How Smooth Is Your Idle?

[ScottB]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GoldenRod:
eljefino,

The car used to be as smooth as a Lexus.
The only things I have ever done to it is change air filter, window regulator, cabin air filter, wiper blades, DexCool, and of course oil and filter.

---

Are you saying that the new wiper blades didn't smooth out the engine? Dang.

 

[TomH]

quote:

---

Originally posted by mshu7:
My '05 Mazda3 2.3L 4-banger is as smooth as butta!

---

Ours is as well, in fact, sometimes while sitting at a stoplight, you'd swear it wasn't running at all!

 

[GoldenRod]

ScottB,

HaHaHaHaHa. . . . . . very funny.

 

[Blue_Goose]

Well let me be one of the first to say that my 05 Matrix does not idle smoothly but I've always figured because it is a 1.8L 4 banger that it is normal...feel a buzz through the wheel and the brake at a stop light etc....

Any ideas on how to smooth out an idle? Not like it is choppy or sputtering or anything like that...just a buzz and a tiny bit of shake as noted above


Goose

 

[GoldenRod]

Goose, the way you described yours is exactly the way mine is. What I find shocking about yours though, is the fact of it being a Toyota. I read somewhere on some other forum, that possibly a lazy oxegen sensor can cause this problem.

 

[brianl703]

The only time I've ever heard of an oxygen sensor causing idle problems (and I didn't verify it for myself--I just replaced the sensor which had an open heater circuit) is on a 1997 Honda Del Sol.

On Ford vehicles, oxygen sensor problems NEVER seem to affect the idle.

 

[CBR.worm]

My '05 tundra V8 is pretty smooth, but not as smooth as you would expect from a Japanese V8.

My wifes '00 maxima you can't tell when the engine is running.

My '06 G35 6MT is smooth, but it makes a lot of rattling noise at idle.

 

[Ray H]

60 degree V6s, even with offset crankthrows, will have some vibration at idle. (engine mount design can moderate that to some degree) If I'm not mistaken, GM has at least one V6 engine series equipped with a valley-mounted balanceshaft. I6s with fully balanced and 7 main bearing supported crankshafts have always been among the smoothest engines made - to whit, BMW's legendary "turbine smooth" inline 6-cylinder engines.

 

[GoldenRod]

brianl703,

That's good to know. I'll cross that off my list.

 

[97tbird]

My 97 Tbird's 4.6L (with 112k miles) is very smooth, smoother than cars that have lot less miles on them.
Only rarely can I feel it idling on the steering wheel, and then just a bit only...pretty quiet, too.

 

[dailydriver]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cutehumor:
hate to say it, but its a GM; (uh oh, I can feel the flaming coming from GM owners)

Toyotas I swear I can't even hear the engine when it accelerates let alone idle.

---

That's alright. I'll take my "rough" GM V-8 anyday over anything made by the Nippon giant.

The general can build smooth/quiet engines though, witness the 4.2 I6s (as stated above) and the Northstar series. Personally, I find it more than a little disconcerting to drive "a livingroom on wheels"!

 

[PulMax]

Camry has an idle vibration due to a worn torque strut and a cracked intake hose. Both will be fixed when the parts arrive. Interestingly, the Camry ran about 10x better when I replaced the spark plugs I found in the car (3 NGK platinums and one NipponDenso plug the car had from the factory, never changed due to chunks of rubber buried in the plug holes) with NGK V-power copper plugs, and some new NGK wires. Really improved pickup too. I guess some ancient mis-matched plugs don't do much for a car's running

Van is smooth as butter,usually. The big oil smoke cloud kinda tips people off that the engine isn't tip-top.

Volvo is smooth, barring the occasional jiggle.

Datsun and Pulsar are both a bit shaky. Old Nissan carb motors get that way when they're old, thanks to their jungle of rubber vac hose. Both get smoother as I find new leaks and fix them.

 

[Cutehumor]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Blue_Goose:
Well let me be one of the first to say that my 05 Matrix does not idle smoothly but I've always figured because it is a 1.8L 4 banger that it is normal...feel a buzz through the wheel and the brake at a stop light etc....

Any ideas on how to smooth out an idle? Not like it is choppy or sputtering or anything like that...just a buzz and a tiny bit of shake as noted above

Goose

---

I have a 06 Vibe 1.8L and the idle/accleration is silky smooth, I only have 500 miles on the car though. Maybe a dealer can take a look and see?

 

[Ramblin Fever]

Idle smoothed out incredibly with new NGK spark plugs and timing belt on my '97 Isuzu; can hardly tell it's running, idles at 750rpm's.

Toyota 22RE idles nice, but sounds like Grandma's sewing machine - typical for this engine.

Dodge diesel sounds like, well, a diesel! Idle is as smooth as it can be, but you can hear that thing running a mile away.

 

[GoldenRod]

^ ^ ^ ^ Yeah, mine still has the original spark plugs with 85K on them. They sit all the way back past the firewall. I'm still racking my brain trying to figure out how I'm going to get to them. They're supposed to be changed out at 100K.

 

[Titan]

Drove a camry, corolla, and Mazda 2.3 back to back to back. Mazda 2.3 was MUCH smoother. Could NOT feel the engine while sitting still and reving to 3000 and back to idle. If I weren't watching the tach, I could not tell you the engine was running. Really nice.

 

[C.O. Jones]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GoldenRod:
My Buick with its 3800V6 has a little bit of a "buzz" at idle. Just enough for me to feel through the steering wheel and shake the rearview mirror. This is annoying to me, and I wish I couldn't feel the engine at all.

I know there are some cars out there that you can't feel (or hear for that matter) idle at all. The brand Lexus comes to mind. What about your car or truck, what kind of idle do you have?

---

Sounds like a motor mount to me. If the motor is not smooth, it usually lopes, or missfires erratically. Constant buzz and shake of the rear view is probably not the motor.

 

[brianl703]

quote:

---

Smoothest idling car I've had was probably my '88 Mustang 5.0

---

Mine is not very smooth at idle at all. This despite new motor mounts, timing chain, and fuel injectors.

I think most of the vibration is coming from the cooling fan, though. I once removed the belt, started it up, and it was quite smooth. Maybe I'll put an electric cooling fan in it.

My 1996 Ford Contour 2.5L V6 is very smooth, as is my mom's 2004 Malibu Classic with the 2.2L Ecotec. When it was at the shop getting it's transmission fluid changed, when she picked it up they left it running for her and she didn't realize it was running and tried starting it. Ooops.

 

[Drew]

Not very smooth at all, in fact it kinda idles like a diesel. I can't complain though, got 46mpg on her last tank and she is only a week old.

 

[moribundman]

If I have the radio on I can't tell if the engine is running.The needle gauge registers barely any fluctuations. According to the digital readout idle RPM is between 640 and 680. It's very smooth, but not as smooth as on the Euro-spec A4, which has by default a much higher idle (ca 820 RPM, as far as I know). Turning the steering wheel, rolling up or down a window or turning on the headlights or A/C will of course cause the idle to dip momentarily. On my car, a rough idle is usually caused by a dirty or defective ICV, by a vacuum leak or a bad MAF.