DRLs - Daytime Running Lights - Anyone Running Them?

[AndyR]

Can someone explain how a greater electrical load causes worse mpg in any case other than idle? It's not like the engine makes more RPM for any given gear and speed based on alternator load. Otherwise......my fuel consumption will be proportional to how loud I have the audio system cranked up.

 

[MarkT]

Can someone explain how a greater electrical load causes worse mpg in any case other than idle? It's not like the engine makes more RPM for any given gear and speed based on alternator load. Otherwise......my fuel consumption will be proportional to how loud I have the audio system cranked up.

The load the alternator puts on the engine varies with the electrical load... IIRC, every 100 watt electrical load takes roughly 0.2 HP of power from the engine.

Maybe think of it this way... most RV auxiliary generators run at a constant RPM. With no electrical load the generator might run all day at 2250 RPM on a gallon of gas... at full rated output at the same 2250 RPM, the same generator might only run an hour on a gallon of gas...

 

[AndyR]

Ok, that I get.

 

[bender5]

Here in Pennsylvania you get a ticket for $200 if you don't have your headlights on whenever its rainining or in a construction zone. Construction zones stop and start all over the damn place. I don't want a trooper giving me a bill for $200. I just put a piece of black duct tape over the light sensor in the center by the defroster outlet and leave my lights on auto. Seriously here if the rain is just a lightmist and you don't have your lights on they will make an effort to ballance the state budget off of you.

 

[HoustonRider]

I have never paid $3.81 gallon for any type of fuel (87, 93, or diesel). DRL are about as useful as powerlocks on the tail gate of a truck.

ahhhhhh, the old days.....lol

 

[MagicMtnDan]

DRL are about as useful as powerlocks on the tail gate of a truck.

You oughta know what they say about opinions...

Here, let me Google that for you and give you some facts:

"Numerous studies done worldwide since the 1970s have tended to conclude that daytime running lights improve safety. A 2008 study by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration analysed the effect of DRLs on frontal and side-on crashes between two vehicles and on vehicle collisions with pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. The analysis determined that DRLs offer no statistically-significant reduction in the frequency or severity of the collisions studied, except for a reduction in light trucks' and vans' involvement in two-vehicle crashes by a statistically-significant 5.7%."

 

[Floppy]

I can attest to the safety aspect on DRL's on the highways here in Canada where they are manditory on all road vehicles. We live at the north end of Highway 63 in Alberta, #5 on the deadly list for Canadian highways. There are alot of "impatient" drivers on this highway that like to think that the speed limit is 150km/h, the double solid line is merely a suggestion not to pass someone, and that they are the greatest drivers ever to roll on the earth. DRL have saved my life when there is only a split second to realize that car infront of you is suddenly in the wrong lane on a blind corner.
There are a few people that shut them off by locking the emergency brake on at the first notch, but it just seems trivial.
The DRLs on most domestic cars now draw 50-70% of the power of the lamp, just enough to make it glow. Thats the problem I have with them as this discolors and shortens the lifespan of the bulbs.