Fuel economy is only as efficient as the traffic it’s in

[mcaligiuri]

so I got to thinking about the government and how epa mpg ratings are so important to them. They are useless in traffic and shouldn’t traffic congestion be fixed before the government imposed tougher mpg limits? I live in ny and it’s always bumper to bumper traffic, if traffic congestion could be fixed my 25 mpg beater would get it’s optimal efficiency instead of the half it gets when it’s its crawling in traffic. Am I missing something? Discuss

 

[Uncle Meat]

Yes you are. Even though you get crappy gas mileage while sitting in traffic, a car with a higher MPG rating will still burn less fuel sitting in that traffic jam. Regardless of what type of driving you're stuck with a more efficient engine will always burn less fuel.

U.M.

 

[mcaligiuri]

Yes you are. Even though you get crappy gas mileage while sitting in traffic, a car with a higher MPG rating will still burn less fuel sitting in that traffic jam. Regardless of what type of driving you're stuck with a more efficient engine will always burn less fuel.

U.M.

Ok I get that. But wouldn’t it be better if traffic could be relieved and cars could have a higher average speed which would put the engines in a more fuel efficient range. If a car in traffic for an hour goes 10 miles and burns a gallon of fuel wouldn’t it be better to go 30 miles and burn a gallon of fuel. That’s what I’m trying to understand the government is so hell bent on improving fuel efficiency but they don’t seem to try and find a solution to traffic congestion.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

its up to the local municipality to deal with timing traffic lights etc... not the fed

I would have to believe that in most densely populated areas traffic exceeds the road capacity and in many areas little can be done about it if they can't get vehicles off the road.

Then theres the issue of morons wadding up their cars bringing traffic to a standstill. If everything gets set up correctly I could see self driving cars possibly cleaning up a lot of congestion by maintaining proper spacing to allow for seamless merging etc...

 

[black92]

its up to the local municipality to deal with timing traffic lights etc... not the fed

I would have to believe that in most densely populated areas traffic exceeds the road capacity and in many areas little can be done about it if they can't get vehicles off the road.

Then theres the issue of morons wadding up their cars bringing traffic to a standstill. If everything gets set up correctly I could see self driving cars possibly cleaning up a lot of congestion by maintaining proper spacing to allow for seamless merging etc...

That's a much cleaner version of what I had typed out! lol

OP - Would you rather cars be rated under a worst case scenario? I'm fortunate that I don't have a specific time to be at work, so I leave early to avoid all the traffic to and from work.

 

[Uncle Meat]

Ok I get that. But wouldn’t it be better if traffic could be relieved and cars could have a higher average speed which would put the engines in a more fuel efficient range. If a car in traffic for an hour goes 10 miles and burns a gallon of fuel wouldn’t it be better to go 30 miles and burn a gallon of fuel. That’s what I’m trying to understand the government is so hell bent on improving fuel efficiency but they don’t seem to try and find a solution to traffic congestion.

Oh most definitely! Unfortunately this is almost an impossible task to accomplish in a big city like New York. Plus as already stated the Feds have no control over local traffic. Best bet in a big city like where you are at is to get more people into mass transit and reduce the amount of vehicles on the road.

U.M.

 

[Coiled03]

Yes you are. Even though you get crappy gas mileage while sitting in traffic, a car with a higher MPG rating will still burn less fuel sitting in that traffic jam. Regardless of what type of driving you're stuck with a more efficient engine will always burn less fuel.

U.M.

Pretty sure everything gets 0.0 MPG when sitting still.

 

[DaleM]

Yes you are. Even though you get crappy gas mileage while sitting in traffic, a car with a higher MPG rating will still burn less fuel sitting in that traffic jam. Regardless of what type of driving you're stuck with a more efficient engine will always burn less fuel.

U.M.

I used to be told starting an engine used to burn a wasteful amount of fuel. Now these newer cars have the auto stop and start features. Not only is the claim better efficiency it also claums better emissions. Reminds me of when eggs used to be bad for you.

 

[Khan]

Pretty sure everything gets 0.0 MPG when sitting still.

Iseewhatyoudidthere lol

 

[MachME]

I agree with this and have thought about it before.
if you're just idling/creeping along, it doesnt matter. A 4cy will burn slightly less fuel than 8 cy in these situations.

 

[PhoenixM3]

Um, duh.

 

[Hunter98SVT]

I live in corn field land. What's traffic??

 

[Uncle Meat]

Pretty sure everything gets 0.0 MPG when sitting still.

True, but you do get great MPG's on your way to the traffic jam! ;-)

U.M.

 

[L8APEX]

I live in corn field land. What's traffic??

When there are 2 cars ahead of you and you are stuck behind a combine...
At least here in Wheat field land
Sent from my Note8

 

[Hunter98SVT]

When there are 2 cars ahead of you and you are stuck behind a combine...
At least here in Wheat field land
Sent from my Note8

Yeah I guess that's right ha

 

[*Jay*]

This is always my "go to" for this argument.

 

[CV355]

It costs more to fix a problem than to hand it off to someone else, right?
That's how the government works.

They could fix a lot of congestion around here with service roads, light timing, or dual-lane turns. Of course, people down here don't understand that you're supposed to stay in your own lane (even while turning!) and most dual-lane turns wind up being accident central.

 

[Revvv]

There are several cars, such as Jaguar, that shut the engine off when you stop. When you press the go pedal the engine picks up where it left off and you are moving again.

It is basically a full scale golf cart if you ask me. I'm not a fan.

Sent from my [device_name] using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[Voltwings]

I used to be told starting an engine used to burn a wasteful amount of fuel. Now these newer cars have the auto stop and start features. Not only is the claim better efficiency it also claums better emissions. Reminds me of when eggs used to be bad for you.

Not just starting an engine, cold starting an engine. ECUs dump fuel and high idle during cold start to warm the cats up.

 

[4a7191a]

Mpgs ? What's that. My lightning got 11.72 mpgs all freeway the other weekend.
Seriously need to look into cleaning the maf or changing the o2's out. :/