Quote:
Originally Posted by razor02097
The short route is 2.1 miles. Average speed over the short route in a 15 day spreadsheet record is 19.6MPH @ 6 minutes 25 seconds. This was calculated by taking the average of the speeds and times over the 15 day period. This route includes 5 stop lights that are poorly timed, a small ascending grade and a large hill. I can time the lights but it takes a lot of throttle which is inefficient.
The long route is 5.7 miles. The average speed over the long route is 41.6MPH @ 8 minutes 13 seconds. I only have 3 data points so far (3 days). This route has only 1 stop light. There is a small descending grade initially then it flattens out the rest of the way.
I can keep a much higher average speed here but it takes about 2 minutes longer and I have to travel 3.6 miles further. It might not sound like a lot but it is more than two and a half times the distance of the short route.
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There is another factor to consider. Since this is such a short distance your car may not be coming up to full operating temperature. In that situation it consumes more fuel due to fast idle, etc. The long route might allow the car to warm up more since it takes longer.
I wouldn't be surprised to find there is no advantage to either route. You might want to use the hill you mentioned by taking that route in one direction only, to give you a downhill advantage. The shorter route is fewer miles traveled, but the longer route may yield better MPG. Sometimes you just can't win...