Window Up or Down?

[palemelanesian]

Windows down...

Try the driver's window down just a couple inches and the right rear also a couple inches down. That gives almost as much ventilation as having one window all the way down.

I'm in Texas and my AC is broken. I have to know what keeps it cool (er).

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Call me a spoiled American if you will, but I <3 automatic climate systems (until they break).

Although it's sold as a luxury option, I think it's really a personal preference, not an issue of being spoiled. It's not that I don't want a system that can automatically do what I want, it's that the systems don't do what I want and the interfaces require entirely more attention than I want to give to climate control.

If you want a steady ambient air temperature inside your vehicle, those systems are good. I generally want ultra-hot or ultra-cold air blown hard at a specific part of me that is feeling uncomfortable, or I want the ambient interior temperature at an extreme until I'm feeling better.

It seems more common in modern automatic systems to have the abilities to satisfy preferences like mine (vs. some older systems that never accounted for that), but it's still annoying to deal with an interactive interface instead of just cranking a couple dials all the way to their limits.

[Jay2TheRescue]

The older GM systems had a simple dial or lever that could be turned to select the desired temperature.

[Ford Man]

Windows down actually works better for me although I'll use my a/c when needed. My best mileage 49.85 mpg on my '97 Escort was a cool summer day with the windows down and c/c set at 55 mph on the interstate. Normally driving the same speed with the a/c going 40-44 mpg is the normal.

[VX_Arky]

Thanks Ford Man. Good input.

[1cheap1]

Windows down at 30mph or less, windows up 30 and up. 50.2 mpg with windows up, AC going, drafting and CC at 57 mph.