General speeding - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

saunders1313 · 07-17-2008, 02:48 PM

I'm sure everyone here drives the speed limit or under (max fe). But has anyone ever counted how many cars pass you going 10 to 15 miles over the speed limit. Why do people think that this country (in general) is so dependent on oil? If people just slowed down roads would be safer and everyone would use less fuel. Less fuel consumption = less demand = lower prices. I can't stand listening to people complain about the price of gas when they drive 75 mph on a road that is posted at 55mph. Just my rant, I'm done now.

azraelswrd · 07-17-2008, 03:13 PM

I started counting since I learned about HM and on average about 2 cars pass me every 10 miles of driving. But I'd say most aren't going that much faster -- maybe 5mph more. I'd estimate maybe 1 driver out of 100 miles have I encountered the barn burners. People really have slowed down but they're still accelerating up to stop lights so by the time I get there it's green and I'm passing the guy who raced up to it 5-7 seconds earlier.

(I love that feeling btw)

jamesqf · 07-17-2008, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saunders1313

I'm sure everyone here drives the speed limit or under (max fe).

Wrong! And I do it for fuel economy, too. (Well, sometimes :-))

I live in the mountains, you see, where there are long downhill runs - 20 miles or more, some of them. When I go down them, I'm in fuel cutoff mode so using zero gas. Therefore I go as fast as practical, since the gravity's already paid for, and the extra speed will let me coast over any small rises and further out on the flat.

But in general I have no problem with people going fast. After all, on level ground I can get 50-60 mpg at 70 mph, while those people in the gas-guzzlers would be hard pressed to get 20 mpg at 45 mph. Speed's not the problem: oversized, inefficient cars are.

ALS · 07-17-2008, 03:39 PM

I was out on the Pa. Turnpike and I-79 today and people have slowed down. I didn't see much speeding in general. Most drivers were running right at the limit or under by a few mph.
I must note one exception. On I-579 heading south into Pittsburgh I had a full size Chevrolet or GMC van with U.S. Government plates blow by me at least 20 mph over the limit. He was also weaving in and out of the lighter than normal traffic.

99metro · 07-17-2008, 03:39 PM

Most of the drivers on my commute I know are 10-15 over. They are nearly always driving the speed that the NEXT speed limit sign says. So if I pass the last 50 mph sign in a zone, they are already gunning it to be 65+ when the 65 mph sign comes up a mile away. I always feel like I am the only one who does the speed limit...

I have noticed that there is an increasing number of people that are following me and not passing even at 55 mph or less. That is nice, BUT it also means I can't pulse and glide. The good and the bad, I guess.

ebacherville · 07-17-2008, 04:28 PM

I just took a trip and drove as the romans drove.. doing 75-80mph the entire 260 miles, filled up before and after the trip, averaged 47 mpg.. better than EPA even at those speeds.. my car has extensive areo mods that allow for this to happen , just proves that cars need to be small light and aerodynamic and you can get great mpg's even at crazy speeds.. the better the aerodynamics the faster you can go with out killing the mpg's

equation112 · 07-17-2008, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesqf

But in general I have no problem with people going fast. After all, on level ground I can get 50-60 mpg at 70 mph, while those people in the gas-guzzlers would be hard pressed to get 20 mpg at 45 mph. Speed's not the problem: oversized, inefficient cars are.

hi all.. long time lurker, first time poster here, and I have to agree with the above. Isn't the ultimate goal to have high FE at all speeds? it certainly is for me. I only hope that I can get half of Basjoos' 80mpg at 80mph with my tc, but then i have no intention of going as far as he has with the mods ^^. My goals are more to be able to improve my car's performance across the board.

lets not go into why gas costs so much, because that is far more affected by our politicians and their policies than by our driving habits.

saunders1313 · 07-17-2008, 04:34 PM

I drive on major highways mostly (I-95) and I'm usually the slowest out there driving at the speed limit. I do understand that politicians do control the price of gas to some extent, but I believe that some of it is based on the priniciple of supply and demand. I don't know why people complain, we still have some of the cheapest gas in the world. Maybe people should drive smaller, lighter cars instead of their GMC Yukon or Cadillac Escalade.

MazdaMatt · 07-17-2008, 04:45 PM

I realized one day about a year ago that when i drove my regular 200km from my house to my parents' house that nobody would pass me. That meant that I was the fastest person on the highway for 200km. Bad idea. Funny, the ONLY people that ever did pass me drove suv's and pickup trucks.

Now I drive in the slow lane and I pass maybe a dozen trucks and 2-3 cars making the same trip.

equation112 · 07-17-2008, 05:02 PM

thing is, most of those higher prices around the world are caused by heavy taxes, and it has been like that for decades - in sweden for example, gas was somewhere around $1.50 per litre the last time I was there about 10 years ago, which was about the same as it cost per gallon here during the same period. that difference was all in taxes.