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How much gas do you burn at idle??

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XHitman396

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well my roommate was complaining about burning gas while sitting in a parking lot letting his grand cherokee idle. of course, i was appalled at such an over-reaction considering what we all drive, but it got me thinkin. i wonder how much gas we burn when our trucks are just sitting and idling?? i was particular curious from a cold start cuz i start my truck up and let it heat up a long time in the winter. anyone ever done this? anyone have a lot of free time and want to do this? let me know what ya'll think, or know.. thanks...
 
here you go--

I read somewhere the average V8 motor uses between 1 to 2 gallons an hour idling.(some book I read about geting maximum MPG's)...naturally smaller engines will consume less,and EFI will not use as much as a carbed motor,mostly because they don't use a choke,and atomize the fuel more effeciently,especially when cold,when a carb is at a disadvantage..

At any rate,it IS a waste of fuel if the motor is running,and the vehicle isn't moving..unless you'll die of frostbite on a night like tonight is here (5 degrees!)..I hate being stuck in traffic jams or at red lights..I can see the $$$$ signs on the gas pump spinning while I'm going nowhere!.:mad:

I often run my vehicles out of gas if they are just going to sit..I'll dump in a gallon of gas and start them up once in a while to keep the battery charged and the motor free..I can run my 307 in the van about 20-30 minutes on a gallon of gas if its cool out..a bit longer in the summer..

I had a 454 in a 74 C10 years ago..that thing would only run about 10-15 minutes on a gallon of gas..:eek1: ..those Holley carbs are toilets!..another I had with a Q-jet wasn't much better..the choke wastes a lot of gas..especially automatic chokes that usually stay closed longer than nessasary..

Some newer vehicles must not use too much..I heard about a Jeep Cherokee in a neighbors yard last winter ,that had a remote starter,and guys plowing the parking lot in the Toyota dealership unknowingly started the jeep up too,when they hit the remote starter on a used Ford Escort they had to move in order to plow(must have been on the same "frequency!")..it ran all night and until 3pm the next day,until someone at the apartment called the cops to complain it had been running since 1 am the night before!..and it still had about 1/4 of a tank left...:crazy:

My diesel VW Jetta would go 600+ miles on a tank of 14 gallons..so that thing would probably have run a week or more if it had a full tank,and I forgot to shut it off!...;) ..wish I kept that car...:(
 
I know on my DD car (88 lesabre) my winter mileage definitely takes a hit if I let it warm up alot. I don't do it as much, only usually when the temp drops below 0 overnight and this is assuming I wake up on time and have minutes to waste on such frivolities, lol.
 
My '04 GTO's mileage gague switchs from miles/gallon to gallons per hour at idle or very very low speeds. LS1 engine. Reads 0.7-0.8 gallons/hour when warm. Reads about 1.1gal/hour when you first start it up on a cold day.
 
I let my '03 2500HD warm up for about 20 minutes in the morning when it's really cold (mainly because I have to take the baby to the sitter's house), and really don't see any appreciable decrease in mileage. Based on 1 gallon/hour that seems to be in the ballpark as it's only about 1.7 gallons per week.

With that said my 6.2 diesel much do much better. On a previous trailride I had the engine running non-stop for at least 8-9 hours, which included covering quite a few miles of trails and hillclimbs, and used less then 7 gallons total.
 
Fuel economy is 0MPG while sitting/idling. Best way I've seen to hit home that it's wasteful to just let a vehicle run for no reason. :)
 
Isnt it a good idea though to let the motor warm up so your not being hard on it while its cold, and things are "out of spec" do to metal expanding with heat and visa versa?
 
they say that you dont need to let the engine "warm up". On the diesels, a little longer, pretty much as soon as it drops out of high idle. (i've had this as long as 5 min though).

others have commented that you need only start the car, wait until you get oil pressure, then slowly drive away.

Anyways, all the general consensus either way is to; A start, B. let oil circulate, C. keep revs low until the engine has warmed up.

Let me tell you, it sure pisses people off behind you when your cruising at 5-10mph in the rush hour morning!
 
well on my blazer, when i start it up in the morning, and let it warm up. I can litterally watch the gas guage move.
 
A couple of the new cars I've owned say to let the vehicle idle for at least 30 seconds first thing in the morning. That and after the car sits at work for 10 hours are the only time I'm really concerned about it.

If it were really cold outside all the time shorter stops might make me reconsider, but in the climate I live in, the engine stays warm to the touch for many hours after you shut it down, so I know that its still "warm" if I go into a store for awhile, etc. and I'm not worried about warming it back up.
 
i've always had the impression that for starters.. A- its a chevy and it needs to warm up.. i let my diesel warm up for a good 10-15 minutes in the mornings before work.. it has a crazy high idle when its all cold out (lately around the mid-low 40's) then it drops down, and i know its time to roll.. plus i think with a diesel, u waste more turning it on and off then just sitting
:wink1:
 
Wow....this is a god point. Never really thought about it. I put an edelbrock 600 cfm manual choke carb on my 74. I live in SoCal, and I'm actually just getting aroung to installing the choke cable tomorrow, cause we hardly need them here. My Blazer runs like SH!T when it's cold. Shudders and bucks for a good 5 minutes until it warms up. However, if I let it sit and idle for 5-10 minutes, runs nice and smooth. Just a cold blooded old bittey I guess.
 
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