Tips for Faster Driving

[SVOboy]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

DWL within reason. Don't accelerate up hills, and if you can afford to lose a little speed on a steep ascent, do it. If you're running A/C, switch it off for ascents and on its highest setting for descents.

When you're going 75mph, your car has twice as much kinetic energy as when you're going 53mph. What this means to you: you have much more to lose when you hit the brakes. Bleed off some speed before you approach your exit. Leave enough room in front of you that traffic never causes you to hit the brakes.

Pump up the tires beforehand, apply Rain-X to your windshield so you won't need the wipers, and keep 12V loads down if it can be done conveniently. Clean the junk and unneeded tools out of your car before you go to cut down on rolling resistance.

Some of this is pretty obvious stuff that you do anyway, but there's not much else that can be done when you're constrained by time and the speed limit.

I have had best results with this method using diesels and other leanburn (coughcough) vehicles. I suggest give this a try.

[Old Tele man]

...what? You didn't have him "wax ON, wax OFF" the car so that it could "...slide..." thru the air easier?

[AeroModder]

Originally Posted by bgd73

do the opposite of previous posts, put some weight in, keep the a/c on,

He has a point.

Added weight reduces FE in the city, but it helps on the highway. More mass means more inertia, which means the air pushing you back won't have as much of an effect.

For example- Take a rolling car and try to stop it by pushing. Now take a heavier car and apply the same force. That heavier car will be harder to slow. The Law of Inertia doesn't lie.

However, doing the "opposite" of filling up your tires isn't a good idea, and it's already been shown using the AC hurts FE.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by robchalmers

Well for clarification I'm Scottish, just on the english side of board on the border but I to watch the England matches.... but i'm supporting Japan

I expect a message tomorrow (Sunday) around 6 then, either way All my teams I have in the work sweep have gone out so far. I have enjoyed an afternoon with the 2010 WC game on the Wii with A jnr though.

For others, I did no weight reduction other than the slight tummy upset I had on the wayt down - I blame the hotel kitchen I was staying in paying more attention to the World Cup than cooking.