2007-06-14 01:28:46 · 12 answers · asked by howellsitgoin 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Other - Cars & Transportation
In general, studies show, if you can be comfortable with the windows down and the air conditioner off you can save gasoline, but only if your speed is below about 40 miles per hour. Over 40 mph, open windows disturb too much of your air flow and the air conditioner is preferable. Best of all is to keep both the A/C off AND the windows closed.
Gas milage is affected by the way the car is driven, or how fast it's driven, or the traffic conditions, or the tire pressure, or the outside temperature, or the wind, or any number of other reasons, or a combination of those reasons, or all of the reasons combined.
Ongoing test evaluations of cars indicate the use of air conditioning has a dramatic effect on fuel economy.
At low speed, open windows do not greatly increase your aerodynamic drag and your car will use less gasoline than if you used your air conditioner. But at high speed, open windows or sun roofs make your engine have to work much harder.
2007-06-14 01:45:20 · answer #1 · answered by Robert S 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes When the A/C is on, there is a compressor that is driven from a drive belt on the engine. It takes a significant amount of power to drive this compressor. To make this extra power to drive the compressor, the engine must burn more fuel. Also, with most modern vehicles. When the outside air temperature is over 45 degrees Fahrenheit and you use the defroster to clear the fog from the windshield, the air conditioning compressor also runs. This is to make the windows clear faster. So in warm weather, only use the defrosters when needed and switch them off when the windows are clear to save fuel. Myth busters test was flawed. They did the test by adding fuel to the fuel tank. There was no way to know for certain the exact amount of fuel in the tank. They should have used an external tank with an exact known amount of fuel. Being off by even a small amount of fuel would skew the test results. Differences in vehicle weight including the driver would also skew the results. They used two different vehicles. No two vehicles will run exactly the same, even if they are the same model.
2016-05-20 00:47:10 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wasn't there an article on Yahoo! like two weeks ago, about the myth of losing gas mileage with the windows down or the a/c running? If i remember correctly, it stated that on newer vehicles, neither will dramatically lower your MPG's. And how all those "Fuel Cleaner's" and other stuff like that can actually hurt your engine. There has been so many tests, with so many different results. In my opinion, if you get your oil changed reguraly, don't drive like a maniac, and pretty much take care of your vehicle, you will not see any significant drop in MPG's.
2007-06-14 07:16:49 · answer #3 · answered by Jared P 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, the engine now has to drive the compressor as well. I think the loss of efficiency is as much as 10%. But do consider the increase in comfort for the driver.
2007-06-14 01:40:40 · answer #4 · answered by antje1 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes it does but not as much as the older air conditioning units if its a rotary compressor
2007-06-14 01:38:33 · answer #5 · answered by burning brightly 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes
2007-06-14 01:31:30 · answer #6 · answered by DickyNowItAll 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
yes.. in older cars it uses a lot of gas
2007-06-14 01:34:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I wish that I could remember what show it was that I seen it, but it said that is a myth. It was a car show I was watching with my husband.
2007-06-14 01:38:24 · answer #8 · answered by ? 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Yes, but not as much as driving with the windows open.
2007-06-14 01:32:49 · answer #9 · answered by GRUMPY1LUVS2EAT 5 · 1⤊ 3⤋
yes. But so does driving with the windows open....
2007-06-14 01:31:29 · answer #10 · answered by hottotrot1_usa 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