Fuel Economy Rumors

[nobodywise]

Windows up = Better MPG
(Due to less drag)

I love the back of my car, the front... not so much

[rningonfumes]

Evidence?

[nobodywise]

More of a question tbh and it's a thread for people to add what they have heard and to elaborate on them

I love the back of my car, the front... not so much

[rningonfumes]

Got it.

[roxy1]

my experience has been that up to 60-62 mph my mpg is better with windows down/ac off. above that window up/ac on the over as the more efficient method.

[why?]

AC always should be off. If you can anyways. The drag the windows cause is negligible at any speed that is legal to drive.

[nookandcrannycar]

AC always should be off. If you can anyways.

:laugh:...Here that is a BIG if. I read somewhere (can't remember if it was here or not) that the the A/C being on all the time only makes a 1 MPG difference.

[roxy1]

:laugh:...Here that is a BIG if. I read somewhere (can't remember if it was here or not) that the the A/C being on all the time only makes a 1 MPG difference.

its not much. I usually lose around 1-2 mpg's on a tank if its a hot week and ac was on full time.

however, if I am on a longer trip of mostly interstate (65+mph) and the windows are down I will lose 2-3 mpg's.

a bigger issue to me is that at highway speed and drivers window down, the noise level is just way to high for my liking. this has nothing to do with the car itself. drivers window down is just very noisy no matter what car I am in.

check this out:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/environ/hearing_loss-perte_audition-eng.php

It's been found that a variety of everyday activities can cause exposure to sound levels above 85 dBA. A few examples are:
•listening to music through headphones or earbuds
•attending a rock music concert
•mowing the lawn
•using a table saw
•driving a car on the highway with the windows open

at the decibel levels of an open window at highway speeds, hearing loss is a real possibility over time. its just so gradual and cumulative that people wont readily notice it. it will just be one of many factors leading to poorer hearing later in life.

[nookandcrannycar]

its not much. I usually lose around 1-2 mpg's on a tank if its a hot week and ac was on full time.

however, if I am on a longer trip of mostly interstate (65+mph) and the windows are down I will lose 2-3 mpg's.

a bigger issue to me is that at highway speed and drivers window down, the noise level is just way to high for my liking. this has nothing to do with the car itself. drivers window down is just very noisy no matter what car I am in.

check this out:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/environ/hearing_loss-perte_audition-eng.php

It's been found that a variety of everyday activities can cause exposure to sound levels above 85 dBA. A few examples are:
•listening to music through headphones or earbuds
•attending a rock music concert
•mowing the lawn
•using a table saw
•driving a car on the highway with the windows open

at the decibel levels of an open window at highway speeds, hearing loss is a real possibility over time. its just so gradual and cumulative that people wont readily notice it. it will just be one of many factors leading to poorer hearing later in life.

I almost never drive with my windows down...but some of the other things included in your link...:eek:. Not in either of my 'Vitzes', but in quite a few other cars I have had high quality (but also capable of a very high SPL readings) stereo systems in them. I wonder if I will be nearly deaf when I am old :eek:. My uncle (my mother's sister's husband) is a retired dentist. He has a great sense of humor about it, but he has huge ears and (despite very expensive hearing aids) has trouble hearing. I wonder if many years of hearing that drill damaged his hearing ?

[nobodywise]

Anymore rumors?

I love the back of my car, the front... not so much

[why?]

I almost never drive with my windows down...but some of the other things included in your link...:eek:. Not in either of my 'Vitzes', but in quite a few other cars I have had high quality (but also capable of a very high SPL readings) stereo systems in them. I wonder if I will be nearly deaf when I am old :eek:. My uncle (my mother's sister's husband) is a retired dentist. He has a great sense of humor about it, but he has huge ears and (despite very expensive hearing aids) has trouble hearing. I wonder if many years of hearing that drill damaged his hearing ?

any audio enthusiast is pretty much screwed. A few older musicians have been honest and mentioned hearing loss from all the headphones and monitors they have used throughout their careers.

[nookandcrannycar]

any audio enthusiast is pretty much screwed. A few older musicians have been honest and mentioned hearing loss from all the headphones and monitors they have used throughout their careers.

:eek:

I guess I should be thankful that that desire is LONG gone. I had one JL Audio 300/4 in my 'just before Yaris' Swift (way, way way toned down from previous cars) and that was enough. I'll probably put that amp in my 2014 Yaris...if it is still okay when I pull it out of storage. On both the car side and the home side, it can become an addiction of a certain type....forever chasing a zenith that you can tell yourself you haven't yet reached. I hope my hearing stays great for a long time. If the point where my grandfather's hearing started to falter is any indication, I have another 30 years. However, he wasn't an audiophile/audio enthusiast....and was young way before Rock music ever existed :biggrin:.

