How to figure out which route is more gas saving?
I have a 1993 mazda miata with a 11.9 gallon tank that generally gets 21 city, 26 highway. There are a couple ways for me to get to class each day and i’m trying to figure out which is best to go to save on gas but i’m not sure how exactly to calculate it. One option is to go down an 8 mile stretch of parkway at roughly 70mph, another is to go down a major business road with some traffic and decently timed lights that stretches roughly 6.5 miles driving between 35-50mph, and finally I have the option of taking a back street with basically no lights and a few stop signs here and there that is about 6.5 miles long and driving about 40-50 mph. I know that the straightest route is supposed to be the shortest but idk. Another thing that the miata has is the ability to use over drive which switches the transmission from 4 cylinders to 3. Any idea which route is the best to go and if it’s best to keep the overdrive on all the time? Also any gas saving techniques anyone has would be appreciated. Thank you!
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Filed under Gas Conservation FAQ by on May 19th, 2011. Comment. 
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Comments on How to figure out which route is more gas saving?
The most fuel efficient route is the one closest to 60mph with the fewest stops. If you have a Garmin GPS, you can download an Eco-Route application (it’s free, and I highly recommend it) that will calculate the most fuel efficient route based on your vehicles mpg rating and road type.
Based on your description, I would say the most efficient route is the parkway stretch, followed by the back street, and the business road would be the worst.
To address the overdrive… it’s referring to a gear in the transmission that allows your engine to run at low rpm at high speed. If your engine does go from 4 cylinder to 3 cylinder (I’ve never heard of that in a Miata, but then again I haven’t really studied them), it will do that automatically, not when you push the overdrive button.