Felix Acker Melbourne Feb 17, 2009 22:47 pm

Dear All,
looking through the information on idling, including many of the links that have been supplied in these forums by other members in the past, I cannot help but notice that while many sites proclaim to dispel the 'idling myths', there is virtually no (I yet have to find one) reference to primary studies. I very much would encourage members of this site to share your knowledge about studies (and the sources - the journal or the agency that published a report), which actually provide the numbers for the much-cited conclusion that idling a)wastes petrol and b) reduces the engine component longlevity. Also, Doug mentioned during a workshop I attended just yesterday that switching off the engine if the better choice if you would idle for longer than 10 seconds. Is there concrete information whether this is the case for a) all vehicle types, b) all fuel types, c) all types of weather.
It would be great if we could gather information on this and the site administrator could put these into a link compendium elsewhere on the site as data link repository for idling research.
Best from Melbourne,
Felix

Felix Acker
LaTrobe University
Australia