[Closed] Sitting in a car with the engine running

For however long it takes the windscreen to demist?

Can be a looong time sometimes.

Are you playing banging techno at ear-bleeding volume at the time?

Depends on the size of the joint surely?.

[quote=scotroutes ]For however long it takes the windscreen to demist?

Ok, just to avoid going down that wormhole, arriving somewhere and sitting in the car with the engine running.

p.s. I have a Mondeo 8)

Are you parked outside in the street reading emails before heading off to work?

😆

Edit: end of journey not more than 30 seconds or so.

Edit 2: On current car you get about 2 seconds before the stop start switches it off for you. Quite happy with that.

Put a jumper on. Then you can turn the engine off right away.

10 seconds. Beyond that punishment by being killed to death with a pair of nail clippers from a Christmas cracker.

I can't stand it. Like littering. Only on a small scale but it's the blatant disregard for the environment and other people that gets me.

The engine powers the kit in the back of the van via an inverter, so hours sometimes...

I'm with Flaperon - death is too kind to these irritants. and several local authorities have brought in rules to stop this although not much improvement. its just plain selfish and anti social and we need less of that.

[quote=MartynS ]The engine powers the kit in the back of the van via an inverter, so hours sometimes...

Really? I've done trials in a big van with lots of kit powered off an inverter which ran off the battery when stopped. ISTR we had a dedicated battery installed for when we were stopped for long periods.

I can't stand it. Like littering. Only on a small scale but [b]owning a car is a [/b] blatant disregard for the environment and other people that gets me.

Yep,
Have the option of battery but it can't run below about 50% or it seems the battery's get damaged beyond recovery.
Everything on, it's about 2 hours to 50% could be onsite all day with very heavy use so safer to keep battery's topped
Up.

The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, s.98 covers this. No mention of fines or punishment for offenders though, so I'm assuming death isn't off the cards...

Somafunk you eat Brisket inside your car?

Fairy nuff - you're effectively running it as a generator then and I can't really argue with that. We weren't generally stopped for more than an hour or so when I was doing things like that.

Used to work as a mechanic in a much loved producer of carbon road bikes. One day I was told to drop everything to do a cracked frame swap under warranty for a triathlete customer who had driven across from Manchester to wait while it was done. Cue a burly ex rugby league pro with our lightest framed model that looked like it had been through WW3, covered in grime, dried on gel liquid, sweat, the works. I set to swapping all the components, wheels, cables, headset,BB etc. The process took about 11/2 hours and the whole time he was sat on the car park on the phone with the engine of his X5 running, presumably with the aircon on as it was a warm day.

Dammit, you win pistonbroke.

I'm sure everybody will have realised there was a point to this - sitting in the car watching son play tennis this evening I noticed the car next to me had the engine running. I went to the cafe - was planning on doing that anyway, but at least I didn't have to put up with noise of engine in there. When I picked son up after an hour the engine was still running - also headlights on.

One minute over here. Even have laws about it.

Never bloody enforced though.

Petrol leaf blowers are worse.

The main concern of authorities is areas where air pollutants exceed European air quality standards. Therefore, they generally focus their efforts on putting up signs/enforcement on major roads where lots of vehicles sit idling together for extended periods due to traffic congestion etc.

People leaving their engine idling away from other traffic, outside their house etc whilst wasteful and not good for the environment is much less harmful to peoples health than the cumulative effect of lots of vehicles idling in close proximity to each other.

Have the option of battery but it can't run below about 50% or it seems the battery's get damaged beyond recovery.
Everything on, it's about 2 hours to 50% could be onsite all day with very heavy use so safer to keep battery's topped

Leaving the vehicle engine idling all day is burning up fuel and knackering the engine. Investing in a small inverter generator instead would probably save quite a bit of money in the long run, depending on how how often/long you are using the equipment.
e.g. http://www.screwfix.com/p/impax-im800i-700w-inverter-generator-230v/15760

Long enough to cool the turbo or flush the top end out, depending what I'm driving.

