70mph, the new 55mph... - Page 2 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Nevyn · 03-17-2010, 10:59 AM

They are saving gas by driving a Prius at 80 MPH. They're getting 30-35 MPG, instead of 15-20 like they would in a regular car.

hamsterpower · 03-17-2010, 08:54 PM

Many years ago I was driving to Florida. I had been driving all day and was no longer looking at the speedometer, just staying with the right lane traffic. There was a constant stream of SUVs and 18 wheelers passing on the left. Somewhere in SC I realized my little civic didn't sound right. When I finally looked at my speed I was shocked to see 105mph. I slowed down to 85 and held up right lane traffic a bit. I don't remember the revs it took to hit that speed but I'm sure it was over 5k.
I still managed an average over 35mpg on the trip though.

comptiger5000 · 03-17-2010, 10:41 PM

I always die a little when I see the person in the Prius or Smart car doing 75+ on the highway. At least it's not me in the brick on wheels, as I can get 19 - 20 mpg highway at 60 - 65, but at 75, I'm down to 14 - 15. By 90, I would guess 12.

fud2468 · 03-17-2010, 11:39 PM

With so many states and counties needing money, why don't they have the cops nail some of these extreme speeders with hefty fines??
Ray Mac.

Christ · 03-17-2010, 11:43 PM

Personally, I think that speeding tickets up to 10MPH over the PSL should be a "normal" fine. Anything more than 10MPH over the PSL should be immediate suspension and impounded vehicle.

Of course, if that were the law, I'd have lost my license and vehicle plenty of times since I got my license, until about 5 years ago. Well, did lose my license, but never the car, even after street racing tickets and reckless operation.

Nevyn · 03-19-2010, 09:54 AM

I don't know if it was supposed to be attached, or if it's coincidental, but here's an article...

Why 70 Miles Per Hour Is the New 55 - WSJ.com

Daox · 03-19-2010, 10:10 AM

Yikes.

Quote:

The Federal Highway Administration estimates that in 2008, about 31% of the total 37,261 highway fatalities were related to speeding over posted limits.

I bet of the remaining % drinking is the largest factor.

MadisonMPG · 03-19-2010, 11:48 AM

If I had to guess, a good percentage of those (high speed) wrecks involved drinking.

I think I may move to Hawaii...

EDIT: Because I fail at quoting.

jkp1187 · 03-19-2010, 12:00 PM

I'm surprised Georgia didn't rank a lot higher.

ALS · 03-20-2010, 11:51 AM

I have a body guy that pointed out to me how to tell how fast people travel on the highway.

After five or so years there are going to be a few paint nicks or chips no matter how slow they drive that is just the way it goes. But when you see a car that the front end and mirrors look sand blasted you can bet the driver is exceeding 70 mph on a regular basis.

That is the other reason to keep your speed down is to keep the paint damage to a minimum. At 55 mph a stone or bug is hits your car at 81 fps. At 70 mph that same stone or bug is hitting your car at 103 fps. At 80 mph it is 117fps.

At lower speeds under 45 mph not much small road debris is even going to penetrate the clear coat. Once you get over 50 mph the possibility of small objects thrown up by the vehicle in front of you punching through your paint goes up proportionally to the increase in speed. You drive at 55-60 mph and someone else with the same car drives at 70-75 mph you will have maybe 10-15% of the paint damage they have on their car over five or so years.