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Thanks for the tips everyone. My afternoon commute is during non rush hours so it's not too bad. The evening commute is during rush hours and I have a tendency of wanting to keep up with the joneses (at least it's at night so I have an "excuse" to drive slowly).
I'm starting to accelerate quicker too. My gears go up to 1800 RPM before it shifts up, so I almost never go above that. It takes me about 5 seconds to go from stop to the next gear and then 3 seconds per gear after that.
I thought that driving slower would be less stressful, but I guess in the beginning stages I've found myself looking in the rear-view mirror, tracking other cars, tracking my acceleration and speed, etc. to be fairly stressful. Hopefully in the long run it'll become second nature and I will be better for it.
Diesel_Dave, I've noticed this "pack" phenomenon, but previously from the perspective of the driver that speeds and passes these packs. Traffic will never allow me to go 1/2 the speed limit, but I try to let others pass to maximize coasting.
Is this optimal driving? On the 50 MPH hilly road, I'll accelerate to about 55-60 depending on traffic, coast downhill while keeping that speed, and then lightly step on the gas uphill while still losing about 5-10 MPH. Then I'll accelerate down the next hill or flat to 55-60 and repeat the cycle.
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