[Kar98]

AC always should be off. If you can anyways. The drag the windows cause is negligible at any speed that is legal to drive.

You got it just the wrong way around. Of course if the maximum speed limit in in the Soviet People's Republic of Cape Codistan is 55 mph, same as the highest temps, you'd be right for your location.

Even before there WAS A/C owner's manuals recommended to use the wing vents and the fans for cooling rather than the windows because of decreased fuel economy.

[Kar98]

My uncle (my mother's sister's husband) is a retired dentist. He has a great sense of humor about it, but he has huge ears and (despite very expensive hearing aids) has trouble hearing. I wonder if many years of hearing that drill damaged his hearing ?

My mother's uncle (her mother's brother) was an artillery man in WW2. Guy was stone deaf. Had to have a phone that flashed strobes to get his attention, and an inductive loop around the couch to get the sound from the phone and the TV into his hearing aid.

[nookandcrannycar]

My mother's uncle (her mother's brother) was an artillery man in WW2. Guy was stone deaf. Had to have a phone that flashed strobes to get his attention, and an inductive loop around the couch to get the sound from the phone and the TV into his hearing aid.

My uncle (born before any of the other people in my parent's generation on either side of the family) would have loved to have been your mother's uncle. My uncle felt he didn't do enough because he wasn't in the war like many of his friends. My uncle finished his A.S, B.S, M.S, and D.D.S in 5 1/2 calendar years (he was paranoid that the Navy was going to stop paying for his education, so he insisted on being awarded each degree separately...he was the last person to do this, as the University of California enacted a policy change right after this), and got his license toward the end of 1947, at the age of 23. With the war over, he spent three years filling teeth for the Navy on Coronado Island in San Diego, and then almost 30 years as a USNR officer...however many weekends plus 2 weeks a year, IIRC. Still...a void because he didn't serve in or during the war. My aunt has always said to him - "You did what the Navy asked you to do"....Sometimes that helps :smile:.
Not called 'The Greatest Generation' without reason. My uncle and my grandfather are two of the most patriotic people I've ever known in my life. If there were more people around with their spirit, this country would be a lot better off. The spirit of patriotism is one of the things I like most about Texas :thumbsup:...shining even brighter, given that the former Republic of Texas joined via treaty.

[nookandcrannycar]

Of course if the maximum speed limit in in the Soviet People's Republic of Cape Codistan is 55 mph

:bellyroll::bellyroll::bellyroll::bellyroll:

I wouldn't be surprised if Why? agreed with this sentiment :thumbsup:. He thinks that the world would be better off if 90% of the people in the U.S. Northeast ceased to exiist :biggrin:.

[roxy1]

He thinks that the world would be better off if 90% of the people in the U.S. Northeast ceased to exiist :biggrin:.

having lived in Connecticut for a year, im thinking that 90% is a bit low.

[nookandcrannycar]

having lived in Connecticut for a year, im thinking that 90% is a bit low.

:bellyroll::bellyroll::bellyroll::bellyroll:...... got to leave room for most Yarisworld members in the Northeast and their friends and families.

[why?]

:eek:

I guess I should be thankful that that desire is LONG gone. I had one JL Audio 300/4 in my 'just before Yaris' Swift (way, way way toned down from previous cars) and that was enough. I'll probably put that amp in my 2014 Yaris...if it is still okay when I pull it out of storage. On both the car side and the home side, it can become an addiction of a certain type....forever chasing a zenith that you can tell yourself you haven't yet reached. I hope my hearing stays great for a long time. If the point where my grandfather's hearing started to falter is any indication, I have another 30 years. However, he wasn't an audiophile/audio enthusiast....and was young way before Rock music ever existed :biggrin:.

And it is really expensive. I have a simple upgraded head unit and stock speakers, and what I play sounds great since it is a lossless format burned straight from the cd. Sound quality you can't get any other way.

You got it just the wrong way around. Of course if the maximum speed limit in in the Soviet People's Republic of Cape Codistan is 55 mph, same as the highest temps, you'd be right for your location.

Even before there WAS A/C owner's manuals recommended to use the wing vents and the fans for cooling rather than the windows because of decreased fuel economy.

The highway is 55, but usually I never go near it, since I am on the other side of the cape from it. I will try and see if that makes a difference on the roads I do travel.

:bellyroll::bellyroll::bellyroll::bellyroll:

I wouldn't be surprised if Why? agreed with this sentiment :thumbsup:. He thinks that the world would be better off if 90% of the people in the U.S. Northeast ceased to exiist :biggrin:.

Not just the northeast, but the planet. The Georgia Guidestones (http://www.thegeorgiaguidestones.com/Message.htm) are right, the world would be better off with less people, as long as I get to hand pick those who are allowed to stay. If not, then we should really stop being so damn lazy and colonize the moon, mars, and build a massive array of space stations in our solar system. We've totally slacked off in that area and it is really depressing. We could easily fit the entire world's population onto self sustaining space stations if we actually tried.

