VIDEO: BMW EfficientDynamics Auto Start/Stop System
More and more cars getting put onto our roads every year, and I’m not just talking about Kuala Lumpur where the jams while bad aren’t as insane as the gridlocks you get in some larger cities around the world. With so much time being spent in traffic jams not moving, fuel burned while idling in the jam is doing nothing but powering your air conditioning, lights and perhaps your radio, which is a little overkill and definitely a waste of fuel.
Magneti Marelli CEO Eugenio Razelli thinks that this wastage of fuel should seriously stop and we tend to agree. According to him, automatic start/stop systems should become mandatory equipment on all cars, much like catalytic converters have become a long time ago. According to him, substantial fuel savings can be achieved through the use of auto start/stop systems at a relatively low cost. We did some googling and found that replacing the starter with one capable of auto start/stop can add only about US$300 (RM960) to US$400 (RM1,285) to a car’s material cost but can save between 5% to 15% of fuel depending on conditions.
But then again it’s expected for him to say this considering Magneti Marelli develops and sells auto components such as auto start/stop systems and if first world countries with huge annual auto sales start to make auto start/stop systems mandatory, it would be a huge boost to all auto component suppliers which sell such systems, including Magneti Marelli. Valeo and Bosch are other example manufacturer of auto start/stop systems. Razelli is not alone with his idea though – car manufacturers such as PSA Peugeot Citroen have announced that it plans to make auto start/stop systems standard for all of their cars sold in the European market.
Cars with auto start/stop systems are sometimes called “micro hybrids” but they still run on conventional fuel – there is no other propulsion method. Auto start/stop systems was first introduced with manual transmissions but there are a few manufacturers who have managed to integrate the system with their automatic transmission cars as well.
The system has also been refined over time and auto start/stop systems can be considered to be in a sort of ‘second generation’ right now. At first the starting and stopping of the engine made use of a specialized quick starter, but now the restarting of the engine has been refined to the point that the system knows exactly which piston is in the best position to be used to restart the engine, further refining the smoothness and quickness of the restart process. Earlier auto start/stop systems also couldn’t run the air conditioning system when the engine is switched off but now on cars with auto start/stop, the air conditioning system is modified to run on electricity instead of off the engine’s belt.
Systems such as Mazda’s Smart Idle Stop System doesn’t even use a specialised starter, instead it restarts the engine by injecting fuel via direct injection into the cylinder and igniting it to force the piston down instead of using a conventional starter.
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Sorry lah for our Bolehland to mandate it as standard car item. Even abs, dual airbags, immobiliser alarm is a fairy tale here for a standard Proton car which is a common global car standard. Not sure if alarm sound shared with steering horns like pesona is new global car standard though kreatif lah tu konon. Honk honk bleep bleep honk honk!
Nice, but will it make the life span of the engine starter to be shorter?
change new type starter la..not oem starter… sure start stop starter will test to work at least 10 years..
Anything that contribute to betterment of mother nature is always welcome BUT automakers (in Malaysia) seemingly not bother to equip this features in their cars.
how about battery life span… and every time engine stop the aircond also stop…
the car will be “mobile sauna” everytime the car stop….
“……but now on cars with auto start/stop, the air conditioning system is modified to run on electricity instead of off the engine’s belt.”
brilliant, KH. I hope this new thing also comes wz much efficient battery which could last more than 5 mins when the a/c runs on it.. lol
Oh, don’t credit me for this. It was quoted in the article, hence the ” “…
I’m not too sure but I believe frequent on/off, or in this case start/stop the engine will increase wear and tear of the engine. And if car stuck in jam, i think the battery will die in months. Plus I think a lot of Malaysians doesn’t know this. When the engine is stops, the air-con stops too. Therefore Proton decided not to equip such tech into their cars, unless u want to be baked under the hot sun in your Proton.
You should see the number of drivers who leave the car idling while waiting for their bosses or washing the car. They dont care about cost, health and environment cos the company pays the fuel bill for the 4L V8 car and the bosses are happy cos they get into a cool car immediately. It needs a change in society, culture and mentality for anything to happen in Msia
It is a good idea, but yess..it may shorten the lifetime of the engine starter system
if u want change the culture and mentality, u need to change weather also.
You’re just making the weather worst by leaving you’re car running, then you complain why so hot… u my friend contributed to it
Ok we stop the car.Off Aircond. Than our weather can be like UK
Ignore the start/stop system but answer me the following, how long does a normal engine starter can last?
my iswara starter can used untill 3 years only… u know, proton part easy spoilt…
not just the engine lifespan. The vibration and engine clatter each time the engine “restarts” itself. Imagine doing this in KL traffic jam at peak hours (o_O). No need for OSIM massage chair liao.
