Idling gets you nowhere.

When you were a kid, your dad probably told you that you need to warm up the engine before you drive, or risk wearing your engine out prematurely, or that it was better to run your engine for a few minutes than to put it through the stress of re-starting. Some people still believe this. Not only does idling waste gas and produce unnecessary Greenhouse Gas emissions, it may actually be worse for you motor, and harder on your wallet!

Thirty years ago, most cars had carburetors; today we have electronic fuel injection. Thirty years ago engines were big and inefficient; today they are more compact and have an efficient overhead cam design. Even on the coldest winter days, a modern motor need no more than a few seconds to be warmed up and fully lubricated. Any more than that, you are just sitting there burning gas, and wearing you motor, while standing still. The fuel injectors don’t need to be flooded with fuel to start the motor like an old carburetor. Re-starting most modern engines requires less fuel than ten seconds of idling.

Some cities (including New Westminster!) have gone so far as to discourage useless and inefficient idling by passing “anti-idling bylaws”, encouraging all residents to save money, save fuel, and stop their motors. So next time you are stopped for more than 10 seconds, think about it, and shut off the motor, save yourself some Green!

For more info: www.idlefreebc.ca