The dilema of rolling your car windows down in HOT weather vs. using your A/C, which one saves more gas? (Any proof for your choice?)

I prefer A/C for the fact that it saves my hearing (hearing is essential in Army Aviation) from all the wind noise and from having to have my BOSE on "25" to hear Eminem, Usher, 50cent, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Creed, ETC.

 

judging by your location, you dont have to worry about this for a while, and the summers are really nice there ( i used to live there) so if i were you, i would just roll down the windows...

 

i prefer windows for the most part, unless im sweaty from doing something, or its literally boiling and muggy and just miserable out. A/C makes sense in your situation tho, but ive also never had my max in summer. i bought it in september as it was getting less and less warm, so i dont know, with the dark tint and black leather, A/C may be better this year.

 

Windows up is more fuel efficient. There is a slight loss of fuel economy with the A/C on, but there is a larger loss with the windows down due to increased drag.

I actually did a science project on this very subject about 10 years ago in high school....

 

you were a 19 year old in high school ? jk...

 

That's what I have heard for many years. I prefer A/C because it's much quieter and cleaner inside the car when it's hot and humid outside.

 

hence the "about" part .......I'm trying to forget I'm almost 30....Hell, I had my first moped before you were even born, son

 

There is a show called "Myth Busters". They proved that going 40 with the windows opened is more efficient (less gas consuming) than with the A/C on.

I think that going like 70+ (like I do in the summer) with open windows is less efficient.

I turned 19 in High School.....that's because I came from a different country (guess where) not knowing English (so they said).

 

and he lives in fairbanks, alaska, which, unless he does a lot of traveling, he doesnt get his car to 70 very often (if i remember correctly, i lived there when i was 10 ) because theres not very many highways in town....

 

the high school project I did used a 1989 Honda Civic and a 1992 Dodge Caravan and was tested at 60 mph if I recall correctly.....the windows up got slightly better mileage over an extended test on both vehicles (I wish I still had the 15-page writeup of how I did it!)

 

yeah, i definitely believe it at that speed...because the open windows creates a lot of wind resistance, which would make your engine have to push harder....thats pretty funny that you actually made a 15-page writeup about it!

 

got an A-minus on it! I had to go into aerodynamics and turbulence and all that fun stuff (it was mostly bs, as most high school papers tend to be)....

 

of course, its my specialty ...what kind of class did you do a report on that for??? i wish i had a class like that

 

if I remember correctly, it was some goofy experimental class dealing with "environmental science" or something to that effect....I dont' even think the teacher knew what it was all about, but the premise of my project was, of course, dealing with automotive pollution (had to link it to "environmental science" somehow). It was the kind of class you take when you're a Senior taking 3 art classes, AP Calculus, Yearbook, drafting and looking for one more softball to round out the field....

 

yeah....unfortunately, im a junior and ive already taken half of the classes youve listed....2 arts, 2 comps., AP calc...now what??? theyre bumpin the number of classes up to 10 next year, and i only have 2 that i gotta take....crap...ok wow, how did this get so ??? i dont even remember what the original topic was!! wow...

 

^^ that's why you take all the easy classes...or you take dance cuz it's all girls.

and i love rolling down the windows. i'm afraid i'm gonna break the motors in the front two cuz those are the ones i roll down the most often.

 

takes longer to hit 150MPH with the windows down than it does with the A/C on - working and not in the shut off mode. Thats my test. I love A/C, why I got my Max, my SE-R didn't have it and I needed a car that had the room and A/C vs a strict track car for daily driving.

 

I would go with the A/C and windows up to keep people from knowing that you listen to those artists.

 

]

You're just a fountain of knowledge aren't ya Irish? That is interesting though. I would have thought the exact opposite.

 

Interesting conclusions here... what's most shocking to me is that 16 year olds are driving the same car as I am... holy crap...

 

Windows up is more fuel efficent at high speeds because of drag which most probably do . At lower speeds where there is a lot of stop and go there is a slight loss of fuel economy with the A/C on. So I guess it depends on how and where you drive.

 

That is right.

 

You still need to run the AC occasionally during the winter to keep the system lubricated.

 

i just dont like using the ac cuz i used it so much the first year i had it. does anyone else think 38k miles on an 03 (bought in april 03) is a lot? i do...

 

I've discovered that its more efficient to use the A/C at higher speeds. Either way, I use A/C all year. I never open my windows unless i'm at the drive thru or going through the check point. Interior stays cleaner, I don't have to inhale exhaust and crap, and its more comfortable. I just hop in the car and go, not realizing that the Auto Climate is on; so I guess I've become accustom to the system. Nothing like an automatic transmission, automatic climate control and automatic headlights... just drive. Maximas are great.

 

I only have 36K miles on my 02. just hit that over last weekend.