Better Gas Mileage For Short Trips - Take The Highway Or Roads?

[DaVibe]

So I'm regularly wondering if I should be taking the stop and go traffic that is the streets in roads that are between 50-70 KM or the constant run of the highway, traveling around 100-120KM on average.

Reference:
8 Minutes - 5.6 miles - Highway

11 minutes - 5.3 miles - Roads

Any ideas? I know there's a lot of gas eaten up on the highway but obviously you're saving time ...
But are you wasting more or less gas during stop and go traffic that is the city ...

What do you guys think about it?

Reference Sake: It's a 3.4L V6

[skidz88]

The highway for sure will be better for gas milage.

[tebore]

If you're talking gas mileage then taking the highway is always the better choice.

My car spins the engine at 2000 RPM doing either 40-50km or 90-100km.
You're going twice as far on the same amount of fuel being burnt.

Every stop you make is wasted gas/energy.

[ShadowVlican]

highway

[DaVibe]

Wow, surprised to read the responses ...
I just know that you burn more gas faster when you're hitting 100-110KM ... I thought maybe only going 60 on the roads might save you, but I guess the stop and go can be hard on the engine in terms of gas.

Glad I asked :D I just went out and took the highway ;)

[seftonm]

How many stops are on the lower speed road compared to the highway? I can get much better fuel economy at 50-70 km/h than at 100-120 km/h, even with a few extra stops. Too many stops though and the fuel economy starts to fall.

[DeimosBeros]

If you're 2 minutes away from the highway, take it.
If not, try to time your lights so your not stopping too much on a road going 60-70Km/hour.

[jerryhung]

I wonder the same question too for my commute

Do I take
42km highway (90% highway, 10% local) 100~120km.
But Hwy 8 is always bad during evening rush hour so it's 40km for about 15km long
v.s.
37km local/back road (40% highway with 6 traffic lights, 50% country road 100km, 10% local)

I should really measure it, shouldn't I...

[Bullseye]

Driving either too fast or too slow will lower your efficiency. I've seen numbers anywhere between 70kph and 100kph stated as the most efficient driving speed. It does depend on the vehicle, engine and body design.

Personally, I find most of my vehicles get best efficiency around 80-90kph.

If your highway drive is a clear one (traffic is obviously a fuel sucker), then highway will clearly win out, especially if you keep it at 100kph or lower. I find on highways that are busy, but not slowed, keeping it at 90kph in the right lane is easy and not obstructive to traffic. On more clear roads, you have to go 100kph to not be a hazard. Over 100kph, though, and fuel efficiency starts to drop off on most vehicles.

Your vehicle is a larger engined one, so I'd say it's likely that your highest efficiency range is a bit higher than with a small engined car. You could probably get up to 105kph before you start to lose efficiency. This is because large engines rotate slower at higher speeds. That makes them terrible in city driving, but not so bad for highway use.

[gherikill]

If its a GM 3.4-litre V6, fuel consumption ratings are 11.1 L/100 km city and 6.8 L/100 km highway.

Take the hwy.

[The_Professor]

I know for a fact that my car gets much better mileage on the highway cruising at around 100-110km/h.

I'd suggest using the highway when possible.

[DaVibe]

If its a GM 3.4-litre V6, fuel consumption ratings are 11.1 L/100 km city and 6.8 L/100 km highway.

Take the hwy.

Olds Alero, so yes :lol:
Thanks for the info.

[thephenom]

If you're talking gas mileage then taking the highway is always the better choice.

My car spins the engine at 2000 RPM doing either 40-50km or 90-100km.
You're going twice as far on the same amount of fuel being burnt.

Every stop you make is wasted gas/energy.

lol

RPM alone is NOT a measure of fuel consumption. :) Haven't you noticed that fuel consumption goes down if you get the lead-foot syndrome? (hint: throttle position)

EDIT: Yes, hwy will be better as long as it's not bumper to bumper traffic. In stop and go traffic, it takes a lot more energy to move your car from a stop position comparing to cruising on the highway.

[TrEvOrLiCioUs]

I find it very useful to have a car that can measure your average fuel consumption in L/100km.
Most bmws have this, even the older ones, but alot of newer cars are starting to come with it. I find it very useful when trying to drive conservatively to save fuel, it tells you exactly how your doing. You can then change your habits to drive in a way that burns less fuel.

Then you can see exactly which route consumes less.

a constanst speed on the hwy will always win. Acceratation is what burns alot of gas......keeping a constant speed, weather it be 100km/h will consume less.

Of course if you floor it and step on the gas constantly on the highway, your not going to get good mileage.

Lay off the gas for as long as you can when slowing down, brake as less as you can on the highway, and accelerate gradually are all good points when getting good mileage is in mind.

