What is the most fuel inefficient situation you can think of?

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Amorphus
Highway driving in first gear, on cruise control, with the windows down and the AC up. In a Hummer.


btw - rolling the windows down does not impact fuel efficiency that much. I watched the tach as I rolled the window up and down, and it didn't vary more than one notch. 75rpm is nothing to worry about on a scale of 9,000.

Uhh.. for one, who has a 9,000RPM redline? 😛

RPM doesen't have to increas/decrease for fuel consumption to change. If you're cruising along at say 2500RPM and you hit an incline, you can still keep the needle at 2500RPM but you're going to have to push on the accelerator a bit more to maintain the speed. It's taking more energy to propel the car up the grade, even though your RPMs are the same... = more fuel consumption.

Originally posted by: Ronstang

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Ronstang
The whole thing about the windows being down impacting gas mileage is complete crap, it is a myth. If I drive on the highway at 70-80 mph with the windows down and the A/C off I get 28-29 mpg. If I drive the same way with the windows up and the A?C on I get 25-26 mpg. Get your facts straight. Every car I have evrer owned got better gas mileage with the windows down and the A/C off and I have been driving longer than most of you have been alive.

umm...did you think about how the AC impacts gas mileage too? :roll:

In a scientific experiment, you only change ONE variable. Window down or up, not window down or up AND AC on or off.

The most fuel-efficient way to stay cool is to keep your windows rolled up and AC off, and just blow cool air from outside.

Hey....mr. dumbass pseudo-scientist, if the windows are up the AC is going to be on.....I live in Texas so this is a valid comparison. I know that A/C impacts mileage but you have to trade the A/C for the windows being down so it is better to have the windows down if you are really concerned about mileage. I have compared mileage with the only variable being the windows up or down and the difference in mileage was not noticeable.

Uhh.. hey mr. dumbass pseudo-scientist. I guess drag doesen't affect MPG at all then, eh? It isn't a myth, WTF? 😛

Just because it "wasn't noticable" on that particular drive with your particular car and it's particular A/C compressor/engine/tires/etc doesen't mean anything.

I am sure in a modern automobile with a very efficient A/C compressor and a profile that produces much more drag when the windows are open than when not.. you could see more of a reduction in MPG with the windows down than with the A/C on.

If you take the energy you're using.. and then look at it from the perspective of all the variables that go into using that energy, you can see how seriously your "outlook" is flawed.

 

[phonemonkey]

Originally posted by: Strang

Originally posted by: Jehovah
An airliner going down the highway with parachutes in its back, not flying, but on the ground the whole way, with a hose from the gas tank pumping out its gas, and the pump pumping out the gasoline is powered by the gasoline itself.

And you can put the spilled gasoline on fire, just for effect.

Pfft, that scenario sucks.

The windows aren't even rolled down. 😛

😀

How bout if you roll down all the windows with a gasoline powered motor?

 

[phonemonkey]

Hehe, this kinda reminds me of the SUV I saw in Phoenix once that was badly burning oil and had one of the "Protect the Environment" license plates you can buy here.

 

[homestarmy]

Originally posted by: Amorphus
Highway driving in first gear, on cruise control, with the windows down and the AC up. In a Hummer.


btw - rolling the windows down does not impact fuel efficiency that much. I watched the tach as I rolled the window up and down, and it didn't vary more than one notch. 75rpm is nothing to worry about on a scale of 9,000.

Your RPM will not change unless your speed changes, they are locked together via the transmission... So if it changed really... you might want to get your clutch (or full tranny if you have auto) checked out...

 

[homestarmy]

Originally posted by: jagec
Not to point fingers, but the "They're just jealous" excuse is LAME, UNTRUE, and STUPID and should only be used if you have a single-digit IQ.

I agree... I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those if I had the money. And I would still drive a Honda Insight (no not the prius or the civic hybrid etc) if I had plenty of cash... on a side note, it is the most aerodynamic production car EVER.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: Taggart
On I-75 in Atlanta I saw a Ford Excursion going about 90 in the left lane with the windows rolled down. That guy was dumb to say the least. I bet the A/C was cranked up and the tires were underinflated to boot.

Give me your best shot at the ultimate in fuel inefficiency!

Ford Excursion V10 idling with AC on and windows rolled down. Guaranteed 0 mpg.

 

[hysperion]

oiltanker dumping it's entire load into the ocean...

 

[OrganizedChaos]

how about a top fuel dragster using fuel faster than a 747 can to that he can have someone tow him back to the line so he can repeat.

using 7 gallons of diesel fuel to transport 1 gallon of diesel fuel to the tank that gets less than 1MPG. all so the tank can capture 10 gallons of oil that will be refined into 3 gallons of diesel fuel.

 

Ford Excursion with windows down and A/C blowing going in reverse on the highway in the left lane at 75 mph, which redlines the engine. Since he's going backwards, it's actually NEGATIVE fuel mileage. 😛

 

[Taggart]

Originally posted by: Strang

Originally posted by: Jehovah
An airliner going down the highway with parachutes in its back, not flying, but on the ground the whole way, with a hose from the gas tank pumping out its gas, and the pump pumping out the gasoline is powered by the gasoline itself.

