So I am reading the owner's manual for my new 2019 Stingray. I see in the DIC Info Pages a display that shows Engine Hours/LIfetime Revs. I can understand why it would be useful to see the total number of hours the engine has run. However, of what possible use is knowing the total engine revolutions divided by 10,000?? I have taken a lot of auto tech courses over the years and done a lot of work on my own cars. The subject of total engine revolutions has never come up before in my experience. Anybody know why I would want to know this information??

 

The rev number itself doesn't tell you much... however calculating revs over hours gives you rough idea of the average RPM. Then you would know if the engine spent most of its time at low RPMs cruising or was it constantly at high RPMs on the track.

 

I think both are provided primarily because they can and it amuses the enthusiast.

 

 

Just as a follow up here is the math required:

Currently my C7 reports 775.7 hours and 6086 revs at 23,852 miles.

6086 revs x 10,000 = 60,860,000 / 775.7 hours = 78,458 / 60 minutes per hour = 1,307 revs per minute

This number seems crazy low but once you calculate your average speed it starts making sense. Using the numbers above my average speed is only 30.75 MPH. This is due to idle time just sitting at traffic lights going no where while several minutes tick by. For example after a track day (and a quick fuel stop) the computer reported an average speed of 43 MPH However my lap times on course indicated an average of 80 MPH with a top speed of 128. Course was 2.2 miles and is covered in about 1:42. Thus going 0 MPH for just a few minutes (pit lane, garage, line at gas station, etc) really skews the numbers downward, basically cutting average speed in half.

If my teachers in school had used these kind of math problems I might have paid more attention

 

Thanks for the answers so far. If average RPM is the useful information in all of this, then it seems that GM would do that calculation for you an provide it in the DIC instead of the raw data..

 

this data seems skewed. What if, for example you launched the car at a drag strip 100 times, and then left it in idle for 5 hours? that would show light use.

It makes more sense in my opinion to take the ratio of (revs x 10000) over the miles driven.

 

I read (on the Internet, so it must be true!) that displaying the lifetime revs was a nod to the original Corvette which had an analog counter.

 

It can be also used as a measure of how hard the used Vette you are looking at has been used.

Has it been babied? Has it been primarily a track vehicle?

Obviously, you have to take overall milage into consideration , but those factors consider into whether this has been a track vehicle or a Sunday Pasadena grandma car, or somewhere along the scale.

 

Not to mention, Chevrolet gets an update everytime you back out of the garage all of that data is fed to GM.
This helps them track performance and "build the longer lasting light bulb..." Hopefully some positive innovations comes from all of the data GM accumulates from us.

 

Do we know this is true?

If so, what data is transmitted?

 

That does make more sense. Plugging in those numbers gives me 2,551 revs per mile which seems more realistic. Since I just started tracking the car it will only go up. However add in a long road trip with speady high gear cruising and the number drops back down. Guess it’s more for curiosity and entertainment then fact gathering.

 

Google is your friend.
It is amazing to me how many people are just oblivious that so much data is collected about us everyday with everything we do.

https://www.gm.com/privacy-statement.html

We also receive information about you through vehicle sales records provided by your dealer and we may obtain, with your consent, data obtained from your vehicle’s Event Data Recorder (“EDR”) as described in your owner’s manual (i.e., how various systems in your vehicle operate, the speed and distance of your vehicle). For additional information about EDR data, please see your owner’s manual. We also may obtain information about you and your vehicle from GM affiliates, dealers, GM licensees for consumer merchandise, GM partners (for example, credit card bank partners) and other sources such as companies that provide lists of potential vehicle purchasers and current owners, if such companies are permitted to share your information with us pursuant to their privacy statements. We may combine information that we receive from the various sources described in this Privacy Statement, including third-party sources, with information you provide and use or share it for the purposes identified below.

The types of information that GM collects about you may include, but are not limited to:

1. contact information (such as name, address, city, state and ZIP code, email address and telephone number)
2. payment information (such as your credit card number, CVV code and expiration date)
3. information about your vehicle (such as license plate number, vehicle identification number (VIN), make, model, model year, selling dealer, servicing dealer, date of purchase or lease, the lease/financing term, service history, mileage, oil/battery status, fuel or charging history, electrical system function, gear status, and diagnostic trouble codes)
4. information about your connected devices (such as mobile phone, computer, or tablet) and how you interact with our products, services, apps and websites (such as IP address, browser type, unique device identifier, cookie data, and associated identifying and usage information
5. demographic information (such as gender, date of birth, marital status and household composition)
6. marketing profile information (such as when you plan to purchase or lease; the vehicle in which you're interested)
7. photographs and videos such as those that you may submit for contests, sweepstakes and social sharing
8. relationships you have with GM in addition to the purchase and servicing of your vehicle (such as through a GM Rewards Card, OnStar or Maven etc.)
9. incentive eligibility verification information (such as college name, branch of service or credit union name for vehicle purchase programs)
10. Social Security Number (in limited circumstances GM may collect SSN, for example if you win a sweepstakes or receive compensation that must be reported for government tax purposes)
11. investor information (name, address, phone number and email address)
12. stockholder services information (such as account information)

Use
The information GM collects about you and your vehicle may be used:

