Botus
Senior Member
I've not read anyone indicate this is a driver of cam chain failure but it clearly will be a significant issue.
A taxi will do mega miles without issue as it is often running at a sensible operating temperature, but another factor will be that fact the engine is often running continuously so the wear and tear on a cam belt or chain is tiny.
Its not just start up that's bad for engines, actually getting a cam ot move is hard work. If you have ever tried to spin a cam (when bolted in place) the shear force required to get it to turn is extreme, once you have it spinning its actually nothing to maintain it.
So any stupid stop start system is putting exceptional demand on the cam drive, hence so many failures.
What made me think of it, was telling a bloke when we were in stop start traffic he's ruining his engine by using it. He was being smug because "it saves him money" I replied it doesn't. A new cam chain, battery, starter motor, exhaust system and engine, is quite pricey vs 3 gallons of petrol over the same period !!!
And the environmental damage producing those parts is also far higher.... each time the thing cuts out ion traffic think 1k miles off the engine's life vs a Taxi driver's expectations !!!
A taxi will do mega miles without issue as it is often running at a sensible operating temperature, but another factor will be that fact the engine is often running continuously so the wear and tear on a cam belt or chain is tiny.
Its not just start up that's bad for engines, actually getting a cam ot move is hard work. If you have ever tried to spin a cam (when bolted in place) the shear force required to get it to turn is extreme, once you have it spinning its actually nothing to maintain it.
So any stupid stop start system is putting exceptional demand on the cam drive, hence so many failures.
What made me think of it, was telling a bloke when we were in stop start traffic he's ruining his engine by using it. He was being smug because "it saves him money" I replied it doesn't. A new cam chain, battery, starter motor, exhaust system and engine, is quite pricey vs 3 gallons of petrol over the same period !!!
And the environmental damage producing those parts is also far higher.... each time the thing cuts out ion traffic think 1k miles off the engine's life vs a Taxi driver's expectations !!!
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