Engine Hour Meters.

[Ace of Pop]

Boat Engines have them so do Planes.Why not Cars.?. For example a Vehicle run in BKK Traffic has done more hours and shows Less Klics compared to a Hi Way used one. Yet service intervals are distance / monthly based. Just a Thought..............

[Spoonman]

Ford Ranger 15,000km or 9 months which ever comes first...... not sure why an hour meter would be required unless one cannot read a calendar.

[Ace of Pop]

Ford Ranger 15,000km or 9 months which ever comes first...... not sure why an hour meter would be required unless one cannot read a calendar.

Same reason for a Boats Computor /Navi why don't they use a Calendar too.Distance is logged..Engines ware out in stop start traffic ,so the lumps could be well used and never reached 15,000 . You can get a Lo Klic Car but the Motors run" stop start" for ages in Bkk. a Meters tells you more,they dont ware parked up..

[Jitar]

Short answer is most cars are used for a combination of city and highway driving so the variation in average speed is not that great. Servicing schedule built around km / time intervals achieves a similar result and work OK.

Engine hours are useful for equipment if use is not proportional to distance. Boats, earth-moving equipment, farm tractors, gen sets & pumps etc all use engine hours for this reason. Farm tractors even adjust the hours according to engine speed. Some heavy Truck ECUs log Engine hours, PTO hours as well as kms but Kms are normally displayed because that suits most operators. Engine hours is good for concrete pump, crane trucks etc.

Wonder if Car ECUs log hours? Probably would not matter as most car tents in LOS are barely interested in kms.

[VocalNeal]

Another why don't they? Why are fuel consumption meters not mandatory?

[thailoht]

Good point!

Hour meters for automobile engines, as on gas generators, would record all of the time the engines are 'On' and not just when the vehicle is moving.

In hot, tropical climates, motorists often run their engines and A/C while parked and waiting for shoppers and passengers as well as in start and stop traffic. The same is true in cold climates.

It would be a good idea if someone would like to fill the demand and produce 'Hour Meters' for automobiles so I will sign away my proprietary rights for a (relatively) small fee to the first mfg.

[Ace of Pop]

Another why don't they? Why are fuel consumption meters not mandatory?

They are fitted in most Cars these days.

[Ace of Pop]

Good point!

Hour meters for automobile engines, as on gas generators, would record all of the time the engines are 'On' and not just when the vehicle is moving.

In hot, tropical climates, motorists often run their engines and A/C while parked and waiting for shoppers and passengers as well as in start and stop traffic. The same is true in cold climates.

It would be a good idea if someone would like to fill the demand and produce 'Hour Meters' for automobiles so I will sign away my proprietary rights for a (relatively) small fee to the first mfg.

So a Car driven round Bkk for 2Years shows up at a Car Tent , and Joe Public say Low Clics for the Year. Fools, it only averaged 10Kph over the 24 Months.. .

[Jitar]

Yep a mile around BKK is a tad tougher than the average country mile and not just for the engine.

Conversely, some Thai friends have told me BKK reg cars have better resale than up country cars.

Also the odometer reading does not seem to be all that important in LOS when selling a car.

[Shurup]

Ford Ranger 15,000km or 9 months which ever comes first...... not sure why an hour meter would be required unless one cannot read a calendar.

Calendar time isn't very practical in some cases. I live here but do short frequent trips back to Canada, my truck there is parked for the most of the year therefore. I have an oil change sticker hanging on my windshield and the mileage is what I look at when changing the oil (synthetic). I do not believe the oil has a 9 months shelve life so no difference if it sits in the bottle at the oil change garage or inside the engine.

[Shurup]

AOP, you can get a small hr meter from ebay and hook it up to an engine, pretty simple procedure and they're cheap. If this is what you want of course.

[Spoonman]

Ford Ranger 15,000km or 9 months which ever comes first...... not sure why an hour meter would be required unless one cannot read a calendar.

Calendar time isn't very practical in some cases. I live here but do short frequent trips back to Canada, my truck there is parked for the most of the year therefore. I have an oil change sticker hanging on my windshield and the mileage is what I look at when changing the oil (synthetic). I do not believe the oil has a 9 months shelve life so no difference if it sits in the bottle at the oil change garage or inside the engine.

See thats the rub though, Ford had cancelled my vehicle warranty due to the first service at 15k or 9 months not being performed.

Edited October 21, 2013 by Spoonman

[Gsxrnz]

Show a mechanic the internals from a modern engine that's done 200,000 klms of fast running, and those from an engine that's done the same of city stop/go driving, and he won't be able to tell the difference.

The biggest issue with stop/go driving (as in BKK) is the engine is not operating at it's most efficient temperature, resulting in increased fuel consumption, increased plug fouling, and (subjectively) reduced useful oil life.

Any difference in wear/tear on the engine compared to fast running is more logically related to the overall tuning, maintenance, and oil quality/suitability. However, the boffins that recommend the service intervals have worked all this out and recommend a suitable time frame for oil changes.

Anybody who thinks they need to take precautions to stop their engine wear being excessive while idling should do 3 things. Use the highest spec oil available for higher temperature running, change the oil at 2/3 the recommended interval, fit an oil cooler. None of these is necessary, bit if it makes you feel better.................

As to fitting an hour meter - can be done in a few minutes. You can even get ones that record idling versus driving hours (based on RPM). But let's say that you drive for a month and record 90 driving hours and 12 idling hours.........or 32 idling hours, what does it tell you other than that you're wasting time sitting in your car? And didn't you already know that?

