Check this out - Ford shutting off your engine!
 

I don't know when this will apply to Mustangs, but it's interesting. I doubt it will be something that can't be worked around in a calibration. Imagine a car launching off idle at the track and being shut off waiting for the tree to go green? Crazy!

http://www.mustangevolution.com/201012286015/

Ford just announced that they are going to be adding an engine shut-off option to every single vehicle produced which is referred to as start-stop technology. When the vehicle comes to a complete stop, the engine will automatically shut off and as the driver applies pressure to the accelerator, it automatically restarts again.

Ford says that this will reduce gas by 4% and almost 10% for city vehicles that have frequent stop-go traffic.

Ford will most likely be setting the bar for automakers when it comes to gas efficiency for the future. Stricter laws for gas-economy are well on the way for 2016 which may require this become standard on all vehicles. It is another way to save gas just like the hybrid and electric cars.

Some vehicles are already using the smart-stop technology. The Ford Fusion hybrid and Ford Escape hybrids utilize it, as well as Ford cars sold in Europe.

“For the driver, Ford Auto Start-Stop provides extra fuel efficiency without inconvenience, as it works completely automatically,” said Barb Samardzich, Ford vice president of powertrain engineering. “And, just like in our hybrid vehicles, the heater and air conditioner work as normal so drivers will not sacrifice comfort.”

Time to buy stock in companies that build starters. lol

the new benz uses it...pretty cool IMO

It's a great idea.

^ sure until something breaks.

so if the AC is run like a standard AC when the motor doesn't run the AC wont work. What do they do? Run the AC compressor off a seperate electric motor?

I for one would hate this with a passion and would do everything in my power to bypass it perminantly. It will probably be like traction control..on by default so it's a hastle to turn it off every time you start the car.

I'm sure some wiring Guru will have a work around..at least till it's on perminantly, or till it becomes a federal offense to shut it down.

Stupidest thing ever. I like sitting at the light listening to the rumble of my exhaust. :metal:

Perhaps it's something that can be be over-ridden with a custom tune, like the shift-skip in the manual transmission. I wouldn't mind it, but for people who are drag racing I'm sure they'd want to get rid of it.

They have had this on cars in Europe for years now. The reason it hasn't caught on here is it doesn't factory in the DOT gas mileage standards which are tested with the car running a set course on a dyno which doesn't include any lengthy stops. If they change the test you'll see it on everything in short order. I think the OP said you have to remove your foot from the gas peddle holding the brake with your right foot for the engine to shut down. If you left foot brake the engine will probably stay on.

The same could be said about fuel injection or ABS brakes. If it saves gas ($$$$) I'm all for it :)

This isn't new technology. If certain conditions aren't met then the vehicle will keep the engine running. For example, with the current Ford hybrids if you have A/C set to max, the engine does not shut off when you come to a stop. It also won't shut off the engine if the battery charge is low. The government has mandated some very stringent MPG requirements. Would you rather Ford detunes the engine to squeeze out a few more MPG, or add an auto-stop-start system like this? I know which I would rather have.

That's exactly what I was wondering about when I read the OP's post = how this would affect the car's battery.

I'm sure the engineers working on the Mustang will come up with a way to allow you to take off hard (like at the strip) without having to wait for the engine to start. They do realize that's what this car us used for. But at the same time, they have to start meeting stricter and stricter CAFE standards.

I think it'll be a good thing, actually, to have a car that can still burn the hides any time I want, but will also get me better gas mileage around town.

And I wouldn't even mind if they threw in cylinder deactivation on the highway for better highway mileage.

I'd much rather have the 412 (or more) hp available in the Coyote, with a few tricks to save a little gas, than have them go back to severe restrictions on the engine to save gas, like they did in the '70s.

I highly doubt that this will ever be implemted on the V8 stang. It contradicts what the car is.

