I know that most people already know about this and it is common physics having to do with drag, aerodynamics, weight....friction and what not. But this is just a simple reminder to everyone because even i forgot about it and this article reminded me. Slow down save gas.

http://autos.aol.com/article/green/_...21163809990001

I drive 30 miles to work at about 75-80 mph on open hwy with no red lights or traffic and gentle hills. The speed limit is 65 mph. At 75-80mph I get 20-21mpg. After reducing my speed to 65pmh today I got 26mpg and my HUD. That is a huge difference and more than worth slowing down in this time of $4 gallon gas and hard economic times. Thanks for reading. Hope this is ok in the EVO X section because I have seen lots of whats your MPG threads.

 

I dunno about that, its very dependent on gearing and motor type/size. A big V8 wont like to be revved out and will suck down gas at higher speeds and RPMs, but a small 4 cylinder is actually very efficient in higher speeds/gears.

I know when i had my ITR i got more MPG at 80 then i did at 70.

 

I'm a huge fan of catching a nice draft off a tractor trailer. I like you have a 30 mile HWY trip to work. Between the slower speeds 65-70 and a truck breaking the air in front of you it yields a pretty good improvement.

 

lets do some math:

It takes 3 hours to go 240miles at 80mph, and 4 hours at 60mph.
Lets take the evo, I average roughly 20mpg at 80mph. This means it takes me 12 gallons to go 240miles. If I were to average 5mpg better by going 60mph, then it would take me 9.6 gallons.

So, by going 80 instead of 60 it takes an extra 2.4gallons of gas.

2.4gallons times $4 per gallon is $9.60.

So the question really is: is an hour of your time worth $9.60?
And lastly I really don't think 60mph is 5mpg more efficient then 80mph. Personally I'd rather pay the $8 for an extra hour.

 

Good point

 

Couldn't have summed it up better myself. Exactly why I don't give a **** about my mileage relative to my speed My time's worth a lot more than the little gas savings to be had by slowing down.

Of course then I get a speeding ticket which negates my whole reasoning... doh

 

X2!

 

LOL. $200 ticket and time spent in court... Too many variables for my liking.LOL good point to the OP.

 

The answer is no and +1.

 

Bingo. Good gas mileage is cool and all, but they make the Prius for that friends.

 

See I disagree with this method. I also commute about 40 miles a day on the open highway, but found a different method. I stay at a constant 78-80mph and get better gas mileage than going slower. My theory behind this is that Once you get your momentum up, you can use less gas going up hills. I average around 27mpg on the hwy going close to 80, where as going slower I get about 24mpg. I feel like the slower you go, the more you have to fluctuate your rpm's, which in turn, causes worse mpg.

 

You should also convert the AWD to FWD to get better MPG!!

 

Just tailgate the car in front to of you like every other idiot on the road. If you get about 15 cars drafting at 80 the fuel mileage increase is huge. it's like a 30% increase.

I saw it on mythbusters but, it was with a tractor trailer.

 

The higher the speed you are at the higher your engine rpm is. Go drive around town in first gear and tell me what kind of gas mileage you get. Also the faster you are going the more drag and wind resistance your car makes and it takes alot more of your cars power to push through it. Do you think your car would get worse gas mileage if it weighed 5,000 pounds vs. 3000 pounds. Your theory is wrong because it is not based on any factual thing.

 

Thanks for your helpfull comment. Thats like telling someone that is putting a bigger turbo on their EVO that they should of just bought a faster car. You fail.