Hi scotty I'm an On-Demand courier (this means I drive things that need to be delivered NOW, like plane or truck parts, legal documents medical specimens, etc) . Based on your advice I decided NOT to sell my FWD 2004 Honda CR-V with 192k miles and instead I am turning it into a lean, mean, gas sipping, delivery machine.
If I create a switch to kill two of the fuel injectors when the car is sitting at a light or coasting down a hill, will it damage the engine? I need it to last at least another 100k (I drive manly in highway and suburbs)
If your curious...
I have also removed literally everything except the driver seat and dashboard to reduce weight and gain storage space.
Also I have removed everything on the outside that is only there for aesthetics. I am also coveri the wheels, back wheel well, custom building a belly plate, sealing all the gaps I can with clear tape and much more.
Cars in and after the 90s have an ECU that will only provide fuel when the engine needs it. When you take your foot off the gas the injectors are off, the same going down hill. Vehicles with a live mpg display will usually show something like 99.9 mpg when this happens. So no need to mess with them.
At the lights some modern cars have a start stop that works automatically.
When you are at the lights the engine stops, with a manual transmission it stops when you take it out of gear with the clutch up and starts when you put your foot on the clutch to put it in gear, in an automatic it depends on the manufacturer. I used one that when you stop and put your foot on the brake the engine stops, then starts when you take your foot off the brake..
Gas in Europe and Japan costs between 2- 4 times that in the US so it will be seen more in their cars.
Switching the engine off at the lights will help or they would not have invested in that technology, but the starter will take a pounding if you are in a city and the start stop vehicles have a beefed up one..
I drive a lot of miles, some in London England where there a lot of lights to stop at.
You will have to work out if the fuel saving will be worth the risk of needing to buy a new starter motor.
The vans I use with start stop technology are leased and get sent back with around 150,000 miles plus on them in two and a half to three years of use and I have never needed a new starter.
Start-stop system saves fuel but also wears the engine out faster since the most wear occurs when you start it.
That is true when you start it cold but if it is only off for a minute or two at the lights there is still hot oil in the engine. I have not had any problems..
Sach thanks for the advice. I do shut off my car if I am at least the second car back. Simply so ai don't do it all the time.
I'm fimilar with Europe start/stop systems, correct ones replace many mechanical parts with electric to handle the extra wear and tear.
Leave the injectors and engine alone if you want it to last. Do regular maintenance and it will be OK. Fuel and oil are cheap, engine is not.
Good luck!
if you do the math, he is going to drive through about 3 to 5 engines worth of fuel in one year.
@mountainmanjoe if I were in similar business (well, I was but not on my own), any engine replacement would mean wasted time to me since there would be no income. I'd rather get another vehicle. According to his question, he wants it to last too.
I'm just putting "fuel is cheap" into perspective.
If you compare engine and fuel, you are right.
In comparison to potentionally lost business, the fuel is much cheaper. He probably does not have another vehicle as a reserve.
Thank you for all the advice I am going to try and answer everyone in one comment.
First the whole thing is a huge math problem. Will the price of Hybrid repairs outway gas savings... Things like that.
I am fortunate that I actually have two other cars I can use. Since my wife is currently working from home. I am currently driving a 2010 automatic Honda Accord. And I own both Hondas outright. And have talk myself maintenance and general repair.
We held on to the CR-V for Home Depot runs and teaching the kids how to drive. However, as I learned more storage space equals more money. I decided to guy the CR-V and turn it into a lean, mean, gas sipping delivery machine.
So far I have taken everything out of the interior except for the driver seat and dashboard and I mean EVERYTHING roof, floor side panels.. everything.
I reduced the weight by 315 lbs and gained the length of an extended pickup truck and almost the same width of a standard Pickup truck. Now I'm working on tuning up the engine. Then areo dynamics.
I am also heavy into hypermiling so I already drive very conservative. Unless I am coasting down a huge hill. Or avoiding hitting the brakes on a turn. Then I drive like a bat out of hell.
You, my friend, need to apply to 1. NASA & 2. Garage54!
As a matter of fact, engines with cylinder disabling option wear out faster than normal engines. If you want to save on gas, get a manual Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic and drive conservatively.
Is that right?! How counterintuitive. One would think that it was the other way around.
@kaizen
things aren't always what they seem
Kaizen it about 85% driving like Grandma and the other 15% driving like a bat out of hell. The basic idea is get up to speed slow and steady then do everything you can to maintain it and/or not waste it. If you hit the brakes you lost. so you whip around corners, speed up to beat the light turing and get as much speed as possible coasting down a hill.
That is basically similar to manually doing cylinder deactivation, with fuel injectors. I would leave the engine alone. CR-Vs have good engines doing this will wear it out faster.
WHat’s up with the down vote?