Idea for those who commute

[stoopid]

We already surrender so much of our personal/private time to things outside of our control, this is one area we actually have some small say in reclaiming that time for ourselves.

 

[ChrisJ]

No.

 

[14T6MT]

Before I got this car I wasn't that interested in fuel economy and my 2002 Forester didn't care for it either.
Now I'm borderline obsessed with it. I actually cringe on the highway when I'm cruising at 65, hit a hill, and see my Avg. MPG click down one or two tenths. My girlfriend thinks it's hilarious.

 

[jayrq2o1]

Couldn't you still go 10-15 mph over the speed limit, but just get there more gradually and still get good mileage? I've read its not so much the speed as it is the acceleration that destroys gallons of fuel (typically you get richer the higher you rev right?). So you can still have your cake and eat it too. I managed 45 mpg on my Sonic's first trip to Florida right after I bought it at 75-80 mph. It just meant accelerating slower and shifting sooner.

After I got it tuned last year, my drive down that time went down to 40 mpg, of course I just got it tuned so... yeah. I know that generally, the economy is much the same between tune and stock, but... race car.

 

[14T6MT]

Couldn't you still go 10-15 mph over the speed limit, but just get there more gradually and still get good mileage? I've read its not so much the speed as it is the acceleration that destroys gallons of fuel (typically you get richer the higher you rev right?). So you can still have your cake and eat it too. I managed 45 mpg on my Sonic's first trip to Florida right after I bought it at 75-80 mph. It just meant accelerating slower and shifting sooner.

After I got it tuned last year, my drive down that time went down to 40 mpg, of course I just got it tuned so... yeah. I know that generally, the economy is much the same between tune and stock, but... race car.

Air resistance increases exponentially, I believe.

 

[Swordsmith]

Yep, cruising at 65 is much better than cruising at 75, even if you reset your counter after getting to cruising speed so it doesn't matter how much you wasted getting there. There are some "sweet spots" for speed, though, where going slower can end up costing you more than going a little faster, and it also seems to be better to vary your speed, use a little more pedal than you'd think, go faster than you meant to, then coast, gradually slowing to lower than you meant to, yo-yo back and forth around your average speed rather than try and keep just a little pedal on to maintain a constant. Figuring all this out is really an art form of its own, some people get massively into it, just as some get massively into getting all the power out of the car that they can.

 

[stoopid]

Yep, cruising at 65 is much better than cruising at 75, even if you reset your counter after getting to cruising speed so it doesn't matter how much you wasted getting there. There are some "sweet spots" for speed, though, where going slower can end up costing you more than going a little faster, and it also seems to be better to vary your speed, use a little more pedal than you'd think, go faster than you meant to, then coast, gradually slowing to lower than you meant to, yo-yo back and forth around your average speed rather than try and keep just a little pedal on to maintain a constant. Figuring all this out is really an art form of its own, some people get massively into it, just as some get massively into getting all the power out of the car that they can.

I hate following people engaged in this frugal exercise. I like to hit cruise and forget it, especially on longer drives.

 

[Swordsmith]

I hate following people engaged in this frugal exercise. I like to hit cruise and forget it, especially on longer drives.

I don't disagree, I'm just saying you -can- get more mpg doing this deliberately, and anecdotally I will add that I tend to get more mpg when doing my own speed control than when using CC, quite possibly because I do some of this naturally.

On the other hand, it is very relaxing to set CC and only have to keep an eye out for people moving slower than I am ahead of me, stop paying attention to speed entirely.

On the gripping hand, relaxing is not always what I want on a long trip... being forced to pay attention helps sometimes!

 

[stoopid]

I noticed fewer tickets once I started using cruise, even on shorter 10 mile highway jaunts. Having a lead foot can be expensive.

 

[ecohauler]

Time has more intrinsic value even for those making minimum wage.

You think so, eh? Try cashing in on the time you save by driving faster and see how it works out for you. Unless you can use the additional time to make money, time is only valuable insofar as you would pay to have it back. Time has no intrinsic value.

 

[OsonicE]

I figure that if I drive my 35 mile commute each way, so 70 miles, at 60 mph it takes 70 minutes. at 70 mph it takes 1 hr.

Not only does it save gas, it's safer, slowing down saves lives.

and it saves wear on the car. pushing through the higher wind resistance means more stress and friction in the engine and transmission. The tires wear faster, the oil breaks down faster, more heat builds up in the rubber belts at higher revs. If I'm lucky I might just spend more time at the mechanic and the jiffy lube and the les schwab and the gas station.

If I'm not so lucky and hit a deer/dog or a person or another car because I'm are trying to save an hour per week. I would spend far more time than I saved at the body shop, the hospital, insurance company, courthouse, the junkyard, car dealer. I'd rather be in my car driving slow and safe and economical than any of those places sitting still.

