Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesqf
It's not the money. It's like performance mods, which might cost hundreds or thousands to gain a few mph or shave a few tenths of a second off 0-60 times. Now is the time saved in travelling worth the cost, by any rational argument?
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Lets say I get ~20mpg (50/50 city highway) by going ~30 mph city and ~70mph highway (50mph average speed), and that I get ~30mpg by going ~25mph city and ~55mph highway (~40mph average speed). If I drive 15000 miles/year at the higher speeds then I'll spend ~75 hours less in the car and pay ~$750 more for gas, which is a marginal rate of ~$10/hour more to drive faster. This is ignoring any additional wear and tear from going faster, increased risk of getting in an accident from higher speeds, tickets, or higher insurance premiums from the last two, that will all add to the marginal cost
Now that we have figured out the minimum it costs to drive faster, in order to determine if it's worth it, we need to ask ourselves how much do we value work versus driving. If we like driving twice as much as work then it only makes sense to drive faster if we net $20+/hour or more. If we like work twice as much, then we have to net $5+/hour at work. It all depends on the actual difference in mileage/time given different driving behavior and personal preference. Understanding marginal cost versus personal preference gives us a good idea about what is worth doing financially and personally.
