I have come across many a thread that claim that driving south one would get better gas mileage than the same truck driving north. Now, if this indeed true, this would imply that if you were to place a ball on a level surface, it should roll south. also, since the earth is a sphere, and gravity is a function of distance, gravity must pull with equal force in all directions ina spherical plane. i am interested in this, since so many people on this board believe gas mileage increases driving south. i am not trying to start an argument, i just wonder if anyone has any data/sources to support this view.

I have come across many a thread that claim that driving south one would get better gas mileage than the same truck driving north. Now, if this indeed true, this would imply that if you were to place a ball on a level surface, it should roll south. also, since the earth is a sphere, and gravity is a function of distance, gravity must pull with equal force in all directions ina spherical plane. i am interested in this, since so many people on this board believe gas mileage increases driving south. i am not trying to start an argument, i just wonder if anyone has any data/sources to support this view.

I would think driving north would increase your gas milage since we live on the northern part of the planet, we're closer to the north poles and it exert a small magnetic force on the vehicle.

The slope wouldn't have any effect becuase it's technically the smae slope any way you go, which it why a ball doesn't move on. Even if thats not true it doesn't matter because the slope of the surrounding terrian negates any effect on gas milage anyways. Going down a hill northbound will cause better milage then up a hill south bound, right? Of course, it's the same hill.

I don't think anyone here is a physicist so this could be an interesting topic.

The real question should be:

What gas mileage can one get in zero gravity?

depends on the friction forces involved. in outer space, provided giving it gas allowed you to actually move instead of just spin the wheels, you would get an infinite number of miles per gallon, since due to newtons laws, an object set in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. all you would have to do is accelerate once, and fuel consumption would depend on how long you accelerate. but since you can travel infinity miles, your mpg would still be infinity miles/gallon no matter how much fuel is used.

:banghead: Nobody understands, nobody listens
Spindlecone, member of the flat Earth society

What about east vs west. Which direction gives better gas mileage, considering the centrifugal forces placed on the vehicle by the rotation of the earth?

I'm getting a headache thinking about this

I would think driving north would increase your gas milage

Actually, traveling North a vehicle should get worse gas mileage out of protest of leaving the beauty that is Dixie ;)

"If Heaven ain't alot like Dixie, I don't wanna go..."

-Hank Jr.

Why would anyone drive North? :)

Why would anyone drive North? :)

To return to the South... (if driving from Florida)

Okay I have a new favorite thread.

First: east to west makes no difference in gas mileages. Gas mileage comes into effect when the tires rotate on the ground.. which means you have to look at the reference frame (Einstein's relativity in other words). Since the ground and car are in the same reference frame the rotation of the earth has no effect because the car and earth are in the same frame...

Umm, North to South... Though electro-magnetic forces are much stronger than gravitational forces in most instances, the Earths magnetic field force would not effect the vehicle at a rate to have a noticable change in gas mileage. This can be understood because anything with mass exerts an attaction force "gravity" on every object at an infinite distance from it. So the sum of the gravatational forces (not from the earth) would make it impossible to rely on the electro-magnetic force to increase or decrease gas mileage.

Quick example: Theres a mountain 1 mile south of you and you're driving north.. that mountain exerts a greater gravitational force on you than the "North Bound" electrical field does.. however when you're 20000 miles away from that mountain, the electric field will be stronger but there are still other bodies/objects exerting forces on you..

Any questions?

SK
Have no questions, but do have an answere, north, south, east west. magnetic fields, gravitational forces, have ZERO bearing on gas consumtion

SK
Have no questions, but do have an answere, north, south, east west. magnetic fields, gravitational forces, have ZERO bearing on gas consumtion

Correct.

Thats exactly what i was saying, just wanted to make sure that i also addressed the "possibilities" that others suggested with evidence rather than just saying "it has no effect".

You guys are out of your damn mind!

C'mon, this must be some kind of joke, right? Okay let me in on the joke 'coz I don't get this. :rolleyes:

the joke is that gas prices are making people go nuts and think of any little thing to increase their gas mileage.. even if that means only driving south for the rest of their lives.. :banghead:

X
Just drive man, the only thing that effects your MPG in your rig is the state of perfection the engine is tuned to and your foot, strange but true

On The other hand, if indeed the earth is flat and has a tilt?????????????????

On The other hand, if indeed the earth is flat and has a tilt?????????????????
lol then we got a hell of a lot more to worry about than MPG!

