[wjones]

I've always heard that the worse thing you can do to an engine is to start it. I'm wondering if that includes engines that were designed to stop and start automatically at lights and stop signs.

Another related issue is whether constantly starting the engine will shorten the life of the starter.

Any opinions?

Some food for thought.... Modern vehicles equipped with Start/Stop technology utilize reinforced starters coupled with High Capacity AGM batteries that aid in making sure the vehicles electrical system is essentially stress free. In addition, when the engine shuts off, the engine management system keeps track of the exact position of each piston. It can then restart the engine by spraying fuel directly into a cylinder (Direct Injection) that is just at the start of its power stroke and firing the spark plug to ignite the mixture. This will eliminate the need for the starter every time the vehicle starts from a stop (this does mean that the engine must be 'warm' as higher cranking amps are required to start a cold engine). Hope this helps....

 

[wjones]

Thanks, that helps a lot! I do need clarification on one point though; you say "this will eliminate the need for a starter every time the vehicle starts from a stop...". Can you go into more detail about this? Does this mean that the engine can restart without the use of the starter?

Yup! Thats correct.... At any given time there is at least one cylinder ready to start the power stroke (4 stroke cycle- suck - squeeze - bang - blow ?) and all that cylinder needs is a rich A/F mixture coupled with the ignition from the spark plug to get the rest of the engine fired right up.