Gas Consumption: On of off ?

[Armageddon]

Something that has been bothering me lately is the fact that people claim that turning the car off & back on (drive thru, 7-11) sometimes uses more gas than just to leave the truck running in the first place.

The final question:

If we do turn off our trucks, approximately how long would it have to remain off to make it more worth having turned off in the first place rather than to left running @ idle.?

They did a study of something similiar to this on MythBusters but it was dealing with the "surge" of power used when you turn on the lights in a room instead of just leaving them on. Results were that the surge was so insignificant that unless you literally flipped the switch off and immediately back on, that you would have saved more power by just turning the light switch off by leaving the room even if only for a few secs.

 

[m02redl]

I don't see how restarting would use more fuel then shutting it off, might have held more true on a carbureted vehicle were you're mashing the pedal to start

 

[Hug_R_Av]

  inquiring mind want to know..

 

[ygmn]

Sure would get hot inside though...

I will keep mine on..


if I wanted to get better MPG I would drive a Hybrid....

 

[Maverick1974]

Apparently they do it in Japan while waiting at stoplights.  I would send it in to MythBusters.

 

[Potts]

I know you are only asking about fuel consumption here, but there are other things to consider.  If left running you are not adding extra strain to all the components used to start the engine, and if left running oil is circulating the whole time as opposed to doing a dry start up.

 

[Armageddon]

I know you are only asking about fuel consumption here, but there are other things to consider.? If left running you are not adding extra strain to all the components used to start the engine, and if left running oil is circulating the whole time as opposed to doing a dry start up.

Which is a very good point as far as overall engine wear. Starting does wear on extra components as well as being harder on the basic parts (starter, pistons from dry start). So basically you could factor in the point that by turning your car off and on you are actually causing hidden fees and decreased milage on the motor because it's harder on the engine to turn it off and on.

I don't see how restarting would use more fuel then shutting it off, might have held more true on a carbureted vehicle were you're mashing the pedal to start

also really true. I really am not a fan of Carbs what so ever....

 

[cadboy1]

The only drive-up I that comes to mind that I use is an ATM. And I am leaving it running and in gear in case somebody tries to rob or car jack me

 

[m02redl]

The only drive-up I that comes to mind that I use is an ATM. And I am leaving it running and in gear in case somebody tries to rob or car jack me

 

[Hug_R_Av]

good point...