Start Stop System

[ncarter124]

I was figuring that at 60 mph if it got 84 mpg that would mean 1.4 hours at highwayspeed per gallon of gas. I kinda figured maybe 10% of that rate just to throw a ballpark number on it for it's at idle consumption rate? That would mean it would idle at 14 hours per gallon. I know we dont have any real numbers, but is that way unrealistic?

I'd go with that logic, meaning that it would take months upon months upon months of driving to save one gallon of fuel, which i suspected in the first place.

 

[carzes]

I fully get that it doesn't make as much sense as it would on my 6.7L diesel. However, I have time to think about these things while sitting in traffic. Usually, one day a week, I-40 turns into a parking lot for a few minutes of my normal 35 minute drive. Then, the wait to get on base can be as long as 20 minutes. That's a vehicle sitting at idle for almost half of my daily commute. That has to add up. Granted, the extra cost of hybrids is hard to overcome and the Elio will probably be no exception but I'd be willing to pay a little more than I recoup just to help save the US some oil imports.

Again though, how much time are you actually STOPPED? I know morning base traffic, and where 've been stationed traffic really doesnt stop, it creeps along at turtle speed, but rarely STOPS. If at all it's only a few seconds at a time 'till traffic inches ahead again and you'd be back to idling merry along.

 

[Edward]

Again though, how much time are you actually STOPPED? I know morning base traffic, and where 've been stationed traffic really doesnt stop, it creeps along at turtle speed, but rarely STOPS. If at all it's only a few seconds at a time 'till traffic inches ahead again and you'd be back to idling merry along.

I've timed it. When traffic is at its worst and I hit the majority of the 16 traffic lights between my house and my office red, my commute takes 84 minutes of which 12 are at a dead stop. That is nearly 15% of the time.

 

[Snick]

I've timed it. When traffic is at its worst and I hit the majority of the 16 traffic lights between my house and my office red, my commute takes 84 minutes of which 12 are at a dead stop. That is nearly 15% of the time.

Then stop/start will obviously benefit you. From my understanding, S/S saves 3% of fuel for the 'average' driver. So, with my 22 mile commute, I would save about $18/year.

I think I'll skip that option.

 

[carzes]

I have some stopwatch numbers to throw in the ring. My last couple commutes resulted in typical times spent actually STOPPED as follows: 7,17,6,12 seconds per one-way trip to work, for an average of 21 seconds per day, with 3 commutes per week.
shortcutting the math a bit, that's 54.6 min per year, 0.065gal or around a cup of gas per year. At current gas prices if a s/s system cost me $300 I'd make my investment back in a thrifty 1333 YEARS! The Elio really better be a VERY long lasting vehicle. That's gotta be WAY better than honda quality.
So, stop/start system? No, thank you.
I think I'll take my 300 bucks and buy a solar panel for the house. That'll do a thousand times more for the planet than a s/s on an Elio for me.

 

[carzes]

I've timed it. When traffic is at its worst and I hit the majority of the 16 traffic lights between my house and my office red, my commute takes 84 minutes of which 12 are at a dead stop. That is nearly 15% of the time.

Cool, some numbers! So 12 min each way (worst case), 24 min per day, 2hrs per week, 100 hours per year, assuming you take a vacation, 7.14 gallons per year at $3.60 is $25.71 per year, so recovery of your $300 s/s system is 11.66 years. That's making some guesses of course, but in your case the system might at least pay for itself over the life of the car, (current gas prices assumed)
Did you know you spend 100 HOURS PER YEAR STOPPED in traffic? That's just the STOPPED part! 84 min. each way is 700 hours or 29 days streight! You spend the equivalent of the entire month of February, day and night, COMMUTING TO WORK! Brother I feel for you. YIKES!

 

[Elio Amazed]

I'll be doing what I do with the bikes to max mpg.
I'll be decelerating by coasting (instead of mostly braking which is what most people do) when I'm approaching a stop or turn.
Just approximate, throw the clutch in, and idle without braking almost the whole way.
I also build up to about 5 mph faster when approaching a hill, throw the clutch and coast for a spell.
And then there's "pulsing."
I haven't tried it long enough at a stretch to check the win or lose, but there are a few individuals that swear by it.
Any one have any thoughts or experience with it?

I'm thinking that no matter how good the computer is, I should still be able to out-do the it with my manual.

 

[Mark Ambrose]

I live in Maryland where the summers can get miserably hot and sticky. If I had a system that turned the engine, and therefore the air conditioning off every time I stopped at a light or in traffic I'd rip its guts out and throw it in the trash. I'll pay the slightly extra cost to keep cool. I did two tours in southeast Asia and I never want to sweat again if I can avoid it.

 

[Ty]

I did posit the question not as a money saver so much as just a fuel saver. I was thinking about drive through lines and my drive where I've been stopped on occasion for a minute or two. Some start stop systems shut the engine down under certain coasting situations as well which, with no power steering and a light vehicle that probably requires minimal brake boosting, should be possible. Down hills or as you approach a stop -say as you cross the 5mph speed while on the brakes.

 

[Avards]

I live in Maryland where the summers can get miserably hot and sticky. If I had a system that turned the engine, and therefore the air conditioning off every time I stopped at a light or in traffic I'd rip its guts out and throw it in the trash. I'll pay the slightly extra cost to keep cool. I did two tours in southeast Asia and I never want to sweat again if I can avoid it.

Amen!

Only one tour in RVN, but raised in southeast Louisiana, and have spent time in some other places with tropical climates. The system sounds counter-intuitive to me. I want as much heat and humidity removed from my vehicles as can be arranged. Might be a good system for Canadian export market, however, or for Siberia.

wr