save gas in a drive-thru?
 

i spose the right response is to just go inside, but any good methods for saving a few drops while waiting online at a mcdonalds :p

turn off your car and push

The local taco bell's drive thru is at a downward slope. So I cut the car off, stick it in neutral and let it roll. Might have to open the door and give it a little kick so that you can start rolling, depending on your drive thru. I've gotten to the area of the parking lot where you get ready to get back onto the main road with my car off. Then of course I'd have to turn it back on and drive home.

Because of this eco-friendly drive thru (they didn't intend for it to be so, of course) I probably save fuel versus parking reversing out of the spot etc.

I roll into an uphill parking spot so I can coast out w00t.

I second the engine off as much as possible option, unless the line's fast moving.

The only time I go through a drive through line is at night, when both the restaurant's only open via the drive-thru lane, and I'm too lazy to make something myself. Since there's minimal staff, and you often can't go inside the restaurant to order and take-out, the lineups in the night shift are often SLOW. My favourite A&W that's open all hours just has two people in on nights, and this makes for a 5-10 minute drive through just 60-80 feet of asphalt.

In my case, since I've a diesel, and I work in a shop, I turn off my car's engine except to move ahead. My main concern isn't my own fuel use, it's just... courtesy. Both engine noise, and the fumes the staff manning the window have to endure, ought to be minimized.

Barring nightime when a restaurant's closed up... Park the car and go inside*. I don't notice much difference in time either way, timewise.

* Unless you drive naked. In that case, stay in the drive through, please!

i dont know, some females could pull it off. :thumbup:

thefirebuilds -

Even before I was an Ecomodder, I rarely made use of the drive-thru. Park and walk in for me.

ankit -

I wish the In-N-Out Burger had a downward slope! The other day I did the walk-up and while I was waiting, I heard and smelled a Harley's noxious exhaust while I was waiting.

CarloSW2

One of my early blog entries (April of 2006) was about this subject. I estimated that if everyone in the U.S. stopped using drive through windows, we could save 0.007% of our oil imports.

And how much excess weight would be saved per person if they stopped eating fast food altogether?

Last time I hit a drive through was probably 3-4 years ago.

I usually put my car into Neutral and this lowers the engine idle speed. Does this reduce gas consumption or am I just a nut?