What controls how much gas is used?

Question

A friend and i are arguing... everyone is against him.. i'm trying to prove him wrong, but if i happen to be wrong, then so be it..

His view: he thinks that if he drives under 3000rpm then he'll save more gas... he says that the rpm is purely what controlls how much gas is consumed..

my view: i say that the rpms matter, but not as much as what he says.. the gas pedal is what controls the gas consumption.. for ex. if you slam the pedal to the floor, but stay under 3000rpms, you'll still waste more gas than just going over 3000rpm normally.. i say that the rpms matter, but it's also how you drive/shift... like.. it more depends on how you drive then to concentrate on the rpms.

remember, this is not about the mph, it's about the rpm...

Answer 1

ok, youre both kinda right. if you slam down on the pedal, yes, for that instant up until you reach 3000 you'll use more gas...but honestly, how long does it take before you hit 3000? so in a way, youre right, if you slam the pedal, it uses more gas simply because theres a larger demand for fuel/air mixture, but once you reach 3000 (which would be in a matter of seconds) thats that.

rpms are, for the most part, what determine fuel consumption. youre friend is right, id say, as long as you take into consideration gear ratios of axle, transmission, so forth. its more than just one thing to consider when you talk about this subject.

Answer 2

the number of rpms does have a great deal to do with gas consumption, however more importantly the gear your car is currently in matters as well... for example on a standard vehicle, higher gears mean less power is being used therefore saving gas... and about keeping your rpms at 3000, if you keep them at that amount it may cause the vehicle to remain in a particular gear longer than neccassary causing a decrease in fuel economy. About slamming the pedal doing this causes the car to down shift to a "more powerful gear" which as i said earlier will lower gas mileage

Answer 3

If it's spinning at 3000 RPM it's going to eat a lot of gas period.It's true the less RPM the engine turns the better gas mileage it's going to get. You can run outrageous ring and pinion ratios and still get good gas mileage. That's what overdrive is for.Yes having a lead foot uses more gas but in the long run if your turning three grand going down the highway your going to be stopping at a lot of gas stations.

Answer 4

alright, on a carburated vehicle the gas pedal had a little more input on the use of fuel, but they stopped using those back in the late 70s and early 80s. fuel injection uses a variety of sensors to measure the volume, density and the temperature to calculate how much fuel to deliver. after engine is done with the air/fuel charge, it measures the amount of oxygen left in the mix and adjusts the injector duration accordingly. we could go on for quite a while about this, just check out (howstuffworks.com) fuel injection has been around for quite some time, i believe the 57 Chevy bel air had it. ( i have seen the wiring diagrams for it, and it is very similar to some of the systems that we see in use now.

Answer 5

I know that the gas pedal has a major role in it. There have been studies of which its been proven that going 30 mph consumes more gas than going 55mph. So in my eyes you're right.

Answer 6

you will save more gas by gradually excellerating upto the 3000 rpm you are talking about instead of using the lead foot method. also save gas by drifting to a stop and having to apply as minimal amount of braking as possible.

Answer 7

Someone told me the best Mileage you get out of a car is between 40MPH to 65 MPH... under or over will be wasting the gas.