A discussion ensued about the announcement that idling engines should be photographed, the owner fined and the photographer rewarded.
Now for the technical part, someone said they disabled the stop start because it harmed their engine, they would run their engines for 10 minutes before turning them off to cool the turbo. Now I have been driving over 40 years with turbo and non turbo engines and a minute or 30 seconds has been sufficient to let the turbine slow down.
the majority of (all?) modern turbo engines will be using electric pumps that continue to pump coolant as long as required to cool turbos when switched off so no need idle at all before switching off. This is on top of modern turbos using better lubricants and modern ceramic bearing that require minimal lubrication anyway.
even ancient 80’s Porsches run a secondary water pump that feeds coolant to the turbo after its been switched off.
Regardless of whether or not turbo damage can be caused by an immediate switch off the simple fact is that it’s been over ten years since I drove a lorry that was actually owned by the Co that operated it, therefore in these days where MPG is King the people who lease the trucks seem to find the risk of damage outweighed by the fuel saving.
I appreciate that this will by no means be the same for all of you but it’s the reality of working for a faceless logistical provider.
If you think about it by the time your average car/van/truck has come to a standstill the last few hundred yards or more are at a much slower pace so the engine/turbo has had time to slow anyway.
The only exception would be coming into a motorway services on a red hot summers day and finding a ■■■■■■■■■■■■ straight away.
Modern engines and oils are pretty good at their job, the days of mainstream automotive turbo failure due to crap lube or lack of run down time are long gone.
Stop start isnt bad for the engine, but it is bloody annoying
It’s not the “cooling down” of the turbo or lack thereof that is the issue… Its the bearings the turbine shaft spins on at six figure rpms. You’ve just pulled up a hill, then immediately park up, switch off the engine… also immediately cutting off the oil feed to the bearings which are still whizzing away. Let it idle for 30secs or 1 min and gives it a chance to stop while still being oiled. Too many now have no idea how things work and so have no mechanical sympathy at all. Often see it at the end of the day, driver parks wagon up jumps into his motor and instantly floors it up the road… am sure the piston rings and crank shells love that!
The ULEZ of London - will ultimately bring London to starvation levels, I predict.
If you punish truckers for delivering food into London enough - then Central London is the very first place that the “Driver Shortage” will start to bite, and turn into a “food & drink supply shortage” akin the the rationing combined with the Blitz…
It’ll be blamed on Brexit too, so the “wrong remedies” will be put into effect, whilst London continues to starve once that “tipping point” of empty store shelves is reached.
All the answers so far suggest letting the turbo stop spinning, a few seconds to a minute, which is what I said. But im being told that 10 or 15 minutes is what manufacturers are recommending, this is on a motorhome forum
One person did bring CAT plant into it which said they have a temperature controlled shut down system, that may be possible. But on a motorhome, a glorified plumbers van.
wide-load85:
It’s not the “cooling down” of the turbo or lack thereof that is the issue… Its the bearings the turbine shaft spins on at six figure rpms. You’ve just pulled up a hill, then immediately park up, switch off the engine… also immediately cutting off the oil feed to the bearings which are still whizzing away. Let it idle for 30secs or 1 min and gives it a chance to stop while still being oiled. Too many now have no idea how things work and so have no mechanical sympathy at all. Often see it at the end of the day, driver parks wagon up jumps into his motor and instantly floors it up the road… am sure the piston rings and crank shells love that!
That they do and they also slow down very fast when off load/idling, but modern turbos still turn over faster than turbos of old, esecially at idle and Im sure this is all to do with the exhaust after treatment system.
Oil doesnt just stop doing its job if you take away the feed.
Winseer:
The ULEZ of London - will ultimately bring London to starvation levels, I predict.
If you punish truckers for delivering food into London enough - then Central London is the very first place that the “Driver Shortage” will start to bite, and turn into a “food & drink supply shortage” akin the the rationing combined with the Blitz…
It’ll be blamed on Brexit too, so the “wrong remedies” will be put into effect, whilst London continues to starve once that “tipping point” of empty store shelves is reached.
No because there’s always someone who will step in and fill the boots.
Look at tippers as a fine example. Fleets and fleets of new fully FORS spec vehicles acquired (and still driven like ■■■■■) to ensure they dont miss out.
Same with other operators and the perv windows in the passenger door lower. Whatever barriers have been put in place, operators have jumped over them time and time again from vehicle spec to only delivering at certain times.
I had a module of FORS training earlier. What a joke. The irony is that only one 18t rigid on our fleet of just over 100 attics, 26/18/7.5t is actually up to FORS spec which took the trainer dude by surprise. But we’re just drivers and dont know about stuff like that
Trickydick:
Oil doesnt just stop doing its job if you take away the feed.
errr yes it does, especially on fast moving parts such as turbo shaft bearings. Tell you what, block the oil pump in your engine (taking away the feed) and start her up… you’ll soon see that oil needs feeding constantly hence why we have a pump and many galleries in the engine to maintain supply
Wheel Nut:
A discussion ensued about the announcement that idling engines should be photographed, the owner fined and the photographer rewarded.
Now for the technical part, someone said they disabled the stop start because it harmed their engine, they would run their engines for 10 minutes before turning them off to cool the turbo. Now I have been driving over 40 years with turbo and non turbo engines and a minute or 30 seconds has been sufficient to let the turbine slow down.
What do you think?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That it’s none of your business and you’re a grass?
Do you realise that all the time an engine is ticking over at a standstill it is doing precisely zero miles per gallon?
If it ain’t moving, switch it off!
(except for when its operating machinery, obviously)
The old hands, like me would turn up to work, fire their motor up, go and put the kettle on and make a brew, the engine running for 15/20 minutes would make it easier to scrape the ice off the screen, the Volvo had a switch to help the engine warm up quicker with less smoke.
More current advice is to start the engine and drive off immediately to warm everything up together.
Mr Orwell would be so pleased of his prophecies…A good obedient public reporting others, because those who leave their engines running are killing our children via pollution, are we really even discussing this?
How did we get here?
People with cameras everywhere, trying to get pictures of the most minor of misdemeanours, video of the same from the same busybodies and encouraged to send it to the ‘State’ be it district, county, regional, national…So many authorities needing revenue and so many willing, obedient, well intentioned idiots to do their dirty work for them.
Trickydick:
Oil doesnt just stop doing its job if you take away the feed.
errr yes it does, especially on fast moving parts such as turbo shaft bearings. Tell you what, block the oil pump in your engine (taking away the feed) and start her up… you’ll soon see that oil needs feeding constantly hence why we have a pump and many galleries in the engine to maintain supply
Some people are so funny, an engine and its shell bearings are not the same as a turbine shaft.
I can tell you a truck engine will run for several minutes at idle with zero oil in the sump before it starts to nip up!
Tude:
Mr Orwell would be so pleased of his prophecies…A good obedient public reporting others, because those who leave their engines running are killing our children via pollution, are we really even discussing this?
How did we get here?
People with cameras everywhere, trying to get pictures of the most minor of misdemeanours, video of the same from the same busybodies and encouraged to send it to the ‘State’ be it district, county, regional, national…So many authorities needing revenue and so many willing, obedient, well intentioned idiots to do their dirty work for them.
Jesus.
The only thing “Orwellian” I’ll tolerate in my life - is crossing the bridge near Ipswich on the A14…