 

[sonic_braaappp]

i think the time vs money saved thing all just depends on your outlook on things. im young, 24 about to turn 25, and i've been into racing driving fast etc. since i got my license, but now im at the point where i've sat down and calculated how much i could save per year by driving the posted speed limit, and while it may not seem like that much difference at each fill up, if you do what i'm doing and put that extra money saved into your retirement account, it adds up.

For example, when driving with a heavy foot or at higher RPM's, my RS gets 28 mpg, when i hit cruise control at the speed limit of 60 mph, i get 38 mpg, if i were to get 28 mpg's regularly, my fuel cost since i bought the car in june would be $857.14, by getting 38 mpg my fuel cost since june is only $631.50 for 8000 miles of driving, and it hasnt even been 6 months, so at least $500 a year into a savings account? i can sacrifice adding 5 minutes to daily commute lol

 

[SuperFudd]

As for the idea of a bumper sticker bragging your MPG, Back during the gas crisis (Kids, check your history books. Mid '70s.) I was commuting on my 1972 Honda CL450K5 and getting 56mpg so I put "56mpg" in reflective tape on the back of my jacket. Don't know if anyone cared. Cars back then were getting, typically, less than 20mpg.
Minimum speed limit? I have never seen one.
Slowing to 60mph on your commute? I can rarely get over 60mph.

 

[ahtoxa]

People drive at whatever speed they are comfortable at. The 'comfortable' speed is somewhat influenced by the speed limit, of course, but in turn, the speed limit is regulated and influenced by the environment.

Bottom line is, it doesn't matter what you show the people. They all know that driving slower gets better fuel economy.

I do the same. I drive at whatever (reasonable) speed I'm comfortable at. Usually, I speed some. Sometimes I speed a lot.

If one can be disciplined to drive economically all the time - more power to them. To me, it gets very boring, very fast. After a tankful I'm back to the way I drove before. Now, I don't drive recklessly or absurdly fast, no. I just drive how I like. The few hundred bucks saved per year aren't worth the mind-numbingly boring, restrained, disciplined drive every day.

 

[sonic_braaappp]

People drive at whatever speed they are comfortable at. The 'comfortable' speed is somewhat influenced by the speed limit, of course, but in turn, the speed limit is regulated and influenced by the environment.

Bottom line is, it doesn't matter what you show the people. They all know that driving slower gets better fuel economy.

I do the same. I drive at whatever (reasonable) speed I'm comfortable at. Usually, I speed some. Sometimes I speed a lot.

If one can be disciplined to drive economically all the time - more power to them. To me, it gets very boring, very fast. After a tankful I'm back to the way I drove before. Now, I don't drive recklessly or absurdly fast, no. I just drive how I like. The few hundred bucks saved per year aren't worth the mind-numbingly boring, restrained, disciplined drive every day.

which again falls into the "to each their own" category lol i do agree with you for the most part, but personally, almost my entire life has been about discipline in one way or another, and i've been in a lot of situations where a persons discipline (or the lack thereof) could completely change the outcome of an event or whatever, so to me there's nothing ming-numbingly boring about restrained disciplined driving as you put it, i just like to take my time with things. I love driving, so i don't rush when doing so unless people are driving below the speed limit, at which point i'll match pace with the flow of traffic to get past them then slow back down. I also don't want to ever pay for another ticket, and cops here will pull you over for going 5 over lol

 

[ahtoxa]

which again falls into the "to each their own" category lol i do agree with you for the most part, but personally, almost my entire life has been about discipline in one way or another, and i've been in a lot of situations where a persons discipline (or the lack thereof) could completely change the outcome of an event or whatever, so to me there's nothing ming-numbingly boring about restrained disciplined driving as you put it, i just like to take my time with things. I love driving, so i don't rush when doing so unless people are driving below the speed limit, at which point i'll match pace with the flow of traffic to get past them then slow back down. I also don't want to ever pay for another ticket, and cops here will pull you over for going 5 over lol

I've no qualms with that.

I found it interesting when I noticed that how I drive matters greatly on what I drive. It doesn't have to be a sporty car for me to want to drive fast and the 'comfortable' speed that I mentioned will vary greatly depending on vehicle choice.

Sonic/small and compact cars - somewhat spirited, often speeding with brisk acceleration.

Jeep/trail rig/truck/SUV - easy going, with flow of traffic, normal acceleration. Lumbering.

GTO - brisk acceleration but not much speeding. Mostly keeping under the radar, so to speak.

 

[sonic_braaappp]

I've no qualms with that.

I found it interesting when I noticed that how I drive matters greatly on what I drive. It doesn't have to be a sporty car for me to want to drive fast and the 'comfortable' speed that I mentioned will vary greatly depending on vehicle choice.

Sonic/small and compact cars - somewhat spirited, often speeding with brisk acceleration.

Jeep/trail rig/truck/SUV - easy going, with flow of traffic, normal acceleration. Lumbering.

GTO - brisk acceleration but not much speeding. Mostly keeping under the radar, so to speak.

can't disagree with that at all lol

 

[SuperFudd]

I agree with Ahtoxa. Driving responsibly is SO boring.