Which storage media can best endure hot automobile interior?

toronado455 · Post by **toronado455** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:59 pm

Which storage media can best endure the interior of a hot automobile in the summer? Flash media (flash memory card, USB flash drive, portable SSD) or a portable hard drive (conventional mechanical hard drive)?

I've had SD cards in my car GPS all summer without any problem, and I figure a USB flash drive would hold up about the same, but I don't really know what they are designed to take. Also there are portable SSD drives now, but that is just flash memory packaged a bit differently, right?

Also is there any difference (as far as for this purpose) between SD and CF cards? I know some automakers (such as Infinity) only have CF card slots in the factory nav units so maybe CF cards are more robust?

I've heard that when automakers put hard drives in cars as factory equipment (such as Chrysler's MyGig systems), they use special hard drives that are designed to take the heat and vibrations of a car environment. So I'm inclined to think a regular portable hard drive is not going to be a good idea. OTOH, people leave laptops in cars all the time and those usually have conventional 2.5" laptop drives in them, so I don't really know.

Eunos · Post by **Eunos** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 2:45 am

An Intel X-25M has an operating temp of 0-70Â°C.
A WD Scorpio Blue in comparison is 0-60Â°C.
A Kingston Datatraveller 200 is also 0Â°C to 60Â°C (it's storage temp as an example is -20Â°C to 85Â°C which is hotter than an automobile interior should ever get)

Not much in it from the looks of things, though I would lean towards flash for the lack of heat produced by the device itself, which would no doubt contribute towards limiting its operating temp.

washu · Post by **washu** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:34 am

I've had several different types of flash (USB, CF & SD) of various brands used in my car for a few years now and never had a problem even on the hottest days. They also survived temps well below 0Â°C.

I tried a USB HD but my stereo could not index it in a reasonable time so I never kept it in the car.

seoulman · Post by **seoulman** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:55 am

Obviously, flash-based storage can stand relatively more heat and vibration than disk-based storage. SD cards can stand severe punishment even. But flash storage is expensive and small.

Personally, I would simply use a 2.5" 5.400 rpm standard laptop drive. I think any laptop drive can stand the heat and vibrations of a car environment.

However, the harddisk industri has drives for all our needs

If you want the peace of mind a "tougher" drive may give you, I would suggest this Seagate series (up to 85C, more shock proof):
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/produc ... 25_series/

toronado455 · Post by **toronado455** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 1:27 am

Thanks. I guess the flash-based media makes the most sense.

speedboxx · Post by **speedboxx** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 7:21 am

Winter will be a problem too. Below 0C the fluid bearings on any hard drive will start getting viscous and your drive will have problems spinning up. There are automotive grade drives however, that can withstand from -40C to +70C operational temperatures. Like the Seagate EE25, Hitachi Endurastar, and even Toshiba has a line of automotive grade drives as well.

toronado455 · Post by **toronado455** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:06 pm

speedboxx wrote:Winter will be a problem too. Below 0C the fluid bearings on any hard drive will start getting viscous and your drive will have problems spinning up. There are automotive grade drives however, that can withstand from -40C to +70C operational temperatures. Like the Seagate EE25, Hitachi Endurastar, and even Toshiba has a line of automotive grade drives as well.

Winter in SoCal isn't as much a problem as summer, but yeah.

Those automotive grade HDDs are really nice, but overkill for what I need.

SDHC will probably do the trick.