If lifehacker site loads at all, it loads looking like a 90s page with a bunch of links left justified and no content. It also takes quite a while to load this very pared down page. I'm going to stop trying to get into lifehacker.com in frustration pretty soon. Any ideas about whats wrong and how to fix it?


Question: Is Start & Stop technology good or bad for my car? (Alfa MiTO)
Answer: Potential savings from reduced idling should greatly outweigh any increased wear and tear on starting and charging systems. I answered similar question about idling before (Is idling bad for your engine?). To summarise the negative effects of idling:


Fuel combustion is incomplete, which leads to contamination of combustion chamber (glazing), spark plugs (wich reduces their effectiveness), exhaust system (including catalytic converter).
Motor does not operate at optimal temperature, which leads to excessive condensation of water vapour in exhaust system, which leads to its corrosion (ergo premature replacement), and increased emissions.


At the same time cost of wear and tear is low (American governmental agencies routinely cite $10 added per year). Roughly, it means if one would expect to replace the starter at 10–12 years normally, now one would do it at 8–10 (I pulled these numbers out of me arse, but they seem reasonable).

To quantify fuel savings we need to consider savings from reduced idling, and savings from avoided performance losses. Research paper from Vanderbilt University (Amanda R. Carrico et al, “Costly myths: An analysis of idling beliefs and behavior in personal motor vehicles.”) based on the survey of 1300 U.S. residents estimates that on average Americans spend about 16 minutes a day idling (4 minutes warming, 4 minutes waiting, 8 minutes in traffic). Possibly, in more compact European or South African municipalities these numbers could be lower.

Let us say we cut American number by about 60% and save around 6 minutes a day. 2.0L 4-cylinder petrol engine burns around 1 litre per hour idling. 6 × 365 / 60 = 36.5 hours/year, or 36.5 litres/year.

Reduced efficiency can cost even more. If a car is driven 1500 km (930 miles) a month or 18000 km (11100 miles) a year, and consumes on average 9L/100 km (2.0L compact), 5% reduction in efficiency leads to 0.05 (18000 / 100 × 9) = 81 litres per year extra.

So average Golf-class 2.0L 4-cylinder compact can consume extra ~120 litres (31 U.S. gallons) every year due to excessive idling. Multiply that by the price of petrol, and see potential savings on the fuel alone.