wanna save money on gas?

[acroyear]

Stop using your car air conditioner when its nice outside.  ESPECIALLY this coming weekend.

(and this coming from a total a/c snob)

Comments

[queenmaggie.livejournal.com]

Unless you are on the highway: open windows there add extra drag to the car, and increase the gas consumption. Though, considering the temperatures predicted, just letting the air flow through the fan with no ac should do the trick...
never mind.

[nachoha.livejournal.com]

Yep, they tested it on Mythbusters, the vehicle with the AC off and windows down got about 15% better milege

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

According to the straight dope, the difference between AC and windows may be negligible, but seems dependent on type of car and driving conditions. More specifically, if you have an aerodynamic car with large engine, you'll probably notice less consumption by the AC. A boxy car with small engine may notice a huge loss of MPG due to AC.

Of course, you could leave the AC off and the windows up, and cool off with a slurpee instead!

[wilhelmina-d.livejournal.com]

I love the mythbusters. *swoons* Blowing things up and smart to boot. What more could a girl want?

guess what

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

I have a CRV, practically the definition of "boxy car with small engine" (relative to its size).

i know what my mpg is when i use the a/c (300 miles / 13.5 gallons and its fill-up time), so this week i see how many more miles i get before i have to fill it. (granted, this week's not a completely variable-free test given that i already had 70 miles into this tank before i made the decision).

[mshelby.livejournal.com]

starting monday, i've been making a conscious effort to shift gears early (in other words, accelerate slowly) and drive at or below the speed limit, and i've seen immediate improvement. i usually have to fill up once a week, but it's friday and i still have half a tank left. plus, this lowered my stress level during the morning commute...

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

another minor (but potentially significant) thing to try:

If you drive a manual trans, drop to neutral for as long as possible before reaching a stop light or stop sign and coast to the stop (you have to stop anyway, so why use gas getting there).

Also, if you are approaching a red light, but believe it will turn green before you get there, slow down significantly and hopefully the light will turn green when you are at 30mph, and you won't waste fuel accelerating from a dead stop. Of course, be ready to stop if you mis-time the light or if others are stopped in front of you! When it works, it also saves a little wear and tear on the brakes.