The V6 however, I would tjink that it would get this very soon.

my thought exactly! any idea as to what companies these are lol

I agree! I personally, do not want to see a rerun of what happened in the early '70s. I would much rather see what jayguy is talking about above than see a 4 cylinder Mustang III with automatic 2 cylinder deactivation after 20 MPH.
If we don't watch it, well......all I can say is..... this S&%* happened before, so don't think it's impossible. :(

[/end my 2 cents]

Nobody is stopping us from taking cats off our car, so who cares what the government implements? It's not like they know what is and is not good for the people:rolleyes:

Does the technology exist for a brake pedal to determine which foot you are using? :D

if im understanding this right..... this is the technology Ford us planning on using?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLpvnNVrEm8

Yes, and they're already using it in their hybrids. As is Toyota and Honda. Ford wants to start putting it in more than just hybrids.

I'd like to see a study or a simulated 'test'- filled with plenty of stops, long rides, stop lights, pauses, basic road procedures etc... And see how much gas it saves and CO2 emissions it prevents over not having this. If it's not any more than like 10%... I wont ever consider it. As the start and stop will prove very annoying and will out weight it's benefit. I can see cylinder deactivation... but turning over each time? Don't all the electronics pause too? I like the idle! :heh:

FWIW I read that if a stop is shorter than 30 seconds it would use more gas than if you would have just let it idle...

The feature can be switched "ON" or "OFF" so no need to panic. Ford to switch off engine??? Give me a break. Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, VW, Audi, Ford Europe already have this feature and it is quite common here. Nothing to worry about.....the 80s are gone and this is a modern feature. By the way.......no more carburetors either.

hey if this is true I should get an internet cookie for 'calling it'! sort of...:D


https://themustangsource.com/f806/ho...ustang-487673/

You did call it!

and I don't like, so glad it shuts off!

you know what it reminds me of rich?


skip shift. Its another car nanny. But I guess it was only a matter of time...

If we all thought like that we'd still be starting our cars with a hand crank.

Hybrids use the same technology, only the engine kicks on when the battery gets low. Same with a golf cart. 95% of the problems you get with starter motors aren't from the motors themselves but from the starter gear extension and retraction mechanism failing.

All you really need to do to get around that is to leave the starter "motor" always engaged and use the "motor" to start the engine and the rest of the time the "motor" becomes a "generator" to recharge the battery. Then you can ditch the alternator altogether.

A warm engine uses very little gas to restart. A cold engine is obviously a different story. Perhaps the computer will leave the engine running until it reaches a certain internal temperature before this feature is activated.

That sounds like something one would hear on TG UK. :D Don't forget the Mustang still has a ox cart rear axle. :jester: Personally don't mind the thought of this feature in any car. Hey, the introduction of EFI to the Mustang made it a better car in the long run after all despite what the naysayers back then predicted.

Precisely my point!!!

I remember all the mustang people crying because the 4.6 would replace the 5.0 and boo hoo hoo fuel injection is coming. No more tuning the car or we cannot even jump start it and it's all foriegn.

Now panties in a wad again over a simple feature that most know nothing about but speculate on how it works. IT CAN BE SWITCHED OFF. It is a feature that will assist hyper-milers.

Whatever people......just don't buy it because FORD will switch it off for you. SIMPLE

This sounds like something we had on our late Saturn Vue Hybrid It was about the only thing that worked right on that car as it did not function till the motor was up to temp and worked slick as the alt (looked the same size as a reg alt) became a electric motor and restarted the 4 banger no problem. as for the batteries used to power the car after they failed the third time in less than 3 yrs that car went away but the on off funtion worked good i dont know how it would work with a V8 but it will be fun to watch..

As usual what is not said is more important than what is. Loudly missed in this demonstration is what happens in traffic jams when you stop for a short time or are moving so slow, its just better to coast. How about starting and stopping every 20 feet for 5 miles. What about just coasting in neutral? Will the engine die and take out the power steering and brakes? How much longer will it take a line of cars to get moving? Enough for 3 less to make it through the intersection? Sucks to miss out because every one in the line took 2 extra seconds to get rolling. Like traction lock, can the feature be disabled when it causes more harm than good? Flash!!! Anyone who wants their car to work like that can do so now with the key. Imagine that.

Increase fuel economy

Reduce engine life

Great.

You're not understanding the system. You have this impression that when you press the accelerator your car is going to take seconds to start up.

