[James330I]

i never done it, but i've always just wanted to play my PS2 in my car during lunch sometimes, but don't know what the effects are on the battery if i just turn the car and engine on, and leave it idle. (i have a full A/V stereo system with ps2)

usually, on long trips, it hasn't been too bad with the battery playing the ps2 or watching DVD for 2-3 hours at a time, but what about if i just leave the car on in a parking lot for an extended period??

 

[big bad jon]

i'm not too versed on the subject, but i would assume that it would be okay as long as the engine was running and not just running off the battery....
btw, you have a PS2 in your car? damn, i HAVE to see it how... haha, u hang out near w. town? i'm just gonna drive around w. knox looking for ur car.. hahahahaha
how much ur GSR selling for?

 

[///M3Matt]

hey man good question....i would like to know too so that I can run my strobes. I've been told that I can run them for like an hour before the battery goes dead, but I dont want to push it.

 

[BMW328Ci]

as long as the engine is running i would think you could play as long as you want... thats what an alternator is for right??

and btw... i am now jealous of your car haha

 

[Malladawg]

I think he means is it safe to have the car on for a long time, while not moving. I guess he's worried about the car over-heating, or doing damage to the engine.

I'd like to know too.

 

[simsima325]

i wonder, if you had a full tank of gas, how long could you let a car idle before it runs out? like if u started your car, and locked the keys in it, lol

would it overheat before it goes through a tank? :dunno:

 

[e46boy]

it's harmful if you warm up your engine for too long.. it's the same idea here.. why would you idle your engine for that long. i can only think of negative things about this. i am pretty sure it's bad but i don't know why.

i think it's better if you just run it off your batter :dunno:

 

[JimJai323]

Get a solar powered batter charger/maintainer....it plugs into the cig lighter...

I've seen this product somewhere at Canadian Tire and Wal-Mart...

This may help instead of idling your car.............waste of gas and harms your engine....

 

[Jspeed]

Yes prolonged idling is bad for the engine. I read lots of articles, and basically the engine is not designed to run at such a low speed continuously. The engine would be running at below optimal temperature and combustion would be incomplete. This results in carbon deposits.

 

[LAFENGAS]

well..i'll give you an engineering answer...

your car relies on the viscosity of the oil along with speed the rotating parts move for protection. I barrier is formed between the bearing and the wearing surface when it reaches higher rotating speeds.

When sitting idle... (rotation is slow) the barrier slowly depletes until the engine teperature rises to it's maximum idled temperature. I'm not sure exactly what it is for BMW, but i'm guessing around 230°F. When this max temp is reached, the oil's viscoty is the lowest....or in other words the oils is thinner (like water)

sitting at idle for a long time.... only increases the ammount of wear on the bearing surfaces. Your car should not overheat.... only wear its parts faster.

You could probably idle through 10 tanks of gas and not notice any difference. You however, may lose about 10K miles off the life of your engine.

hope this helps a little.

 

[XKxRome0ox]

LAFENGAS summed it up real well

i read somewhere years ago that... idling your car for more than 45 seconds is the equivalent of restarting your engine... in terms of the wear and tear and the amount of gas wasted

i think you would be better off doing something else during your lunchtime instead of sitting around in your car playing ps2 while your engine is running
i don't know how old you are...
but... if you are in high school... go socialize... hang out with your friends... go hit on some girls...
if you are in college or beyond... i'm sure you can find something better to do

 

[smoke]

how many minutes is good enough to warm-up your car in the morning?

 

[e46boy]

how many minutes is good enough to warm-up your car in the morning?

mins? 20 secs will do

 

[big bad jon]

LAFENGAS summed it up real well

i read somewhere years ago that... idling your car for more than 45 seconds is the equivalent of restarting your engine... in terms of the wear and tear and the amount of gas wasted

i think you would be better off doing something else during your lunchtime instead of sitting around in your car playing ps2 while your engine is running
i don't know how old you are...
but... if you are in high school... go socialize... hang out with your friends... go hit on some girls...
if you are in college or beyond... i'm sure you can find something better to do

hehe, he's married with child i believe...

 

[XKxRome0ox]

how many minutes is good enough to warm-up your car in the morning?

i agree with e46boy

just start it up.. wait til your rev drops a bit (should not take more than 30 seconds) and just roll at low RPM's
try to keep it under 2000-2500 rpm's until your temp gauge starts to rise

 

[isaacly]

forever?? til gas runs out?

 

[av_guy]

Just my two pennies worth...

We all should have a radiator at the front of the car, plus various intakes for cold air. My understanding is that when the car is in forward motion, this air get drawn into the radiator slats, to cool the temperature of the water (most of our cars should be water or air cooled or both).

Therefore, if the car is not moving, there is a likeliness that the engine will heat more than normal - possibly causing overheating and therefore, potential damage. This could be directly related to a lesser supply of air to cool the water, which is driven around the engine for cooling. We do have a cooling fan. But, it is not sufficient to cool the engine for a sustained period of non-motion.

Perhaps I don't know what I am talking about, since there are some differences in spec between UK and US cars. But, just my thinking :eeps:

This is in addition to LAFENGAS's comments and engineering explanation. Thanks buddy.

Vik AD

 

[LAFENGAS]

Just my two pennies worth...

We all should have a radiator at the front of the car, plus various intakes for cold air. My understanding is that when the car is in forward motion, this air get drawn into the radiator slats, to cool the temperature of the water (most of our cars should be water or air cooled or both).

Therefore, if the car is not moving, there is a likeliness that the engine will heat more than normal - possibly causing overheating and therefore, potential damage. This could be directly related to a lesser supply of air to cool the water, which is driven around the engine for cooling. We do have a cooling fan. But, it is not sufficient to cool the engine for a sustained period of non-motion.

Vik AD

Your radiator also has fans infront of it which are triggerd by a temperature switch. The fans will only be ineffective if you are revving the engine... say 4K rpms without moving. 99% of cars are designed not to ever overheat at idle, ever.

Now... as far as how long you should let it idle to warm it up.. in the BMW owners manual i believe it says "Dont".

This is ofcoarse weather dependent... if it's -10°F outside... I'd say you should let it idle for about 2 minutes to get the oil warmed up. IF it's a 70°F day out... you should be able to drop it in gear as soon as you start it.

 

[James330I]

hehe, he's married with child i believe...

jon, you crazy??

def. no kids right now. The cars are my baby, and they get every bit of my monetary income

jon...the GSR is 4 sale at $12,000. hey, if you know someone, finder's fee in it for ya!!!

 

[James330I]

if you are in college or beyond... i'm sure you can find something better to do

This is tennessee bro. My last job was in the middle of nowhere. Unless i go cow-tipping, there's nothing!!!

Actually, i need it for when i'm waiting for my friends at places. Being filipino, those guys are ALWAYS LATE!!!!!