Is having your A/C on better, worse, or the same for your gas mileage compared to having your windows down?

 

they did this thing on the show Mythbusters that wide open windows is much better than having the A/C on full blast. I could only imagine what my mileage would be if i used the A/C, i get 6-10 as it is now, DOH! [:@]

 

i watch myth busters also..most stuff they get right, but a few of them im not sure of..like the one where they poured 10pounds of sugar in agas tank and it did nothing...

 

Ac does affect mileage. It is extra load on a rotating mass and it will in turn make it that much harder to turn that mass. So yea, a motor will burn need more fuel and air to make the same amount of power with the ac on then it would if the ac was off and the windows were open.

 

how is this a myth at all. It's well known a/c is bad for mileage, the energy to run the compressor and fan and **** doesn't come from fairies and pixie dust.

 

the myth is whether or not the A/C or windows kills your mileage more, but i have busted it, heh

 

This is the myth he is talking bout. Reading is fundamental.

 

Hooked on phonics works for me!

 

My extensive research concluded that in city driving A/C will kill your mileage, better to keep the windows down, but at freeway speeds, having the windows down reduces the coefficient of drag sufficient enough that running your A/C is more efficient.

 

My advice is to be a man, keep the windows up and A/C off, even at high noon in the middle of the sahara desert