Food for thought: statistically speaking travelling eastbound would yield higher mpg due to prevailing winds and weather systems that are eastbound.

Higher tire pressure, advanced timing, weight shedding, efficient engine mods all affect mpg. The component that affects it the most is the one between the steering wheel and brake.

Bah, has nothing to do with magnetic fields, changes in gravity or prevailing winds.
In most of the U.S. North just happens to be towards higher elevation.
Over a long enough trip, if you were driving in a windless tunnel at a constant speed the entire time you would see a small change.

However I don't seem to recall too many long distance tunnels.:p

\In most of the U.S. North just happens to be towards higher elevation.
.:p
ummm, well first off; i think they were referring to the constant magnetic field that is in the northern directions.. hence the reason your compass points north. If you're at the bottom of a mountain you're compass doesnt always point towards the top....


And sorry dude, but wind resistance is a huuuuuuuuge factor in mpg...

And sorry dude, but wind resistance is a huuuuuuuuge factor in mpg...

I saw a 1-2mpg difference driving I70 W vs. I70 E across Kansas during a spring break road trip

Kansas has a constant NW headwind

ummm, well first off; i think they were referring to the constant magnetic field that is in the northern directions.. hence the reason your compass points north. If you're at the bottom of a mountain you're compass doesnt always point towards the top....


And sorry dude, but wind resistance is a huuuuuuuuge factor in mpg...Where did that come from?:confused:

And reading is good.;)
"in a windless tunnel"

i thought the windless tunnel thing was aimed towards wind resistance not mattering in some wierd way.

its 11pm here and im tired as hell, gimme a break :p


but a windless cross country tunnel... hmm we might be on to something here!

i re-read it.. think i still got ya with the magnetic field thing though ;)

i re-read it.. think i still got ya with the magnetic field thing though ;)
Nope, in general the Northern U.S. is higher than the South, I didn't mean compasses point up.
Of course it's 10PM here and I got up at 5AM so read what I mean, not what I type.:p



One of the future advances for mag-lev trains will be vacuum tunnels.
Engineers estimate that after removing air friction current trains could hit 3-4 thousand MPH.:burnout:

How does one hour New York-London trips every hour on the hour sound?:D

I order to get my gas milage down im finally going to get a winch. I'm going to attach the cable to a harpoon and whenever I'm on long trips I am going to harpoon the nearest tractor trailer rig and coast till he exits. Can anyone figure out a way to break free?

Anyways, most of whats said in this post is pretty far-fetched. Though, it is true the most noticable changes in mpg will deal with wind and weather. If you're traveling and have a tail wind, you'll get better milage, if you're driving into a headwind you'll get worse. Have strong crosswinds and you have to worry about gusts knocking you off the road. All part of the joys of owning a top heavy vehicle.

Magnetic fields and generally the slope of the country in general- will never measurabily change gas milage. (the country slopes downwards from both sides of the rocky mountains/continental divide)

I'm mostly bored and talking out of my ass on the thread.

So... how 'bout them gas prices? It's only 2.01 for premium here, but thats still bad for what it used to be...

I always get better gas mileage going south rather than north.


(If I go south, I hit downhill ranges that are at about a 10% downgrade, when coming back north, this makes a big difference)

As for the megnetic aspect of getting better gas milage. It has no bearing on MPG. Just becasue you are travling North desn't mean the North Magnetic poles is going to "pull" you north. Becasue the Suth pole "pulls" with the exact same force. So if the magnetic poles could affect MPG, the south pole would cancel out the north pole. But then again, if you were far enough North, the North would have a stronger force due to the facxt that you are closer to it.

But either way, it's just plain stupid. I'm glad most people on here are just having fun.. at least I sure hope no one is serious on here. besides the wind aspect of it. :p

I get better MPG with a fresh coat of wax.
Smoother finish = less resistance.
I also lean forward too.
I am sure that does nothing, but if feels like it does.

I just paid another 35$ for a full tank of gas, maybe I should put on a coat of wax....

OR you can lift the rear of your Ex three inches so that way you are ALWAYS going down hill.

I saw a 1-2mpg difference driving I70 W vs. I70 E across Kansas during a spring break road trip

Kansas has a constant NW headwind


Plus Kansas is all uphill as you go west..
Goodland is like 3600 feet ASL whereas Topeka is about 900 feet ASL