I ran my experiment for a little over two weeks. After more than two weeks of driving a max of 70 on the highway and slower acceleration in an attempt to raise my gas mileage, I’ve got the results. The driving was a bit grueling at times, especially when the starting speed speed limit is 70 on the highway. I managed to do it for a little more than two weeks and finally filled up my gas tank a little before I ran it to the bottom. After all that I gained about 1 mpg. I guess I won’t be driving that slow anymore. Apparently it really depends on the vehicle. I imagine an SUV or truck would see a larger increase from slowing down due to the larger wind resistance. I drive a 2008 Accord V6, so I guess it’s somewhat aerodynamic.

I’m on day three of my wind resistance versus fuel consumption experiment. The drive is not so bad, the worst day was really the first. By looking at my fuel guage and the current mileage on the tripometer, It appears that I’m getting better mileage than I normally do. I think I may extend this experiment out a week or two just to get a better average.

Day two of my gas mileage experiment. See ->http://blog.buckrobinson.com/rants/mpg-experiment/

The mornings seem to be the toughest. I’m always in a hurry to get to work, but afterwards it’s not so bad. I found the station guide for my XM satellite radio and tuned into CNBC. It gave me time to listen to what I would normally watch as soon as I get home. I’ve been using cruise control to keep it dead at 70 MPH. Occasionally I have to slow it down because I can’t pass without going well over my target speed. That part is driving me a little nuts, but maybe I’ll get over that too.