And you can put the spilled gasoline on fire, just for effect.

Pfft, that scenario sucks.

The windows aren't even rolled down. 😛

😀

ROFL! Wow this thread is killing me

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Ronstang
The whole thing about the windows being down impacting gas mileage is complete crap, it is a myth. If I drive on the highway at 70-80 mph with the windows down and the A/C off I get 28-29 mpg. If I drive the same way with the windows up and the A?C on I get 25-26 mpg. Get your facts straight. Every car I have evrer owned got better gas mileage with the windows down and the A/C off and I have been driving longer than most of you have been alive.

umm...did you think about how the AC impacts gas mileage too? :roll:

In a scientific experiment, you only change ONE variable. Window down or up, not window down or up AND AC on or off.

The most fuel-efficient way to stay cool is to keep your windows rolled up and AC off, and just blow cool air from outside.

I see you're from Seattle. Go somewhere where it actually gets hot in the summer. Then try keeping cool in 105 degree heat with just the vent.

 

[TreyRandom]

Driving in a Ford Excursion...
...doing 120 mph...
...with the A/C on...
...with each wheel sitting on top of a pair of spinning rollers (that they use to test vehicle endurance rates without the car moving)...
...with a TV plugged into the cigarette lighter, tuned to CSPAN2 (or the Home Shopping Network)...
...and you, in the Excursion... bored out of your mind, wondering why the hell you're not going anywhere...



...with the windows rolled down. 😛

 

[UglyCasanova]

Originally posted by: hysperion
oiltanker dumping it's entire load into the ocean...

With the portholes open! 😀

 

[Kalvin00]

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
I got this one covered:

ANY of the major roads around Sonoma tomarrow. It'll be a two lane parking lot for miles on end almost all day long.

Why? What's happening in Sonoma tomorrow? I went on a winery tour a couple years ago and it wasn't that bad.

The NASCAR Cup series is racing at Sears Point tomorrow. I went there on Friday...only traffic was waiting to get out, but there will be about 3 times as many people tomorrow.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Supertool: 100,000 people trying to get within the same square mile that is only accessible by two lane roads. NASCAR's at Infineon Raceway (Sears Point dammit!)

 

[Vic]

Sorry, Eli, I've been keeping meticulous track of my mileage for the last 10 years. Windows up, down, no effect on mileage. Turn on the AC, lose 5+ mpg. All of this with late-model cars.
Drag is no myth. That having the windows down creates sufficient drag to affect your gas mileage is a myth.

And modern cars are designed to have reduced drag when the windows are down. These designs direct the airflow slightly away from the windows and reduce wind noise even when the windows are up and reduce buffeting. It's the old cars where you'd get a tornado in the back seat.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Vic
Sorry, Eli, I've been keeping meticulous track of my mileage for the last 10 years. Windows up, down, no effect on mileage. Turn on the AC, lose 5+ mpg. All of this with late-model cars.
Drag is no myth. That having the windows down creates sufficient drag to affect your gas mileage is a myth.

And modern cars are designed to have reduced drag when the windows are down. These designs direct the airflow slightly away from the windows and reduce wind noise even when the windows are up and reduce buffeting. It's the old cars where you'd get a tornado in the back seat.

Interesting.

 

[Ender]

A shuttle blasting off into outer space but cannot get off the ground.

The shuttle would have YX amount of fuel over X amount of weight. Both variables would approach infinity in a beautiful waltz of mathematical glory.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Originally posted by: her209
A car that goes off the cliff and explodes at the bottom. This is most inefficient because:

1. You die.
2. Your car is wrecked/totaled.
3. Your tank is now empty due to the fire.

I concur .... especially if its a tanker carying a load of fuel.

 

[chrisms]

Invading Iraq

 

[vi edit]

An M1 Abram's tank gets 1/2 a mile to the gallon 🙂

My parents also said that that the cruise ship they were on last winter was burning over 600 gallons of fuel per hour when the captain had the thing chugging as fast as it could to get out of the way of a storm.

 

[Instan00dles]

doing 180km/h on my motorcycle @ 9000rpm :frown:

 

[ucdbiendog]

Originally posted by: Amorphus
Highway driving in first gear, on cruise control, with the windows down and the AC up. In a Hummer.


btw - rolling the windows down does not impact fuel efficiency that much. I watched the tach as I rolled the window up and down, and it didn't vary more than one notch. 75rpm is nothing to worry about on a scale of 9,000.

if you are going the same speed the rpm wont change at all. what will change is the amount of fuel put into the engine to keep that rpm since there will be more losses due to wind resistance etc., and the engine has to overcome these losses

 

[sharkeeper]

Prescott Folding

Cheers!

 

[nageov3t]

I drive with the AC on and the windows open all the time.

you know, cause I'm hot, but I like the fresh air, and I'm not going fast enough for the wind to be substantial enough.