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Engine Stop-Start Systems on Nonhybrid Vehicles

CAR AND DRIVER VIDEO

Stop and Go All The Way: A hybrid staple trickles into normal cars w ith modest initial success.
MA RCH 2011

BY K.C. COLWELL (/SEA RCH/A LL/A UTHOR/K.C.+COLWELL)

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ILLUSTRA TION BY CHRIS PHILPOT

From the April 2 01 1 Issue of Car and Driver (/rev iews/april-2 01 1 -table-of-contents)
Rem em ber when Uncle Bill used to insist with absolute certainty that starting an engine burns m ore gaso
l ine than
idling for an hour? Yeah, well, he was as wrong about that as he was about Ply m outh. Yes, a cold engine runs rich,
consum ing m ore fuel than norm al. For an engine already at optim um tem perature, though, stopping and starting

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does not use an excessiv e am ount of fuel. This is why m anufacturers hav e introduced sy stem s that autom atically
lim it idling in a m otionless v ehicle. Volkswagen debuted its first production stop-start sy stem in 1 9 83 with the
Europe-only Polo Form el E.

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All these sy stem s work sim ilarly and are ubiqui

t ous on hy brids. When the car com es to a stop, the engine com puter
cuts spark and fuel. When the driv er lifts his foot off the brake, or engages the clutch, the engine fires back up.
Of course, the starter has to be stout enough to withstand the dram atically increased on-off cy cling. A heartier
battery is also required to
satisfy the cars entire electrical needs with its engine off. Otherwise, stop-start is about as

CAR NEW S
(HTTP://BLOG.CARANDDRIVER.COM/ZFANNOUNCES-NINE-SPEEDAUTOMATIC-TRANSMISSIONFOR-FRONT-DRIVERS/)

CAR NEW S
(HTTP://BLOG.CARANDDRIVER.COM/FORDTO-OFFER-ENGINESTOPSTART-ON-NONHYBRIDSBEGINNING-IN-2012/)

(HTTP://BLOG.CARANDDRIVER.COM/ZFANNOUNCES-NINE-SPEEDAUTOMATIC-TRANSMISSIONFOR-FRONT-DRIVERS/)

(HTTP://BLOG.CARANDDRIVER.COM/FORDTO-OFFER-ENGINESTOPSTART-ON-NONHYBRIDSBEGINNING-IN-2012/)

ZF A n n ou n ces
Ni n e-Speed
A u t om a t i c
T r a n sm i ssi on for
Fr on t -Dr i v er s

For d t o Offer
En gi n e St op/St a r t
on Non h y br i ds
Begi n n i n g...

SHORT TAKE ROAD TEST

(/REVIEW S/PORSCHEPANAMERA-REVIEW -2011PORSCHE-PANAMERA-V6-AW DTEST)

CAR NEW S
(HTTP://BLOG.CARANDDRIVER.COM/MAZDA3-I-STOP-STARTS-AND-STOPSIN-EUROPE-ONLY/)

(HTTP://BLOG.CARANDDRIVER.COM/FORD(HTTP://BLOG.CARANDDRIVER.COM/ZF- TO-OFFER-ENGINESTOPSTART-ON-NONHYBRIDSANNOUNCES-NINE-SPEEDBEGINNING-IN-2012/)
AUTOMATIC-TRANSMISSIONFOR-FRONT-DRIVERS/)

easy a fuel-sav ing technology as driv ing downhill.

Mazda tried to com plicate things in 2 008 when it teased engine geeks with its theoretical Sm art Idle Stop Sy stem
(SISS), which attem pted the operation without rely ing on the starter m otor. SISS would hav e m anipulated the
alternator load to stop all four pistons exactly halfway through their stroke. To restart, the cy linder in its
com pression stroke would get a sm all squirt of fuel that, when burned, would spin the internals backward just
enough to produce com pression in the neighboring cy linder. That cy linder would then receiv e a norm al supply of
fuel, and its
c om bustion would spin the crank in the proper direction. Unfortunately , this elegant idea nev er
m aterialized, and Mazda went the m ore traditional route with its i-st op (/news/mazdas-efficiency -st rat egy -t oinclude-st op-st art -energy -regenerat ion-diesel-and-more-car-news), av ailable on 2 .0-liter gasoline
Mazdas
in Japan and Europe. The i-stop sy stem , though, does use an initial com bustion blast to aid firing, easing starter
stress and reducing the restart tim e by half, to a claim ed 0.3 5 second.