Probably more environmentally friendly than engine rebuilds every 80k.

I do drive old cars though, I would hope the newfangled stop-start jobs are intelligent enough to know when keeping running for 30 secs or so is the best option.

Cars are nothing compared to pollution commercial buildings (aircon etc) pump out. Then there's the proposed new runways to make us a terminus. Massive pollution there but hey, the Politicians will then just blame cars as it's an easy target

What Kenneth said .

Nothing worse than burnt oil clogging you turbo oil feed

This year in France an older English couple camped opposite us. He, a retired church minister, would sit in the car with engine running, presumably air con on for up to an hour at least three times a day.

Only slightly more annoying than their rampant xenophobia which, according to an overheard conversation, extended to us uncouth jocks.

It just makes me think "useless lazy oafs".

Is there a pipe leading from the exhaust, back inside the car? Hopefully not, as this post might be too late and past the point of acceptable. 😉

There's a guy who two doors down warms up his impreza every morning around 06:00, for twenty minutes I have to listen to this deep throaty burble sound between two houses that makes me feel sick.
I often have to pick my daughter up from cadets in an evening and nearly all the parents sit there with the engines running.
I feel for all the residential houses that have to put up with this nuisance. I feel quite smug taking my Africa bike, she sits on the rear rack, side saddle style.

I do have an issue with waste, we are just wasting precious resource.

If the car has a turbo in it, perhaps 30 secs from coming to a stop, if no turbo, perhaps 10 secs.
If you sit with the engine on tickover for long periods frequently you risk carboning up the engine and glazing the piston bores.

If the car has a turbo in it, perhaps 30 secs from coming to a stop,

"Surely that is the gently, over geared, few minute slow into the 30mph zones / car park / residential street?"

Assuming thats where your going.

potentially i could be doing 60 right up to my door.... i dont but i could.

How ever having a boost gauge fitted i can see my turbos working pretty much any time i have the throttle engaged - which having the aerodynamics of the average static caravan is almost always i like to give it 30 seconds of zero work at the end to cool down.

especially with the old stuff - but then people dont do it these days and i hear of alot of turbo failures at early miles these days..... is that causation or is there a link i wonder.

Surely that is the gently, over geared, few minute slow into the 30mph zones / car park / residential street?

Yes for many people (the majority perhaps) then yes. Turbo won't be working at trundle speed. I come down a hill at about 10mph for 30 secs before getting to my drive, that has it covered I think.

potentially i could be doing 60 right up to my door.... i dont but i could.

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Never understood why people do it, so wasteful. I even turn my engine off at a traffic light on the way to work as it's red for 4 minutes at a time.

Yes for many people (the majority perhaps) then yes. Turbo won't be working at trundle speed. I come down a hill at about 10mph for 30 secs before getting to my drive, that has it covered I think.

an overtaking queue will be taking numbers at that speed.

Yeah of course, I am so inconsiderate that's exactly the kind of thing I'd do.

🙄

Neighbour used to have an RX8 and would sit with the engine running for at least 5 minutes both before and after a journey, apparently it's recommended for the ****el engine but not sure that's true... It was still less irritating than another neighbour who likes to tune his motorbikes on a Sunday morning (or whatever he's doing to need to rev them continually whilst they're in his garage). It's amazing how irritating a varying loud-quiet noise can be...

I sometimes have to sit in the car with the engine running until the inside of the windscreen de-mists.
Normally only when the temp really drops overnight.

Even wiping the screen with de-mister pad doesn't really help. It clears the screen a bit, but still not enough to drive safely.

I have worked out a procedure to minimise the time I am waiting & close all vents apart from the windscreen slot.
Diesel engines seem to suffer worst for this. My Wife's old Ka would warm up so quick that it took no time at all for the screen to clear & her subsequent 308 (1.6 Petrol) was also pretty good in that regard (one of it's few good points).
But my old Ibiza & the current one, take ages to get the windscreen clear as the warm air takes so long to come through.

