Stop start engine wear

steviegtr

steviegtr

New member
While watching a you tube vid the other night of a Tuning company who were stripping, to rebuild a brand new Toyota Supra 6 pot. They are aiming at 1000 BHP. When they took the con rods off they remarked that the top half of the shell, the piston side, which is the thrust side & gets most hammer. Is different from the bottom half & has a special coating. This could be clearly seen as it was a brown colour instead of the dull white metal look. The guy was saying one of the reasons this is done on new cars is because the stop start eventually damages the bearings. At 1st I thought rubbish, then thinking yes I can see why. Every time the engine stops , the oil pressure drops to zero. Also it is a known fact that the worst time for engine wear is every time it is started. Makes you wonder. While stop start is great in say a traffic situation where you move 10 cars or so & stop again for a period of time. But in a creeping traffic situation it's downright aweful.
 
A quick pull back on the Dynamic button will sort it too - saves having to press 2 buttons every time you drive :D
 
I also switch it off. I've asked this question as well,
I'm sure the manufacturers must have accounted for this. There's a couple of articles on the net about stop start. It's not only the mechanicals, what about the battery and the self starter ?

I think also, manufactures are betting that none of these cars will ever make it beyond the 140000km's mark as people will most likely get rid of them long before.

Specifically to sports cars and the like, the chances of these cars seeing +100000km's is minuscule, irrespective of age.
 
Lunar said:
A quick pull back on the Dynamic button will sort it too - saves having to press 2 buttons every time you drive :D
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Does your dymanic mode turn off stop/start? Mine leaves the button lit, indicating active. :?
 
Stop Start is designed into the engine and involves adding a thrust face to one of the main bearing shells that resists the forward or rear push of the starter motor on the crank. The forces are far less than the main up and down piston forces but the crank still needs to resist them.
The engine will still have all it's oil galleries full and plenty of oil around the moving parts wihile off at a set of lights so wear will mainly be limited to the starter motor and alternator which are usually beefed up.
You'll also notice the stop/start does not always work as the car is checking battery charge and condition before enabling it.
For me, I'm still amazed it is present on a 5.0L engine but I use it all the time, why not, save the fuel for acceleration, not idling.
 
scharlton said:
For me, I'm still amazed it is present on a 5.0L engine but I use it all the time, why not, save the fuel for acceleration, not idling.
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Given how much fuel it will burn when idling, it's more beneficial on a V8 than on cars with only half or three-quarter engines. :D
 
scm said:
scharlton said:
For me, I'm still amazed it is present on a 5.0L engine but I use it all the time, why not, save the fuel for acceleration, not idling.
Click to expand...

Given how much fuel it will burn when idling, it's more beneficial on a V8 than on cars with only half or three-quarter engines. :D
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I do like how most of your posts end up with an ending of 3/4 or 1/2 an engine :lol: :lol: :lol:

I have used stop/start in my three-quarter model. Once by accident as I must of forgot to switch it off.
And again once on purpose after it had been stood for 6 weeks and it worked in dynamic mode after less than a mile of driving. (Thought it a good test of the battery - all good!).
 
simpleR said:
And again once on purpose after it had been stood for 6 weeks and it worked in dynamic mode after less than a mile of driving. (Thought it a good test of the battery - all good!).
Click to expand...

Ah, that contradicts XZ4's assertion above .... I'd better check mine.
 
Mine also works in Dynamic mode, although it is also the first button I turn off.
There is an easy way to disconnect permanently which has been covered before on this forum.
One of my other cars actually shows the savings of the stop start.
I left it on for a month just out of interest, whilst I cannot remember the exact mileage saving it was about 3 or 4 miles in that period.
Never went on again.
 
Don't think I can directly post a video but here are a couple of grabs from it...

Early model F-Types = great nose fins - proper sound - easy off stop start - what's not to like? :D

Dynamic Off.JPG

Dynamic On.JPG
 
I once did a 4 mile drive to where I used to work and left the stop/start switched on. The engine restarted itself over 40 times on that short run. Needless to say I switch it off immediately after starting the engine. I don't care what people say, 40 engine starts on a 4 mile drive cannot be good for the battery, starter or engine.
 
Doesn't work in Dynamic mode for me.. Is this a case of early cars it doesn't work in Dynamic, but later ones it does (i.e. panders to tightening emissions and testing rules)?
 
I rarely use stop start but I can confirm I just switched it on and whilst it was working I switched on dynamic and it cancelled stop start, even the light went off on the stop start switch so in my model dynamic definitely seems to cancel it.

Wasn’t going to go out this bank holiday but now the cat’s calling to me so we’re off for a drive...
 
AngieR said:
Mine works in Dynamic, unless I have the aircon on.
Click to expand...

I can't think why that would make a difference unless your battery is low on charge. Intriguing ...
 
Ah, having RTFMed, I see that stop/start is deactivated when the paddles are active, which probably goes hand-in-hand with switching to dymanic mode. Also if the aircon is hyper-active, e.g. defrosting. Much easier to turn it off - at least it's then 100% predictable! ;)
 
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