Citro

I

I do recall hearing somthing similar ages ago, but as you say production and coming up with it are afterall slightly different...

...made me chuckle when Jag made a big deal of headlights moving as your turn...Citroen did that 30years ago.

IIRC Fiat put this in a version of the Regatta many years ago.

There would have been tense moments as the traffic ahead pulls away and you just hope your luck's in and the engine will start this time :eek:

Ah balls. How are you ever going to win at traffic light grand-prix if you first have to wait until the engine has fired up?

There would have been tense moments as the traffic ahead pulls away and you just hope your luck's in and the engine will start this time :eek:

Wonder what will happen to them by the time they get a few years old and they stop starting? more work to be done just by a citroen/peugoet garage therefore hurting the everyday mechanic in his backstreet garage.

Ah balls. How are you ever going to win at traffic light grand-prix if you first have to wait until the engine has fired up?

Just make sure you're not sat there with the engine idling

Chris

Am I right in thinking that all the time the engine is cold, starting and stopping it is a) not going to do it much good, and going to use more fuel if the car is running rich for longer (ie while the "choke" is out)....? Sounds a good idea in theory though, especially for cars like taxis and buses....

Chris

Am I right in thinking that all the time the engine is cold, starting and stopping it is a) not going to do it much good, and going to use more fuel if the car is running rich for longer (ie while the "choke" is out)....?

I wondered that - even when the engine is warm, the vehicle has to be stationary for over 2 minutes before it becomes more economical to switch the engine off and back on again. Though you'd need a car which would be able to gauge how long you will be stopped for in order to make that worthwhile!

Rob.

My thoughts exactly. All my previous understanding of these sort of things was that starting an engine (1) used a lot more fuel than idling; and (2) it increased emissions dramatically ..... neither of which would make me buy a car :confused: Now if they had found a way of avoiding this I think a lot of car manufacturers would be interested, even if it was not automated.

Isn't this system already in use in the Toyota Pruis and Honda Hybrid cars anyway?

Eco golf model used a gear lever operated system several years ago - think Vauxhall similarly with an ECO astra - not a popular model though

Skoda manual states that 30-40 seconds switch off is enough to recoup restart consumption.

I think the difference is the Citroen (and its partners) system uses a permanently engaged inline high voltage motor/generator that is capable of instantly restarting (no starter ring etc) so you pull away instantly you touch the accelerator without noticing a start phase. Initially the motor will pull the car for you until the engine takes over.

Also capable of dynamic braking IIRC

I thought it would be a big strain on the battery, especially for the diesel engines. You need a fair amount of crank power to turn a diesel-engined starter motor round...

I dunno, but 20 stop starts with no alternator time to recharge what you take out...

IIRC the original proposal I read had a 70V battery which is charged by the starter/generator (with dynamic braking also recovering energy). I think they may have valves which can be held open during the start phase.

The difference between this and the Toyota/Honda is that the (petrol) engine is still the prime drive unit. The Toyota/Honda is an electric motor.

I wondered that - even when the engine is warm, the vehicle has to be stationary for over 2 minutes before it becomes more economical to switch the engine off and back on again.

Engines seem to vary so much on this front. The 1.8T lump seems to be particularly bad at idle (anything to do with the dump valve perhaps, reading that other thread?), but the Smart's lump is incredible (also turbo, so perhaps not).

Back in all that snow I sat at the top of Detling Hill for 3 hours with it idling (it was about -5* so needed the heater) and fuel consumption that tank full... not much down on usual, I kid you not. Then again its only 3 cylinder, 599cc, is twin-spark and is lubed with Mobil-1.

Perhaps more work should be put in to making engines idle more efficiently in the first place!

I

Thanks for that info, gregor, and welcome to Briskoda. :wave:

Well done Gregor

I was going to post that info about the Formel e Polo ( nearly bought 1 , thought it was a brilliant idea ) but you beat me to it :(

I believe there were som reliability problems , and the servicing wasn't as straight forward as it seemed, so the car just faded away.

Steve

Just one BIG problem as far as I'm concerned.

It's a Citroen,and following various trips up metaphorical cul de sacs with Citroen UK regarding various design and electrical faults on their vehicles,I personally wouldn't touch any new ideas from them with YOUR barge pole!!

Isn't this system already in use in the Toyota Pruis and Honda Hybrid cars anyway?

indeed it is.

i have a feeling that these french cars will stop....and....never start again

The only time when starting a car has problems with emissions is when the car is cold - it won't be after 3 minutes of regular driving, so stopping/starting the engine will have negligible impacts on emmissions.