Slow Down!

"speedbump on the road of life"??
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I think what SoCal needs is a serious ice storm.
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_H*

 

<edit> Oops, forgot which avatar I was using here...

Two Lumps

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I'm going to have to try the mileage when running at 65mph instead of 55mph, just to record the differences, but I need to wait for the weather to settle down, first: one day it's cold, the next sweltering. I can't do an objective assessment until I can more or less count on the same conditions on a regular basis for a couple of weeks.

That will come soon, I am sure.

 

I drive 65 miles each way on my Los Angeles commute and I know what you're saying. Half the time I'm doing 80 mph, the other half I'm lucky if I'm doing 20.

 

SUBARUTOO, i reside about 30 minutes away from you. I'm only getting about 46-47, how are you getting 50?

thanks:flame:

 

After owning my 2007 Prius for almost a year now, I have come to the conclusion that I don't think that speed is the issue of preventing good gas mileage. I drive 47 miles to and from work every day and I drive at an avg speed of 70-80 mph. I still get between 48 and 52mpg in the cold months. I think the issue is obtaining a specific speed. I live in tennessee so obviously there are a lot of hills here. I normally try to keep my speed in a range from 65 to 80. If I am going up a hill i'll let off the gas so i'm using less fuel trying to get up the hill and I might drop down to 65 (speed limit 70). But when i am going down the hill i'll keep the gas off which the hill will basically bring me back up to 75mph sometimes 80. and just tapping the gas will keep me there. I always watch the info screen to make sure that the amount of pressure i'm putting on the gas pedal keeps me over the 50mpg range. I love it when i'm passing cars at 80 and i look at my info screen and see 50+mpg :> SWEET!

I wish there was a cruise control option that you can set the fuel to only consume so much fuel to keep you in that 50mpg + range on the info screen. It would have to be something where its coded to put in your speed range that you want to maintain so i would put in 65min to 80max. and it will fluctuate between giving me my 50+mpg's :> Anyway that's enough dreaming for now..

 

The laws of physics are against you here. Higher speeds will always increase friction (after a certain point) and thus resistance and cause you to use more fuel. This has been tested over and over again so we know how it works.

As for the cruise control option, I was thinking about that the other day. I envisioned a throttle limiter with a push button activation/defeat that kept throttle position from going beyond a specific value. It would be sweet!

 

I recently moved from an urban area here in warm flatland Florida where I was averaging 55+ MPG, to a much more rural area where I was averaging 49 to 52 MPG. As a real estate appraiser, I am still commuting to the city via interstate easily going 75 miles each and every workday. In doing that, I was going about 70 MPH the first few months or so. I missed my regular mid to upper 50's MPG tanks, and recently started to relgiously driving 55 MPH on the interstate. (With everyone and their brother passing me I might add!)

Not only has my gas mileage gone back up, believe it or not I am averaging just over 60 MPG now! My last tank was 59.7 MPG and I am 240 miles into my current tank at 61 MPG. Drive 55, Sammy Hagar may not be able to do, but I can and I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

love your signature. I just said about the same thing in the Noob section.

Here's my fix for speed and power

 

I'd like to know that too. I drive from Ventura to downtown L.A. every week day and average around 48. I'm sure it's because of the two grades I have to go up and down that keeps the mileage at around 48.

 

+1 on the comment about keeping at a steady speed for best mpg. Not only for yourself, but for those behind you who will be at different points on grades, so won't want to change speeds with you.

If you really want to save, just "draft" behind big rigs going at least 55MPH, in steady traffic. If you're lucky, you'll find yourself behind a tour bus in the HOV lane going a steady 75-80. It's a little hectic, having to flip the CC up and down to keep a constant interval, but gets you 10% - 20% better MPG at the same speed, so long as speed is steady.

Coming back from Pikes Peak to LA, last Aug, the empty big rigs would really fly, leaving a huge hole in their wakes. This was especially helpful in the rain, where they would also "dry" the road in front of you, where our skinny tires would otherwise have us driving 20MPH slower than the 16 wheelers can do. Lots of dirty spray, but I felt much safer in heavy rains doing 60 in a draft, as opposed to doing 45 squirreling all over on my own, on the verge of hydroplaning.

This is fairly safe to do, so long as you don't get too close, as the trucks can't slow as well as we can, and usually "telegraph" their speed changes better than lighter vehicles. The main hazard is when the HOV lane hasn't been swept for a while, as the tour buses can really throw up a lot of debris. If you're really "good" (i.e., opposite of obnoxious), when you ultimately pass the truck and switch your headlights one second on/off or off/on, the driver will acknowlege your skill by doing the same. Don't count on tour bus drivers to do this, though, as they're way less road savvy than the shippers.

 

When drafting on a big rig, one will be in the drivers blind spot-- very dangerous and not the thing to recommend, in my opinion.

I'd much rather everyone drive safely and arrive at their destinations a minute or two later. Otherwise, the last "telegraph" you receive may be a trailer's bumper communicating with your skull.

 

I used to "draft" behind buses and 18-wheelers. I really didn't think the extra MPG was worth all the debris these larger vechiles kick up and scratch and knick your car with. As mentioned earlier in this thread, going 55 MPH is just as benefical and gives you much less stress.

 

When we were moving to Huntsville AL, they had one of their 20 year apart snow storms. The rental company would not let me buy their insurance (no problem, I use my own policy anyway.) So I got out on the road and 3-4 inches of snow, no real problem. Then I noticed all the pickup trucks and four wheelers that had spun off the road into the ditch.

It didn't take long to realize that a significant number of Alabama drivers have only two foot control settings: full on accelerator, or full on brake. Needless to say, the results are amusing when anything falls from the sky.

Bob Wilson

 

I don't notice much debris being kicked up, but I do worry about a tire blowing. A family member of mine was riding a motorcycle beside a truck when the tire next to him blew. I'm very happy he wasn't behind the truck. I do notice a nice boost from 55mpg to 75mpg behind a truck, but it is also not worth it to me. I can get the same benefit by following a SUV.

 

Joe Cleanmpg says: don't draft!

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