Skippy wrote:
May be a bit of info, mythbusters once did a gig on a/c vs window down on a oval track in a patrol size ford SUV. Speed and distance traveled were matched and fuel consumption was better with a/c on.
This may not be relevant to a car our size, other things may come into play like wind, weight and and revs.
its actually more realavent! the AC saps the produced power and the ac load (and corrisponding power sap is a function of the energy efficientcy of the body. our car bodies have a transmission tunnel that ducts heat into the floor, a lot of windows which let in the heat, and thin body pannels which also reheat the a/ced air.
our advantage is we have a lower air volume in the car to keep cool, but as you ditch things like carpet and heavy sound deadening you loose insulation and make the ac work harder.
with that said, most efficient, fan/blower off
2nd, small 12 volt computer fan blowing on you.
3rd, blowr on low
4th blower on higher sttings
5th blower on low, ac on
6th blower on high, ac on
7th window open
8th blower on, ac on, heater on, window open, subs making doof doof, hand out window.
a simplistic way to look at it (without using more accurate equations) is n(the drag coefficient of your jimny)*v(speed)^2.
the faster you go, the more drag there is, and your car is less efficient.
bottom line is:
higher pressures in your current tires, but nothing ridiculous, only a few psi over the manufacturers fully laden weight
empty the car of everything non essential. less mass to accelerate is less energy wasted.
the slower, the less friction, the better fuel economy unless your engine is laboring. it takes roughly 20Kw to maintain 100kph in an average car
siting on 80-90 (in a 110 zone) could be dangerous and you will have less fuell capacity if someone hits your car up the bum though
id suggest keeping a detailed diary and dropping your speed in 5kph increments. use 2 tanks of fuel per speed.
back off. every time you have to touch the breaks your pouring petrol down the drain. concidor backing off the power and reducing your velocity in a manner that reduces the need for breaks.
sometimes ll just drop it into neuteral and coast but thats not a good, safe thing to do.
gentle throttle increases, reving quickly uses more power
short shifting, changing the peak revs on a gear change saves some fuel so changing at 4500 max limits the fuel usage massively.
balance