More starts, better parts
The start-stop concept is hardly new. Toyota is said to have begun testing the technology in the mid-1970s on sedans in Tokyo traffic. In the following decades, Volkswagen, Audi, and Citroen introduced it on their production vehicles.
Adoption in the US, where gas prices are lower and highway driving is more prevalent, has been slower. But the technology is coming. To some degree, it has arrived already in the form of motor-generators on full hybrid vehicles, which inherently incorporate start-stop capabilities. It's also present in so-called mild hybrids, which use a motor-generator for start-stop capabilities and regenerative braking, but not for electric propulsion.
This decade's big change will be the emergence of the "micro hybrid" -- a conventional gasoline-burning vehicle that uses an enhanced 12V, gear-based starter to shut down the engine during short stops.
"It's a big change," says Robert Martin, director of engine electrical engineering for Denso International America. "We're talking about 10 times as many starts. If you start your car two or three times a day now, then you might be doing 25 or 30 activations a day with start-stop."
Suppliers say the new breed of starter motors will have to handle anywhere from 250,000 to 350,000 starts over the lifetime of a vehicle, versus about 30,000 today.
As a result, next-generation starters will be designed and built differently. They will still employ magnet-based DC motors and internal planetary gear sets, but all of the wear components -- such as bushings, commutators, and brushes -- will be upgraded. Brushes will migrate from copper to a harder copper-carbon blend. Bushings will be replaced by needle bearings. Commutators will be reinforced. Mechanical components, such as overrunning clutches and engagement mechanisms for the starter's pinion, will also be upgraded. Stainless steel will replace steel and plastic in some components. Springs will be improved.
"You need to consider all kinds of components," says Frank Frister, product manager for the starters and generators division at Robert Bosch LLC, which makes start-stop systems. "The duration of operation is much longer in all of them."
Since this was first posted, I have learned that at least one Canadian city is making it illegal to idle for more than 60 seconds! Stated concern: polution at stop lights during the winter months (inversion layer during winter?)
Ouch!..
If this comes even close to being enforced (70%+), a lot of older cars are going to see a lot of their local mechanics! Older cars are simply not designed for this level of abuse.
time and tide wait for no one......
I was kinda hoping to keep my older sports car for alot longer.. .(sigh)
I would assume pure marketing hype. They want the consumer to think they're getting a real hybrid with all the fuel saving advantages at a lower cost point.
Federal-Mogul has released a new line of engine bearings that function well under frequent stop-start cycles. It is called Irox and comes in versions for both diesel and gas engines. I see it is used in the new (2014) Corvette v8 engine, and most likely is being used more widely. Other technologies exist for cylinder walls, valve guides, piston rings, etc., which allow long engine durability under start-stop conditions.
Providing oil pressure to assure adequate lubrication is in place at startup would indeed require additional hardware, but the devices that would do the job are old technology, fully mature and already used for other applications for many years. Besides that, most of the time the restart would be soon enough that the oil would not have much time to drain away.
For the very largest improvements there will need to be driver control rather than computer control, and those savings will be more in the 40% to 60% range, at least for city-type driving. But only at the hands of the more skilled and attentive drivers. On the other side, running the air conditioner would not only kill the mileage improvement, it would also probably increase the needed battery size by a factor of at least ten.
A study was done years ago that said about 80% of engine wear happens in the first few seconds after starting because of lack of oil pressure. What is being done about this? Haven't heard. Maybe yet another motor running the oil pump?
I keep cars for years & now they are getting even more complex, I don't want disposable cars like all other current day appliances.
I will never buy a S/S car. The percentage of fuel savings doesn't come close to what the cost of fixing it, or the wear it will see.
Just give me that 50 mpg diesel power as in Europe.
Any hybrid that can't keep the engine and therefore A/C running at a light won't sell in the southwest. Prius (and I assume Honda) keep the engine running so the A/C works. My Prius starts up on battery, the shift to engine is imperceptable and reliable. If the start-stop is properly integrated into the engine and controls, it should be reliable. And on the subject of an all battery electric, it is totally illogical and a waste of ink (or bandwidth) to discuss.
I can understand why you might want the reliable, easy to fix catalytic converter free gas guzzler. But you don't get to choose because that car drives up gas prices and pollutes the air for all of us. I am old enough to remember LA summers in the years before emission controls. On some days you could hardly breathe. And if you think $4 a gallon is bad, try $6. Or $20.
An equally serious problem is that prior to the "54.5 mpg by 2025" agreement, our 35MPG standard put us at risk of losing all auto sales to China, whose standards will be 42.2 MPG (18km/L) as iof 2014. It's the same for low emissions in Europe. Meet the rules or don't sell. 50 years ago US automakers could do whatever they wanted. No more. If we can't sell internationaly our automakers will fail. Depending on who you believe, the US auto industry is responsible for 5-14 million jobs, or 4-10% of total US employment. You think unemployment is bad now? Try it at 15% and watch the pundits fly.
Emissions controls, hybrids, start-stop, and plug-in electrics are all here to stay. But they don't need to be half-baked like your friend's truck, that was using the starter motor in ways it was not designed to be used. Soon they will get it right: someting like a brushless motor with the magnets built into flywheel. No brushes, no solenoids or mechanics to fail. Either way, like it or not, it's coming.
When my gun safe was delivered (yes, I am clinging, bitterly, as BHO quipped), the truck driver was complaining that his company, a large national firm, had installed Stop-Start technology on all their diesel trucks, and that they were suffering a high frequency of starter failures as a result. His disdain for the "improvement" was palpable. This is real world feedback.
I'm glad some of you choose to reap the benefits of this technology, more power to you, but I will gladly pay for the extra fuel needed to keep my engine idling at red light, etc. The extra complexity and cost that all these lovely and oh-so-helpful systems inherently bring to the table, from ABS brakes to tire pressure monitoring to air bags to catalytic converters, is always minimized, until it is time for repairs, as someone mentioned. And usually out of warranty. Can we please let the market decide whom wants this stuff, and let others buy the more basic alternative? That would be a true example of "diversity" and "tolerance" that I could get behind.
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