Edited October 21, 2013 by Gsxrnz

[Ace of Pop]

Show a mechanic the internals from a modern engine that's done 200,000 klms of fast running, and those from an engine that's done the same of city stop/go driving, and he won't be able to tell the difference.

The biggest issue with stop/go driving (as in BKK) is the engine is not operating at it's most efficient temperature, resulting in increased fuel consumption, increased plug fouling, and (subjectively) reduced useful oil life.

Any difference in wear/tear on the engine compared to fast running is more logically related to the overall tuning, maintenance, and oil quality/suitability. However, the boffins that recommend the service intervals have worked all this out and recommend a suitable time frame for oil changes.

Anybody who thinks they need to take precautions to stop their engine wear being excessive while idling should do 3 things. Use the highest spec oil available for higher temperature running, change the oil at 2/3 the recommended interval, fit an oil cooler. None of these is necessary, bit if it makes you feel better.................

As to fitting an hour meter - can be done in a few minutes. You can even get ones that record idling versus driving hours (based on RPM). But let's say that you drive for a month and record 90 driving hours and 12 idling hours.........or 32 idling hours, what does it tell you other than that you're wasting time sitting in your car? And didn't you already know that?

Stop n Go wares the transmission faster than Cru zin. I recon oil should be changed on Hrs,then the Fords of this world have no Get Out.

[Jitar]

Show a mechanic the internals from a modern engine that's done 200,000 klms of fast running, and those from an engine that's done the same of city stop/go driving, and he won't be able to tell the difference.

The biggest issue with stop/go driving (as in BKK) is the engine is not operating at it's most efficient temperature, resulting in increased fuel consumption, increased plug fouling, and (subjectively) reduced useful oil life.

Any difference in wear/tear on the engine compared to fast running is more logically related to the overall tuning, maintenance, and oil quality/suitability. However, the boffins that recommend the service intervals have worked all this out and recommend a suitable time frame for oil changes.

Anybody who thinks they need to take precautions to stop their engine wear being excessive while idling should do 3 things. Use the highest spec oil available for higher temperature running, change the oil at 2/3 the recommended interval, fit an oil cooler. None of these is necessary, bit if it makes you feel better.................

As to fitting an hour meter - can be done in a few minutes. You can even get ones that record idling versus driving hours (based on RPM). But let's say that you drive for a month and record 90 driving hours and 12 idling hours.........or 32 idling hours, what does it tell you other than that you're wasting time sitting in your car? And didn't you already know that?

Stop start city driving (in BKK anyway) would be lucky to average 25km/h.

Highway driving could easily average 75 km/h.

You need a new mechanic if they cannot tell the difference between an engine with 8,000 hours of operation and one with 2,700 hours.

[Shurup]

Ford Ranger 15,000km or 9 months which ever comes first...... not sure why an hour meter would be required unless one cannot read a calendar.

Calendar time isn't very practical in some cases. I live here but do short frequent trips back to Canada, my truck there is parked for the most of the year therefore. I have an oil change sticker hanging on my windshield and the mileage is what I look at when changing the oil (synthetic). I do not believe the oil has a 9 months shelve life so no difference if it sits in the bottle at the oil change garage or inside the engine.

See thats the rub though, Ford had cancelled my vehicle warranty due to the first service at 15k or 9 months not being performed.

That's bullocks to cancel the warranty over missed oil change, has it happened here in Thailand or somewhere else?

For me it's not an issue as my truck isn't new anymore. For me it takes 2x the time to get to the recommended oil change interval.

[Ace of Pop]

I like Shurups 9 Month Shelf Life comment, and i dont like Manufactures using the Service intervals as get outs when the Problem has F/A to do with oil change. .E.G.The wiring loom to the Electric Windows burnt out because we didnt change the Air Filter,and fill the Washer Bottle for You. Shisters sum ov em.

[Spoonman]

Ford Ranger 15,000km or 9 months which ever comes first...... not sure why an hour meter would be required unless one cannot read a calendar.

Calendar time isn't very practical in some cases. I live here but do short frequent trips back to Canada, my truck there is parked for the most of the year therefore. I have an oil change sticker hanging on my windshield and the mileage is what I look at when changing the oil (synthetic). I do not believe the oil has a 9 months shelve life so no difference if it sits in the bottle at the oil change garage or inside the engine.

See thats the rub though, Ford had cancelled my vehicle warranty due to the first service at 15k or 9 months not being performed.

That's bullocks to cancel the warranty over missed oil change, has it happened here in Thailand or somewhere else?

For me it's not an issue as my truck isn't new anymore. For me it takes 2x the time to get to the recommended oil change interval.

Thailand.

[MMarlow]

Another why don't they? Why are fuel consumption meters not mandatory?

Because the would be completely pointless?

[Ace of Pop]

Another why don't they? Why are fuel consumption meters not mandatory?

Because the would be completely pointless?

Possibly because when you buy that Wonderful Car from Enery's Blue Oval Mob, it rarely achieves his figures, some get more, some less. Perhaps a Meter recording running hours on, say , 10 Hrs on 10 Gallons @ 2K RPM might tell the truth.

[transam]

I drove cabs for years. Nooooooooooo synthetic oil then, change the mineral stuff ever 3000 miles and the ride will go on and on and on.

[BSJ]

OK, our ex-cabby Transam will back this up. As long as an engine is serviced regularly and is never allowed to cool down it can achieve extremely high mileages in city driving conditions.

Back in the day our family garage had a cab owner bring his cabs in for work. 600,000 kms was pretty common for a reco head....1.1 to 1.3 million kms for a engine replacement.