Go to your local golf course and rent a gas powered golf cart. Press on the gas. There is next to no delay at all.

All you're doing is exchanging the crappy little motor in the cart for a real one in a car. This is a system that has been proven over decades ...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...3185907AAHhNby

The only real downside is that you can't use the system with a manual transmission; the system would likely depend on the stall RPM of the torque converter as a buffer while the engine spins up.

Hopefully they'll do what Porsche did with the start-stop system on U.S. market Panameras: put a switch on the dashboard to turn it on/off and have it off by default.

its going to be an option. You can bet none (or very few of the v6's)of the Mustangs are gonna be optioned like it..

Wouldn't that be murder on the engine? starting and stopping all the time?
dumbest idea ever.

i dont see where its going to be that big of a deal. if you noticed in the BMW video the only time it turned off was if you put the car in neutral and let off the clutch...thats not how you start a drag race. It could be a decent benefit on automatic cars that dont have a clutch pedal. I rarely ever put the car in neutral and take my foot off the clutch at a stop light.

This is actually a really interesting concept. If done the right way, I don't think it will be terrible. As long as it's something that can be bypassed, it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

I don't get this.
Your stopped at a light and you get rear ended cuz you couldn't get out of the way fast enough due to engine restarting which takes 1-2 seconds more before power is availble to the traction wheels .Just doesn't ad up to me.....Their's gotta be some other technical explanations to this that we don't know.

The posche cayenne has this retarded technology on it too. Better make this starter module easy to access and cheap

Anyone notice the initials...Auto Start/Stop?

Seriously, though, there has even been some development work done by Mazda (Ford?) on a system where the starter motor is not even used. This from a 2008 Autoblog article:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/09/m...ect-injection/

I just read an article in CAR magazine on the Ferrari using this device. It restarts the car in 230 milliseconds, is an option and can be shut down. Normal start up takes 700 milliseconds. BMW and Mecerdes are also using a similiar system.

I do not see anything to panic over, yet. Wait until Big Brother installs a device to remotely monitor your driving, and simply refuses to let the car start at all because you are socially irresponsible in the way you drive. Their call, not yours.

The device would work in conjunction with the one monitoring miles driven for road tax purposes. I believe this was already tested in Washington or Oregon (Please correct me on this). The device downloads data while you refuel and transmits it to a satellite. The tax is then added to your refueling costs at the pump.

The future is going to be either fun or a complete nightmare when it comes to cars. I hope for all of us it turns out to be fun.

I had the opportunity to drive a BMW 116i with auto start/stop. When you hit the clutch it starts instantly. By the time you shifted into gear the engine was running. I was driving in the city and it never felt intrusive.

I really don't understand why people would hate this technology so much. Give it a try before you judge it. Even though the A/C did not shut off it was reduced. It also did not stop the engine all the time. I am sure there are lots of factors that determine when the engine should stop.

I'll make sure to rev the engine while in neutral so it doesn't get shut off ! :)

Don't golf carts use this same technology?

So did you shift into nuetral at the light and take your foot off the clutch?
When at a light I sit with my foot on the clutch and the car in gear. Does that mean in that cars case the engine wouldn't shut off?

Makes me think of the song Red Barchetta by Rush.
Not a good world to have a car in.

O/T

.... my favorite Rush song ... going to see them for the 3rd time in April. It'll be the first concert for my 12 and 13 year old boys :metal:

Yes!

(Ok, this one got me in.)

Probably, and you'll see why I think so below. However, the intriguing question is this: How long are your lights? In my areas, they can be *looong*.

I take mine out of gear because my leg kinda gets tired holding in the clutch. That, and it is my belief that the system is straining to keep the clutch in, rather than it's 'normal' position of engaged, where it's more 'relaxed', if you will.

Further, if I slip up (and it's happened) I kill the engine in a way I really don't like for the engine's sake, if my leg comes off the clutch pedal. I try not to be stupid, but stupid happens to us all. Some more than others, sure, but all of us.

Given those, it is no problem for me to turn off the engine at a light or a drive thru. Keeping the brake on is easier than the clutch, and there's no point in keeping the car running while I wait. I also watch the lights and if it's obvious the light's going to change, I won't stop the engine.