(/REVIEW S/PORSCHEPANAMERA-REVIEW -2011PORSCHE-PANAMERA-V6-AW DTEST)

2011 Por sch e

Pa n a m er a 4
(/REVIEW S/PORSCHEPANAMERA-REVIEW -2011PORSCHE-PANAMERA-V6-AW DTEST)
FEATURE (/FEATURES/W HYARE-GAS-PRICES-GOING-UPW HEN-DEMAND-IS-GOINGDOW N-FEATURE)

(/FEATURES/W HY-ARE-GASPRICES-GOING-UP-W HENDEMAND-IS-GOING-DOW NFEATURE)

Wh y A r e Ga s Pr i ces
Goi n g Up Wh en
Dem a n d...

Ford recently announced that its stop-start sy stem , av ailable on som e 2 01 2 cars and SUVs, has the real-world
potential to boost fuel econom y by as m uch as 1 0 percent. Mazda, m ore concerned with EPA results, say s a 3

(/FEATURES/W HY-ARE-GASPRICES-GOING-UP-W HENDEMAND-IS-GOING-DOW NFEATURE)

(ht t p://buy ersguide.caranddriver.com/mazda/mazda-3) with i-stop gains only one-tenth of one percent on
the EPA city cy cle. Therefore, U.S. Mazdas will do without stop-start until it can be part of a worthwhile package of
efficiency im prov em ents. (The Japanese city -cy cle test has 4 0 seconds of idling, so the cost of i-stop is justified there.)

(HTTP://BLOG.CARANDDRIVER.COM/MAZDA3-I-STOP-STARTS-AND-STOPSIN-EUROPE-ONLY/)

Ma zda 3 i -st op
St a r t s a n d St ops i n
Eu r ope...
(HTTP://BLOG.CARANDDRIVER.COM/MAZDA3-I-STOP-STARTS-AND-STOPSIN-EUROPE-ONLY/)

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Dy n a m i c Ion i zer ,
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IN THE CURRENT ISSUE

Canada is one m arket in which stop-start should succeed. Toronto has a law that m akes idling in boats, cars, and ev en
buses for m ore than one m inute per hour punishable by a fine of up to $5000. It would take a Mountie on ev ery
corner and m ay be the ghost of Lord Stanley him self to enforce it, but we adm ire the attem pt to prom ote this sim ple
way of sav ing fuel. View Photo Gallery (/photo-gallery /engine-stop-start-sy stem s-ex plained-tech-

+ LT Wr a p-Up: 2 0 1 2 BMW
3 2 8 i Spor t Lin e Ma n u a l
(/r ev iew s/2 0 1 2 -bm w -3 2 8 ispor t -lin e-m a n u a l-lon g -t er m t est -w r a p-u p-r ev iew )

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Top Backfires Comments:

08:56 PM on 03/04/2011

Report

Alan LaRue
Super User

Voter Score +2

I'd like to see this become universal just so my visit to Sonic Drive-in would be more pleasant. Seriously,
people, if you have to have the a/c on, go someplace where you can sit inside!
Speaking of which, is the air conditioner powered by an electric motor in cars that shut the engine off instead of
idling?
Reply

Edit | Delete

5 Replies
03:41 PM on 05/13/2011

Report

invaderzim
Voter Score +3

I read a great article somewhere where the writer said if you really want to save gas and reduce emissions then
make all stop lights 'smart'. That way they would change to green for the cars as soon as possible, rather than
being on a set schedule. Imagine all the hours of idling that would be reduced all across the US.
Something to think about next time you are stuck at a stop light waiting for the light to change away from the
directions that have no cars at all to green for your direction.
Reply

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2 Replies
12:11 AM on 03/13/2011

Report

john
Voter Score +3

nothing new, toyota started putting this on the carbureted 22r motor long time ago. this engine was so
technologically advanced that it actually grows more efficient over time. for example when it gets 15 -20 yrs old
, it refuses to idle. in fact it won't come back on till absolutely necessary , therefore saving fuel. it even shuts
off when backing up so that you save that fuel normally wasted when shifting to first. the gas guage stops

+ Si gn i n

+ Regi st er

off when backing up so that you save that fuel normally wasted when shifting to first. the gas guage stops
working as well, so that the driver will be less nervous about fuel economy and presumably have a more
relaxed driving style. most importantly, the 4wds , do not have enough power to go over interstate speeds, so
that the driver will not be tempted to exchange economy for speed. fortunately, the hilux lacked the buggy,
much maligned "start, crash" feature that plagued later camrys. this pedal feature prevented the car from
stopping , which saved untold amounts of fuel, but could never be fine-tuned.
Reply

