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Old 08-27-2009, 02:25 PM   #5 (permalink)
FastPlastic
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Ames, IA
Posts: 419

98 Cherokee - '98 Jeep Cherokee
90 day: 17.18 mpg (US)

ZX7R Ninja - '99 Kawasaki ZX7R Ninja
90 day: 42.45 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RandomFact314 View Post
My mother said she knows a back way to go to my college driving through neighborhoods, I think that going 25 though a bunch of neighborhood probably would be better then waiting in all the traffic Im waiting in now...

The other day it literally took me 11 mins to find a parking spot on campus.. ugh
The back roads can be better then the congested traffic. But you have to take in to account the slower speeds and more stop signs you end up finding. My cherokee gets 19mpg's at 25mph as opposed to 23mpg's at 35mph(closer to the sweet spot). So it's best if you can find a route that has the fewest turns and stops. I've tried two different routes so far through town and found I got almost exactly the same results as taking my normal route.

Quote:
Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian View Post
I would try the longer route a few times, and calculate the time and fuel used. It might be faster and/or use less fuel to go around.
I've done the math on a couple of my other trips across town and found I can't venture more then about 1mile out of my way before it's not worth it. So I've been doing a lot more sitting with the engine off at lights then normal to compensate for the extra traffic.
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