Gas consumption while idling(parked)

abvidledUK

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Enough to see the mpg figure go down on the display in my Jeep.
 

Brock

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I don't know about gassers, my TDI consumes about .22L per hour or .058 gallons or 7.5 oz of diesel per hour idling.
 

gadget_lover

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It seems this is not a figure that is often made public. I found several web sites that said 1 to 1.25 gallons per hour for an engine idling at 1000 rpm making 10 BHP.

I do know that my truck (F150) will seem to drink gallons per hour in a traffic jam, but my Prius will sip a few ounces under the same conditions.

Daniel
 

Canuke

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In my Honda Civic hybrid, it's enough to see the MPG rating go down shortly after a fillup (I use one of the trip meters to track mileage so I can calculate mileage per tank accurately). On the other hand, the real-time MPG indicator maxes out at 120mpg at only 20 mph or so when I'm coasting in neutral, so I don't shut the engine off as some of the hardcore hypermilers do.
 

greenlight

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I hate it when I see people sitting in a parking lot with their engines running to power AC (*especially when it's 65' out). Don't they know we're at war for oil?
 

Cerbera

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alaskawolf said:
i go through a lot of gas having to idle my cars for hours during the winter months :(

its getting close to April and we're still having -25F temps :mecry:

Sorry to hear that. I have an 1986 BMW E28 528e. The manual states that 3 minutes of idle is equivalent to 1 mile when driving. It seems pretty vague considering many variables can alter that claim. The only thing I can say is...don't idle.
 

alaskawolf

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yeah it sucks but its an unfortunate part of life up here :( ive had my oil freeze solid after a few hours that i couldnt get the dip stick put, i had to put a pizza pan and bbq charcoal under a car for a few hours to thaw out the motor just to get it started again.
 

havand

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alaskawolf said:
yeah it sucks but its an unfortunate part of life up here :( ive had my oil freeze solid after a few hours that i couldnt get the dip stick put, i had to put a pizza pan and bbq charcoal under a car for a few hours to thaw out the motor just to get it started again.

At what point would it be cheaper to build a garage? I realize it would be expensive to fully heat it, but just a little bit could keep it warm enough.
 

2xTrinity

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One point that's important to keep in mind is that idling fuel consumption will vary dramatically with temperature on most modern cars. A cold engine will often burn about triple what a "warmed up" engine will on most modern cars. Also, pollution will be a lot worse in the case of the cold engine. Generally it is best just to warm up a car by driving it lightly the first few minutes, rather than starting it and letting it sit several minutes. In a place that's very cold, an engine block heater on a timer is probably a good idea.
 

alaskawolf

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havand said:
At what point would it be cheaper to build a garage? I realize it would be expensive to fully heat it, but just a little bit could keep it warm enough.
i rent a cabin so i cant build my own garage here and going out to the stores, movies,friends,etc and such doesnt really give you much of an option :( ive got engine block heaters,oil pan heaters,battery heaters etc and i cant plug in every where i go either :(
 
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goldenlight

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2xTrinity said:
One point that's important to keep in mind is that idling fuel consumption will vary dramatically with temperature on most modern cars. A cold engine will often burn about triple what a "warmed up" engine will on most modern cars. Also, pollution will be a lot worse in the case of the cold engine. Generally it is best just to warm up a car by driving it lightly the first few minutes, rather than starting it and letting it sit several minutes. In a place that's very cold, an engine block heater on a timer is probably a good idea.

I have both an engine block heater, and an oil pan heater. I've learned that it's MUCH cheaper to heat the engine up with electricity, than start it dead cold, and get poor mileage driving it while it warms up. This works in even 'mild' winter weather, when I turn on the heaters from inside the house, so they may only be on 30 min to an hour.
 

cobb

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My scion xa says to not idle it. DOnt prehaeat it, just crank it and go. I woul didle my diesel mercedes for heat or in slowly moving traffic with no problems. With my van I had e250, it sucked the same amount of gas running down the higyway or idling.
 

gadget_lover

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Extended idling is not a good idea in many car models. There was a mercury model (cougar???) that was not supposed to idle for more than 15 minutes. More than that could cause overheating problems.

Then there was the VW model that did not pump enough oil to the bottem end if it was at idle for extended periods. Was that the 1970's rabbit? I've forgotten.

All the modern cars advise that you start up and drive away without waiting for things to warm up. Modern oils do a good enough job of lubricating and circulating when cold. Modern fuel systems regulate the fuel mixture much better than the old mechanical choke did.

I once had a car that HAD to heat up, otherwise it would stall at the first light. Those were the days.

Daniel
 

Alin10123

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abvidledUK said:
Enough to see the mpg figure go down on the display in my Jeep.

LOL,
That's because when you are idling you aren't moving. So what happens is when the display calculates how many miles vs how many gallons yo've burned, it actually comes out instantaneously to 0. But your mpg figure will give you an average which will then bring down everything.
 

Lightmeup

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alaskawolf said:
i perfer to use Amsoil 0W oils in winter time
Are you saying that Amsoil 0W will freeze solid on you?

BTW, I have read that if you are idling, like at a train crossing, etc., that it only takes 10 seconds to use up the gas it would take to restart the engine if you had turned it off. So, turning it off in those instances probably saves you quite a bit of gas.
 
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