[professionaldude]

Highway is best option in ur case.

[tebore]

lol

RPM alone is NOT a measure of fuel consumption. :) Haven't you noticed that fuel consumption goes down if you get the lead-foot syndrome? (hint: throttle position)

EDIT: Yes, hwy will be better as long as it's not bumper to bumper traffic. In stop and go traffic, it takes a lot more energy to move your car from a stop position comparing to cruising on the highway.

What about lead foot syndrom? When I floor it my car goes to redline and RPMs are double and thus uses more than 2x the gas it would at say 2500RPM. RPM is a pretty good indicator of gas consumption but there's other factors that affect gas mileage.

[ShadowVlican]

lol

RPM alone is NOT a measure of fuel consumption. :) Haven't you noticed that fuel consumption goes down if you get the lead-foot syndrome? (hint: throttle position)
wtf?

you mean fuel consumption goes up, aka: increases

otherwise, i'd love to drive with a lead foot and get better fuel economy :lol:

[ryyeung]

Hi there,

I got these tips from a friend, and unfortunately, the source is annonymous. I do think some of these tips have truth to them, but maybe someone can help me with the following?

1) What is the %age savings between early morning, afternoon, and evening?
2) Does anyone know where Canadian companies such as Esso and PetroCan source their oil?

---------------------------
Tips about Buying Gas

I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline, but here in California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon: but, my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon.

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day it is diesel, the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.
Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground is, the more dense the gasoline. When it gets warmer, gasoline expands, so when buying in the afternoon or in the evening, your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business, but the service station s do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you're filling up, do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look, you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode, you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up, back into the underground storage tank, so that you are actually getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

Here is an important tip. If there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up. Most likely, the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.
Hope this will help you get the most value for your money. DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS!

WHERE TO BUY USA GAS: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON

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I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil.

These companies import Middle Eastern oil:
Shell........................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco.......... 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway…… 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco........................ 62,231,000 barrels

Citgo gas is from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans. If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (oil is now $90 - $100 a barrel)

Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:
Sunoco..................... 0 barrels
Conoco..................... 0 barrels
Sinclair..................... 0 barrels
BP/Phillips................ 0 barrels
Hess........................ 0 barrels
ARCO....................0 barrels

If you go to www.Sunoco.com, you will get a list of the station locations near you.

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---------------------------

[weedb0y]

lol, what a dumbass. You do realize that most of the firms that operate in Saudi Arabia for oil are AMERICAN OWNED?

Google Aramco..

[seftonm]

Fuel volume in Canada is temperature corrected, so it does not matter when gasoline is purchased.

Here are some results from my drive today.
City driving, ~10 stops: 3.8L/100km
Highway driving, ~3 stops: 4.6L/100km

City driving was clearly better, even with more stops. The extra 40 km/h on the highway leads to much more rolling resistance and drag.

[tebore]

Fuel volume in Canada is temperature corrected, so it does not matter when gasoline is purchased.

Here are some results from my drive today.
City driving, ~10 stops: 3.8L/100km
Highway driving, ~3 stops: 4.6L/100km

City driving was clearly better, even with more stops. The extra 40 km/h on the highway leads to much more rolling resistance and drag.

What were the conditions? Those numbers are impossible. Those numbers are like scooter numbers.

Here's more proof that those numbers are impossible. http://fueleconomy.weblite.ca/specs/2008/TOYOTA/COROLLA
Unless we're talking hybrid but then there's a new set of rules.

[seftonm]

What were the conditions? Those numbers are impossible. Those numbers are like scooter numbers.

Here's more proof that those numbers are impossible. http://fueleconomy.weblite.ca/specs/2008/TOYOTA/COROLLA
Unless we're talking hybrid but then there's a new set of rules.
Great proof. I didn't know a Corolla's fuel economy ratings were the upper limit for all automobiles. Conditions were -10C with a 15 km/h headwind. Speed limit in the city was between 60 and 80, speed limit on the highway was 100.

[jetz]

Highway is not necessarily best....because you are accelerating to 100+ and you still encounter lights at the exit and maybe at the on ramp, etc. It all depends howGiven the three minute time savings, I suspect you encounter very few lights on the road route. Given that you are only accelerating to 60/70 from the stop and given the shorter distance, the road could actually work out. many traffic lights there are on the road and how spaced they are spaced out. If you have the inclination, you can calculate the energy used using high school physics and some simple assumptions. That should give you a rough estimate of which is better.

[freeonboard]

If you want good gas mileage, calculate it in terms of miles per gallon because the Canadian gallon is substantially larger than the american gallon.

the US gallon is only 3.785 liters vs 4.546 liters for canadian/british gallon.

The other thing to do is fill it up until it spills out and when you come back to top it up don't fill it up as much.