I've just bought one of those car dehumidifier silica gel bags to try & stop the inside form misting up. Put it in overnight last night & no misting up at all this morning, so we'll see how it goes.

doesnt one just push the heated screen button 😉 one of the few new car technology things i see having a real purpose rather than just for the sake of having it.

I've just bought one of those car dehumidifier silica gel bags to try & stop the inside form misting up. Put it in overnight last night & no misting up at all this morning, so we'll see how it goes

Diesel engines seem to suffer worst for this.

Because less heat is wasted, the coolant water heats up much more slowly. That's why mine has an electric air heater fitted 🙂

Neighbour used to have an RX8 and would sit with the engine running for at least 5 minutes both before and after a journey, apparently it's recommended for the ****el engine but not sure that's true.

I'd heard that if you stall it when it's not fully warmed up it can't be restarted and has to be towed to a garage. Hence the warming up - just in case.

Couple of hours (signals landrover, brecon, subzero temps )

"Couple of hours (signals landrover, brecon, subzero temps )"

But the question that took me for ever to work out as a kid from the adverts ..... who gets the blanket 😉

You guys are part of the reason i dont buy into the whole "ex MOD" love for the surplus sale of landies ..... most have idled all their 26000 on the clock miles 😀

Depends - my mum spent so long gabbing to her friend in the car when dropping her off home last week she ran the battery down because she left the lights on, so I suspect if she left the engine running it'd probably run out of petrol instead...

matt_outandabout - Member

Our old car also suffered from misting up - the RainX Condensation treatment worked well.

Cheers. Didn't realise such a thing was available. I've heard of RainX for the outside of the screen, but not for the inside!

I'll see how this silica gel pad goes for now & perhaps try some if it doesn't work.

It's very frustrating making sure that I am as quick as I can be getting ready in the mornings so I can get to work earlier & then get home earlier, to then have to sit on the drive for 5 mins waiting for the screen to clear! 🙂

Lady this am pulled away near me looking through a matchbox hole in the frost, promptly collided with a grit bin which had been put up the road sometime the night before !! It was properly entertaining.

[quote=glasgowdan ]It just makes me think "useless lazy oafs".

Exactly my thought about the chap last night.

I have no issue at all with people who have a need to do it - like many cars mine has a turbo on the diesel, but it's not something I've ever thought about and if it's an issue at all I have a minute in a 30 limit to get to my door which I'll mostly drive at 20 or less (IMHO most of it probably could/should be a 20, but since almost everybody drives at those sort of speeds anyway it's a non issue). I can't think of many places I go where I'd not have a bit of gentle driving at the end even though I hit at least 50 on almost every trip.

[quote=molgrips ]Because less heat is wasted, the coolant water heats up much more slowly. That's why mine has an electric air heater fitted

Like trail rat I just have a heated windscreen.

Neighbour used to have an RX8 and would sit with the engine running for at least 5 minutes both before and after a journey, apparently it's recommended for the ****el engine but not sure that's true...

Not really true.
Warm up is important to prevent premature seal wear, it is best left idling for 30 secs or so before pulling off and then drive gently\kept below 5000RPM for the first 15 mins of driving until the engine is fully warmed up.
It doesnt need a cool down unless it was being pushed hard just before being parked up.
It does however have a problem that if you turn it on from cold and then turn it off within 5 mins then it won't start again because the engine is flooded with fuel.
More important for preventing premature failiure is making sure a misfire does not develop due to the ignition coils breaking down, and engine lubrication does not fail due to clogged oil injector or oil level running low.

My old next door neighbour used to run his Shelby Mustang every sunday for half an hour before taking it for a spin. It sounded lovely but I'd miss half the Archers omnibus and the windows rattled so badly I thought at least on would blow.