1. to provide products and services and maintain customer relationships
2. to improve the quality, safety, and security of our products and services
3. to administer your account(s) and process your payments for products and services
4. to operate our websites and applications, including online registration processes
5. to facilitate and support GM dealer and supplier diversity programs and GM grant programs
6. to autofill data fields on our websites to improve your online experience
7. to develop new products and services, including connected, autonomous and car-sharing products and services
8. to provide customer and vehicle support and service (such as recall information)
9. for warranty administration and validation
10. to provide information and product updates
11. to evaluate vehicle performance and safety as described in the vehicle owner manual
12. for research, evaluation of use, and troubleshooting purposes
13. to verify eligibility for vehicle purchase or incentive programs
14. for marketing and analytics purposes
15. to support the electronic signature and delivery process between you and your dealer
16. to customize and improve communication content
17. to comply with legal, regulatory or contractual requirements

Communications with you in connection with these uses may be via mail, telephone, e-mail, text message, social media and other electronic messages, through the in-vehicle OnStar system or via our websites and applications. GM may send you text messages using an automated telephone dialing system to the mobile phone number you have provided if you have opted into receive text messages. Opting into receive text messages is not a requirement to buy products or services from GM, and message and data rates may apply. See “Choices” below to learn how to manage your communication preferences.

You may choose to forward information from one of our websites or emails to another person through our Forward to a Friend program. Email addresses submitted to our E-card or other Forward to a Friend programs will not be captured for later use in marketing unless the recipient opts into receiving additional marketing materials from GM.

Sharing
GM may share the information it collects about you or your vehicle in the following instances:

1. within GM, with our GM controlled subsidiaries and affiliates, with GM dealers and with GM licensees; however, transaction information regarding your GM Card will not be shared with GM dealers.
2. with our services providers who work on our behalf and who do not have an independent right to use the information to which they have access or that we disclose to them
3. with our business partners for GM marketing activities, business partner marketing activities or both
4. with third parties for research and development purposes (such as university research institutes for improving highway safety)
5. in connection with the sale, transfer or financing of a significant part of a GM business or its assets, including any such activities associated with a bankruptcy proceeding
6. when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud or respond to a law enforcement request
7. as required by law, such as in conjunction with a subpoena, government inquiry, litigation, dispute resolution or similar legal process

Apart from the purposes listed above, GM will not share information about you or your vehicle with other third parties for their independent use without your prior consent..

 

We all now GM collects data on all of us, such as demographics, purchase history, payment information, dealer visits, etc. What I question is your assertion:

The privacy statement does not support your claim. The only reference to collecting vehicle data is to the Event Data Recorder: "we may obtain, with your consent, data obtained from your vehicle’s Event Data Recorder (“EDR”)"

Notice the language, "with your consent."

Additionally, the owner's manual states:

"The EDR is designed to record data related to vehicle dynamics and safety systems for a short period of time, typically 30 seconds or less."
...

"EDR data are recorded by your vehicle only if a non-trivial crash situation occurs; no data are recorded by the EDR under normal driving conditions and no personal data (e.g., name, gender, age, and crash location) are recorded.
...

"To read data recorded by an EDR, special equipment is required, and access to the vehicle or the EDR is needed."

 

There you go. Same as the horsepower pocket gauge.

 

You consented when you bought the car.

It is not rocket science at this point. If they can send your tire preasure to your cell phone from the interwebs while you are sitting at work, they can get all of the other data out of your car which they might want.
You are just fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

 

I appreciate the cynicism, but one does not consent by buying the car. The information stored in the Event Data Recorder is available only with your express consent or court order. Moreover, even if this were not the case, the EDR only stores 30 seconds of data in a rolling loop, not extended driving habits.

Every state has data privacy laws which prohibit the collection of such data. Companies are routinely sued as well as fined, including now by the SEC, for mishandling personal data.

Again, if you have something which establishes "Chevrolet gets an update everytime you back out of the garage all of that data is fed to GM." please provide it. GM's privacy statement which you quoted states the opposite.

 

I'm curious now..... This is my 2015 as of today.


112710000÷56221
= 2004.7 avg rpms

According to the discussion above, (privacy laws not withstanding &#128521 this would seem normal and relatively benign, right? Or am i missing something nasty and painful?

Like this.....
112710000÷41184 (684.4 hrs x 60)
= 2736.7 avg rpms

(Yes I just bought it recently and was oblivious to this data previously, now im curious about what it does or does not tell me about the previous owner's driving habits)

 

More pointless data and simply the target of another button-push, imho.

 

There is a difference between the EDR and OnStar. The EDR only records when there is an airbag deployment or something else unusual.
OnStar, OTOH, can send all sorts of data to GM. My dealer had activated everything, so one day I checked with OnStar and discovered that I had 87 instances of excessive acceleration, 45 excessive braking, etc. And that was only from a couple of weeks of local driving, like an old man.
Immediately I contacted OnStar and instructed them to stop collecting and storing any information. The said they would comply. Then I asked to have all previous data deleted, the guy said he couldn't do that. I told him that somebody could do it, and I wanted to talk to that person. After a while I got a supervisor who said he could and would delete everything.
Whether that actually happened, I don't know. But considering the bad publicity and possible legal issues, I kinda think they did what they said.