I just read this article at Daily Fuel Economy Tip about little things you can do before starting your car to avoid idling. Here’s the list with some additions of my own:
Over at the Daily Fuel Economy Tip they talk about saving 10-30 seconds of idling. I wouldn’t go through a lot of pains for just 30 seconds myself as I have a diesel that uses very little fuel at idle and the previous owner of the car recommended to idle for 30 seconds to let the turbo get lubrication before taking off.
If you have a gas car on the other hand, or if you idle for minutes waiting for a friend or spouse to join you, there is money to be had by not starting before all passengers are on board and ready to go.
I think I should make an idle savings calculator to complement the gas mileage calculator. What do you think? Post a comment with your ideas!
Dedicatied to improving your fuel economy,
Simon Byholm
MilesGallon.com
How many minutes does it make it wortwhile to turn off the ignition?
If you are going to stand still for more than a minute it’s a good idea to turn off the engine. In a diesel you can let that be 5 minutes as a diesel is a lot more efficient at idling.
Just make sure to check if there is any laws putting additional restrictions on idling. Where I live in Finland the law says that you can idle for a maximum of two minutes, which becomes four minutes if it’s colder than -15 degrees centigrade.