Oh, and by the way, a light can cost about .1 MPG at some points here in the Houston area, doing nothing but waiting. I've seen a 2 MPG per tank increase doing this, and I don't think I hurt my car doing it. And if it is the starter that's going to wear out, well, for me that's a no-brainer: cheap enough to not worry.

I know the engine might have a little more wear when starting, but the oil's pretty much all over the place, versus a cold start, so I'm thinkin' its a very small percentage in comparison. I mean... I probably do worse hot dogging it. :D

And finally, the battery/alternator: See starter.

My philosophical commentary is now complete on this. Enjoy the rest of the thread, y'all

Where i live you are at a light for about 15-45 sec at most. Once in a great while you get a really long one. I live in a rural area so i can't say about city driving. I would never ever turn my car off at a light. I've avoided idiots coming up on me too fast and almost rearending me if I hadn't turned off the road out of the way a bit. If my car had been off my rear end would be toast.

My leg generally never gets tired and if you happen to slip and pop the clutch the damage it will do to the engine is practically nonexistant. I can't even recall the last time I slipped at a light though.

But each of use has our own stile and beliefs when it comes to cars we drive so no harm no foul.

Anyway I was simply wondering if that's how BMW's system works..just looking for clarification on that point.

As long as it can be defeated Im ok with it. I can only imgaine how many starters are going to fail at the worst possible time. Im sure they are upgraded to handle it but logic tells me this is only going to add cost to the car for a minimal savings in fuel that will cost you down the road due to eating starters and who knows what else in repairs. I dont mean to be a stick in the mud but you can adjust your driving habits to save 4 percent. I watched the video of the bmw and this would absolutely drive me nuts.

You had to put it in neutral and release the clutch. Only then would the engine turn off. Once you pressed the clutch (in order to shift into gear) it would start in an instant. Where I live you can wait at traffic lights for a few minutes. It makes it hard to keep your foot on the clutch for that long.

Also, I drove this BMW in Europe where the light sequence is a bit different. It turns yellow before it jumps to green. That is in order to give you some time to put your car in gear (since 99% of people drive manuals over there). Here in North America it jumps right to green, which can be annoying sometimes. At least they installed the pedestrian count-downs. That way you have a better idea when it will switch to green.

so the engine will shut off while the car is still in gear? that doesn't sound smart

Thank for the clarification. :nice:

I was just thinking I can so see lazy people just pulling into a parking spot popping the car into nuetral, getting out and walmarting, then coming back to the car and getting in and leaving..never actually starting or stopping the car with the key. Or coming out and finding the car gone because someone just broke the window openeed the car and stood on the gas and was off like a shot. Or leaving it parked in thier driveway like that and one of thier young kids screwing around in it and the car just taking off.

It really is up to us. If we elect people who think the government can and should solve every problem, get ready to be controlled. If we elect people who believe in limited government, we ought to be OK.

You have to relase the clutch pedal in order to shut off the engine. So if it was in gear you would drive off (or stall the engine). Once you hit the clutch pedal the engine starts. If it wasn't for the engine noise and vibration you would not even notice.

Lazy people do that already - sort off. They leave the key in the ignition. Nothing you can do about that unless you give the car total control about everything. I have seen people leave the car idling while they go shopping. Sometimes even with a kid in it so that he/she does not get cold/hot. Not much you can do about stupid people.

awesome post! I cant wait for this to take effect on all ford cars

LOL @ Big Brother comments.

Has anyone ever used me.com to track their iPhone? Scary. If we can see it, you know they can see even more.

it was my understanding that most hybrids didn`t even use the starter to " start " the gas engine .. the computor simply fired the next " ready " cylinder and it fired right up .. a fellow co-worker had one and i never heard a starter engage

very very true

Yeah, because you know that i they can track your phone on GPS, shut it down or wipe the data remotely, you know that they're only a step away rom enabling the microphone and/or camera and viewing it remotely.

Which may be cool. I'm sure most of us would want to know who to put the boots to when someone lifts your cell phone!