Vibration and engine clatter happens normally when you have a cold engine OR your car is damn old enough to be sent into the junk yard. You won’t feel anything in a properly designed start/stop system. I’ve driven 1 (BMW3) and I didn’t even notice the engine doing start/stop.
did you see the video? the engine clatter is quite obvious in the video. I think you might have tried the petrol version. The one shown in the video is the diesel version
Opps, sorry. Din really go see, streamyx too slow. And yea, I drove the petrol. Well, they have clever engineers, somehow they will get the diesel start thingi sorted out. In the mean time, enjoy the petrol start/stop.
wan save environment? jus ban driving in city area altogether, focus on mass public transport instead and bicycles for short inner city traveling..
i like. Queen will be demo 1st.
I couldn’t agree more on queen’s statement. Human being r stupid,stubborn,selfish n unwilling to change. Some humans think the Trees r stupid standing there for hundred of years n doing nothing ambitious for their lives. Just like we know cigarettes r Bad, but we dun ban it like we did on coccain. Back to the topic, Renewable energy is the KEY.
Reminds me of a similar comment made by Pak Lah few years back; “ubah gaya hidup, naik beskal gi tempat kerja”.
Yeah right, my foot! Try bicycling in the afternoon when the sun is high up.
Bicycling in the summer at UK is far way cooling and less sweaty compared to bicycling in hot scorch sun of tropical country such the likes of Malaysia.
then more Malaysians will die from skin cancer due to overexposure to the sun..
lol…that bmw doesn’t sound sexy with diesel.
LOL in India they already ‘sort of’ implemented this method. When the traffic lights is red, everyone off their vehicle’s engine (including the ‘tuk-tuk’ also).
I noticed that some of Malaysians also practiced this. But I doubt this could give any impact to the engine system, no?
The Indians in India practise this engine-off-engine-on all the time, except they do it manually. Further to that, they also switch off their lights to conserve electrical power!
Cool start/stop function and its a manual!
One good question, this type of system start/stop does it have other ‘accellerated’ wear and tear such as; spark plugs and battery? Due to frequent start/stop functions.
3.8L/100km <<< BMW technology is the best!
Proton's 'worshipped' iafm manual campro will easily hit 7.2L/100km and cps campro will easily hit 8.0L/100km. Yikes!
that’s the different 50K car with 250K car.. it’s like chocolate and shit..hehhehe ( borrow from initial D anime)
its a diesel… so no spark plug to worry about ;)
I burn a lot of fuel sitting in traffic everyday. Short of going out to buy a hybrid, EV or Euro 5 diesel car (which our country doesn’t qualify for), if the start/stop system helps make the place I live in smell less like a chimney and saves me money on fuel too, why the heck not?
Anyway the superfrying sunshine followed by thunderstorms every day isn’t fun anymore. We really have to do something before the climate gets worse.
Should implant EV rather than this…
Hayo guys!
It’s not the kind of starter that we’re using now lah. The normal starter will crank the engine until combustion start. It is a carry over from the old days of manual cranking.
This new start/stop thing is more like putting the engine into a ‘pause’. It’s smart enough to fire just one cyllinder to continue from where it stopped.
Well, not really that simple, but I think you get the idea.
You are right.Many cars in Europe are using stop/start system.I think the manufacturer has thought about this and I think they already thought of the reliability of their machines.And I really don’t think they want to be in the same boat as Toyota.
Hi all,
Would anyone know where to get an aftermarket part to do this? In Malaysia that is…
Interested in this as I do it myself manually in traffic jams.
Installing this system is a good thing. As always it will take some time (maybe decades in Malaysia) before it can be implemented to all passenger cars. Maybe by the time Malaysia decide to accept this hybrid or EV already a standard……
im more hi tec one. i switch off my engine when i cruise downhill and just engage the gear to restart it. on my ex 5 laa…
Cars with auto start/stop systems are sometimes called “micro hybrids” but they still run on conventional fuel–
Or should write like this==
Cars with auto start/stop systems are sometimes called “micro wave” but they still run on conventional fuel
battery consume…
We want cheap car and not start stop expensive maintenance…he…he..he…we want the cheapest car on the road lah…who cares abs, airbag, auto start stop….public transport sucks….better Kap chai…no air bag, no roof, no abs, accident every where….very cheap ma…
Why use electric air con? Should consider using absorption air con from the heat of the engine for heat exchange. Roof top solar cells to charge the battery to run the air con blower fan. Mazda start/stop concept, absorption air con n solar cells will save on fuel and boost engine power.
Maybe the manufacturer need more time to refine the system. As for me it’s good for the car especially when you’re trapped in long period of jam (eg. festival time).
As for diesel, the system maybe simpler due to no need to have spark plug to surge the engine. only auto starter used to on the engine.