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I experimented with it driving Up North. At 70mph my trip computer was reading 25-27 mpg. Dropped it to 60mph and got 30-34mpg. Shades of the 55mph speed limit! It may come back!
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Exactly what I was thinking. Kind of like when someone asks for spare change for a cup of coffee.
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[quote datbeme]Exactly what I was thinking. Kind of like when someone asks for spare change for a cup of coffee.
Now days they mean change from a $10 bill.
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[quote DP]I experimented with it driving Up North. At 70mph my trip computer was reading 25-27 mpg. Dropped it to 60mph and got 30-34mpg. Shades of the 55mph speed limit! It may come back!
I made a sililar experiment - ran up I-95 for a hundred miles at the prevailing speed (between 70 and 80, usually 75) and averaged 27 mpg. On the way back, I hugged the right lane and drove 65, trying to be oblivious to the folks screaming by in their Beemers at 85, and averaged 31. Now that I'll be unemployed, and no longer in a hurry, I'd welcome a 55 mph limit again. I didn't care much for it back in the 70's though.
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[quote SDGuy][quote mick e]Try running at 55-60mph. If you don't get run off the road and killed, you'll see even better mpg.
I actually was curious what kind of mileage I'd get driving 55 - but don't have the fortitude to try it. I just envision being rearended within the first mile...
a year or so ago i made the change you did ( 75 down to 70) and saw such an immediate improvement that i drove 70 pretty much all the time. it's a big shift when you're used to 75. in the past few months i've dropped from 70 to 65 and, on a soccer trip last weekend, down to 60. 60 isn't as turtle like as you think when you're used to higher speeds and it definitely lightens the load on the wallet. i don't know if i can do it for days i need to drive 300 - 500 miles but for trips less than 100 miles i'll be creeping along the highway these days.
in a 70mph zone, other drivers do get a bit peeved but they eventually drive around you.
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Aye, for <150 miles or so I could live with 60mph. I can definitely live with 65 for anything over that. Enjoy the ride, as they say.
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You can STF, but I found a 20% improvement in mileage for city and highway combined by doing a short list of things:
Pulled the extra junk out of the trunk of my little Honda Civic.
Made sure the tires were at recommended pressure (they were a bit low)
Started driving 'fuel efficient', doing the following:
- Starting off slow
- Coasting when possible (I drive a stick, so it' s possible)
- Turning off the car when idling waiting for people and things (NOT when driving on the road)
- "Surge" and "Coast" driving- basically driving the way I ride my bicycle.
- highway driving at 60-65
I've noticed a lot of people are driving 60-65 these days. It's funny, because when you get passed by someone zooming along at70+, you usually find them one or two cars ahead of you at the stop light at the bottom of the exit ramp.
Yesterday I filled up the tank after 500 miles, and averaged 39.8 mpg. The prior fill saw an average of 40.3 mpg.
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[quote olnacl]I'd welcome a 55 mph limit again. I didn't care much for it back in the 70's though.
Yup .. saving fuel was the whole purpose of the 55mph limit way back when. 55 was a good compromise between getting along and getting economy. In Europe at least, trucks have a lower limit than cars and on motorways aka highways they tend to travel at about 55 (90/95kmh) so if you want to do a fuel saving trip, its easy just to sit behind a truck and put your brain in to park
... On the other hand the "Beemers" screaming by at 85mph are just the normal traffic here in Germany if it is flowing nicely (big if) -- actually the "normal" highway speed is today is probably a bit higher than that ... 90mph. The fast traffic is going by at between 110 to 125mph and the "screamers" are doing closer to 140mph.. But the average speed for the trip will be way lower as you need to spend a lot time and money re-fuelling when you do that stuff. Lane discipline is reasonable and the regulations (different rules from the US afaik) are enforced so "rear-ending" is much less likely.
But I'm sure I'd get killed.