fuck i have windows in my car and i never knew they rolled down!!! i never turn off the a/c.

 

No way, just no way. I feel the change flipping the AC on or off, but never by just rolling the windows up or down. You can't tell me rolling your windows down makes you have to mash the gas down more than turning on the AC does. I have always beaten EPA standards, and leaving the AC off is a big part of the trick.

 

omg! what have i started!?

 

they did it on mythbusters and came to the conclusion that the a/c thing is pretty much a myth.

anything they say goes.

 

iirc someone just posted an article showing that a car got better gas with the windows down. ill see if i can find it.

 

My car gets 32 ( actually calculated ) and I have ALOT more power then all the new crappy little shit box cars coming out with roughly the same mpg. I usually get about 400 miles a tank. thats with a walboro 255 high pressure pump and a really rich idle due to regulator over-run.

 

At highway speeds it isnt very hard to believe.

 

tru because at highway speeds having the windows down creates more drag, thus, being less efficient then if the ac was on.

 

^ yup.

glad you got an increase with your MPG though! Every little bit helps.

 

We Test the Tips

Test #4 A/C On, Windows Up vs. A/C Off, Windows Down

This has got to take you back to the days with the family on vacation. Dad says, "Turn the A/C off! It wastes gas!" And Mom says, "We can't roll the windows down or everyone on the highway will think we can't afford A/C." And you're in the back roasting, hoping someone will win the argument so you can cool off.

Well, family psychology aside, if dads are still saying this, they aren't necessarily right. While the A/C compressor does pull power from the engine wasting some gas, the effect appears to be fairly minimal in modern cars. And putting the windows down tends to increase drag on most cars, canceling out any measurable gain from turning the A/C off. But this one depends on the model you're driving. When we opened the sunroof in our SUV, the mileage did decrease even with the A/C off. Still, in our experience, it's not worth the argument because you won't save a lot of gas either way. So just do what's comfortable.

Method: We drove the full 55 mile-loop in two cars at equal speeds both times — 65 mph. The first loop we drove with the A/C on and the windows up. The second loop we drove with the A/C off and windows down. In the second test we drove 20-mile loops. This was far enough to see our gas mileage level off and remain steady on the computer trip meter.