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1 Reply

Comments:
08:53 AM on 07/12/2012

Report

Gary K.
Voter Score 0

Took my 2006 X3 Sport in yesterday for it's 60K service. I'm driving a black 2012 X3 loaner. iDrive has trickled
down to the lesser models now so in order to drive it there is a learning curve. Naturally the dealer just tossed
me the "key" and sent me on my merry way. Since I just drove a new 335i in Feb I began looking for the slot in
which to insert the rectangular plastic electronic key. The 335i had the slot in the dash. After fumbling for what
seemed like an eternity while my 4 year-old daughter gave me puzzled looks from the back seat it dawned on
me that sticking a key of any sort into a dashboard receptacle is pass. Nowadays you just need to have the
key in the car. Anywhere in the car and all systems are go. Sure enough I stepped on the brake, hit the start
button and zoom, well, almost zoom, because now I have to figure out how to make it move forward. The
shifter, is of course, is a fully electronic switch that only moves sequentially one-click forward and backward
and it has buttons on it. Turns out the button on the side "unlocks" the shifter. If you don't squeeze it while
simultaneously jabbing the lever into Drive itRead more

Reply

Edit | Delete
08:05 AM on 12/05/2011

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GruffDan
Super User

Voter Score 0

I really don't like this feature on newer cars, I would want a way to defeat this built into cars with these
systems.
Reply

Edit | Delete
12:12 PM on 09/09/2011

Report

Chip H
Voter Score 0

Mazda, more concerned with EPA results, says a 3 with i-stop gains only one-tenth of one percent on the EPA
city cycle.
That's a 00.1% gain. Sounds like a huge waste of development time and money.
Reply

Edit | Delete
12:22 PM on 09/03/2011

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kernals12
Voter Score 0

If every car had a stop start system, it would eliminate pollution from start-stop traffic and help with noise
Reply

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2 Replies
03:32 AM on 02/09/2013

Report

Rexford Dundon
Voter Score 0

have you heard a new car idling, they are so quiet when stock that you can barely hear the engine running
at all. The loudest thing you hear from almost any vehicle is tire noise on the pavement when they are
moving.
Edit | Delete
09:18 AM on 02/09/2013

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kernals12
Voter Score 0

you'd be surprised
Edit | Delete
08:05 AM on 08/31/2011

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08:05 AM on 08/31/2011

Report

gearhead4
Voter Score +1

I would accept these systems if I had a way to manually disable them. I test drove a Civic Hybrid and found
that the engine would shut off less than 1 second before I knew I needed to accelerate briskly to merge into
traffic. Talk about unnerving! The salesman said he did not know a way of overriding the system.
I ended up buying the non hybrid Civic and saved $5000.
Reply

Edit | Delete
01:27 PM on 08/20/2011

Report

Electric
Voter Score 0

Pretty cool. All long as the system is quick and seemless, then I guess it's all good. Cleaner air and better fuel
eco.
Reply

Edit | Delete
01:00 AM on 08/18/2011

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Joe J.
Voter Score 0

cars that have this system are missing 3 things:

1) Big battery pack
2) Electric motor
3) Regenerative breaking
Reply

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04:34 PM on 08/15/2011

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anonymous
Voter Score 0

Have you seen how people wait at red lights? They stop with odd spacings between cars then creep a little
here and there slowly taking up the gaps. That is a lot of starting and stopping of the engine.
Reply

Edit | Delete
10:40 PM on 08/02/2011

Report

James Phieffer
Voter Score 0

This is a smart idea for some situations (such as the interminable waits for lights during rush hour or at large,
multi-light controlled intersections). At one of the main intersections in my hometown, there are separate left
turn lights for both streets, meaning if you just miss your light, you will sit for about 2 mins. I often shut off my
car for this manually, and an automated system that uses an electric drive for the A/C would be great. When I
hit a half dozen such intersections driving from one part of the city to the other, with gas at $1.40/litre, it starts
to make a financial difference, while the additional manufacturing costs are minimal, since switching to electric
drive of accessories such as power steering and A/C is already happening as manufacturers work to meet
stricter CAFE requirements. And in that effort, every little bit counts.
Reply

Edit | Delete
02:51 PM on 07/26/2011

Report

Scott Villeneuve
Super User

Voter Score -1

Absolutely stupid on the Panamera and M3. Hybrids it may be effective...I suppose.
Reply

Edit | Delete

1 Reply
02:01 PM on 07/31/2011

Report

Small M
Voter Score -1

Agreed - my E90 gets about 12.5 city and 20 hwy the way I drive. A 10% increase would bet me like 14city
and 20 hwy (bet it doesn't cycle much at 79mph), but cost at least 0.3 sec from a stoplight? If I wanted tip
in I'd have gotten a mid range 5 series. The M3 doesn't even have an overdrive gear (top speed reached in
6th gear) and they want to shut them down at stoplights. Nonsensical.
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