[nookandcrannycar]

Not just the northeast, but the planet. The Georgia Guidestones (http://www.thegeorgiaguidestones.com/Message.htm) are right, the world would be better off with less people, as long as I get to hand pick those who are allowed to stay. If not, then we should really stop being so damn lazy and colonize the moon, mars, and build a massive array of space stations in our solar system. We've totally slacked off in that area and it is really depressing. We could easily fit the entire world's population onto self sustaining space stations if we actually tried.

:laugh::laugh::laugh: :drinking: Hear, hear, Judge why? :laugh::laugh::laugh:

As you know, many people feel there are roadblocks (to say the least)...............http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/obamas-muslim-self-esteem-nasa-in-complete-disarray/

[why?]

:laugh::laugh::laugh: :drinking: Hear, hear, Judge why? :laugh::laugh::laugh:

As you know, many people feel there are roadblocks (to say the least)...............http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/obamas-muslim-self-esteem-nasa-in-complete-disarray/

That is on purpose though. Nasa as it use to be stopped existing a while ago, and the entire space agency is completely black. They chose to view it as a military project, so even though they are spending literally countless amounts of our money exploring space they think we should not know what they are doing.

Makes all those theories about the Apollo missions discovering massive ruins on the moon a little believable.

[nobodywise]

I also heard that fueling the car at night gets you more gas? I guess due to evaporation?

I love the back of my car, the front... not so much

[why?]

I also heard that fueling the car at night gets you more gas? I guess due to evaporation?

I love the back of my car, the front... not so much

It is a bad rumor made by people who do not know gas is stored underground and is always very close to 55 degrees no matter what the outside temp is.

[nobodywise]

It is a bad rumor made by people who do not know gas is stored underground and is always very close to 55 degrees no matter what the outside temp is.
I've been living a lie all these years lol

I love the back of my car, the front... not so much

[Ben_]

It is interesting though that some pumps will say that they measure volume not energy content, which can change with temperature of the fuel (density)

[why?]

It is interesting though that some pumps will say that they measure volume not energy content, which can change with temperature of the fuel (density)

Except that the temp of the fuel will always be the same. Ambient temp has zero effect on the temp of the fuel when you pump it, because it is stored far enough beneath the ground that the ambient temp will not matter.

All pumps measure volume. You cannot measure energy content outside of a lab.

[nookandcrannycar]

Ambient temp has zero effect on the temp of the fuel when you pump it, because it is stored far enough beneath the ground

:thumbsup: I can see the need for 'deep enough' just from a personal experience re another liquid (water). During the hottest temperatures of any summer here, the cold water in my house isn't exactly what I would call cold. Same for my next door neighbor. He's retired from the construction industry, and he says it is because the builder didn't bury the pipes deep enough :rolleyes:.

[wufai]

the Mythbusters show did a study on this exact topic, The results showed that (at least for their particular test car, not a Yaris) that it depends on the speed you are driving at, at highway speeds it is acturally better to turn on AC then opening the windows as the drag does affect gas milage, while in local traffic opening the windows gives better gas milage.

[why?]

the Mythbusters show did a study on this exact topic, The results showed that (at least for their particular test car, not a Yaris) that it depends on the speed you are driving at, at highway speeds it is acturally better to turn on AC then opening the windows as the drag does affect gas milage, while in local traffic opening the windows gives better gas milage.

except i guarantee they were using a truck or something totally non economical.

[Jcp123]

Windows open do contribute to drag...you're breaking the smoother wid line and instead forcing it into a dead end in the car. Lower speeds? No big deal. Higher speeds it starts to suck more and more. And ac is always a huge killer on these little engines. It sucks about 5mpg or so, consistently, on the highway, and more like 8-10mpg in town. Bleagh.

[why?]

Windows open do contribute to drag...you're breaking the smoother wid line and instead forcing it into a dead end in the car. Lower speeds? No big deal. Higher speeds it starts to suck more and more. And ac is always a huge killer on these little engines. It sucks about 5mpg or so, consistently, on the highway, and more like 8-10mpg in town. Bleagh.

Those numbers you are throwing out are all a decade or more out of date, and 100% dependent on vehicle type.

Your point is somewhat correct on the open windows, but not on the ac. We are in the era of more and more electronics and manufacturers are doing everything they can to get better gas mileage numbers, including electric ac, which does not hurt gas mileage as much or at all depending on the car.

[Jcp123]

I suppose that's true. I am using numbers observed from my Echo, rather elderly now I suppose. I barely use ac. Larger vehicles are of course less affected by ac use, as the power needed to drive the compressor is proportionately much less.