Is going 55 mph really the best speed?

[Absolutely Red 12]

Originally Posted by Uber_Otter

The one key thing they do is "No tailgating" and "move your slow dumb ass over". The tailgating laws on the autobahn are very rigid and heavily enforced, so are the laws to yield to a driver going faster than you. The ticket fines vary because they are a Percentage of your annual income. That way it stings everyone equally.

Tailgate once, license suspended for 3 months + fines. Overtake on the right is forbidden. Drive slow in left lane and they shoot your car with a Old panzer tank.


Most accidents in the US could be avoided if the driver had more than 5 feet between them and the car in front of them. People who do the speed limit in the left lane cause most of the problems and accidents I see. You eliminate those and you have Autobahn safety stats.

You can't "drive" in the fast lane on the Autobahn.
It's there for you to pass, once done passing, you go back to the right lane.
No one will tailgate you in the right lane, they jus pass you!!

[charles nelson]

The 'sweet spot' for my 2008 auto Yaris is about 53 mph at a constant speed. With no wind I get about 47-49 mpg. The mileage drops off significantly at speeds above and below that. At Freeway speeds above 65mph my mileage never gets higher than 39 mpg.
I have gotten as high as 65 mpg with a 30 mph tail wind...mileage dropped to mid-30s on the return trip. Traveling at 70 mph with a 45mph headwind...the Yaris never got out of the high 20s.

[Idahotom]

I'm lucky that my most driven route can either be on an interstate (with little traffic) or a secondary road with a 45 mph limit that everyone drives 50. When on either about midway on the 14 mile drive there is a truck port of entry, more importantly there is a big flag. The way the weather systems work around here in this valley, the wind is either calm, or a direct tailwind or direct headwind.

I can look at the ScanGauge during my drive and before even seeing the flag, tell you what the wind is doing! I usually opt for the 45 mph route, and drive it on cruise at 47 to 50, and easily get the same numbers in mpg, in fact it gets a little confusing when glancing at the gauge as often both displays will match.

One day I had a strong tailwind from an approaching cold front, and hours later heading back also a tailwind due to the storm arrival. This netted me my as yet unbroken record of 70 MPG for my about 28 mile commute. My average for this route is mid 50's mpg.

[jayeh]

Originally Posted by joe keeney

55 you'll get flatten by a pick up down here,

Originally Posted by joe keeney

55 not in texas you'll be a hood ornament on a pick up,

Nah, Texans know how to drive. Here in Ontario that would be suicide. People use the right lane as the passing lane and the left lane as the right lane. If I drive 5-10 over the speed limit I'm being tailgated in the right lane!

When I was in Texas I was shocked by how many people were driving well below the speed limit. 55-65 on roads that were 65-80. Here I can set my cruise control at 10km/hr over the speed limit and not pass a single car for hundreds of km, but get passed by everyone like I'm standing still.

Originally Posted by TLyttle

Not true, detroiter. The licensing system there doesn't allow a high school nitwit to drive a Corvette equivalent. Better yet, they have to start out on scooters, in the city: only then do they learn to pay attention to something more than their own egos. Nothing like finding yourself in the middle of an intersection on your butt wondering what you did wrong. Much better. Much smarter.

It is not the road. It is not the vehicle. It is the driver, and his education. But apparently, everyone, regardless of age, has the right to drive, and drive anything they choose, and that is where the fatalities come from. Dear oh dear, just read the papers, or watch TV news to justify this!

You say that like giving a 16 year old a supercar or a giant truck is a bad idea or something

[Hershey]

Did a fill this evening of SUNOCO 87 w/E10 ( 8.752 gals. @ 1 click ) and got 41.36 m.p.g. overall . The gas was MOBIL 87 w/E10 . Tires at 35 p.s.i.. Many steep hills , some interstate , and city . Conditions were windy , wet on occasion , and some cold mornings . Two people for over 1/2 of the tank ( 362 mis. ) . Overall average probably about 49 m.p.h.. Don't pamper it all that much .

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by jayeh

Nah, Texans know how to drive. Here in Ontario that would be suicide. People use the right lane as the passing lane and the left lane as the right lane. If I drive 5-10 over the speed limit I'm being tailgated in the right lane!

When I was in Texas I was shocked by how many people were driving well below the speed limit. 55-65 on roads that were 65-80. Here I can set my cruise control at 10km/hr over the speed limit and not pass a single car for hundreds of km, but get passed by everyone like I'm standing still.



You say that like giving a 16 year old a supercar or a giant truck is a bad idea or something

I normally drive 55-60, sometimes 63-65 on the freeway, but always in the right lane and only if the freeway is 3+ lanes in each direction. If the freeway is only 2 lanes in each direction, I'll drive the limit in the right lane. In the Houston metro the freeway speed limits are usually 60 and 65. There might be a few places where it's 55 and a few where it's 70. Outside of metro areas the speed limit on freeways is 70 in some places and 75 in others except where it's 80 (from i think it's mile marker 61 to mile marker 491) on I-10 and possibly a few other places....and of course the new raised limit of 85 on a toll road between Austin and San Antonio.

[charles nelson]

A couple of additional comments. Popular Mechanics Mag found that slow accelerations do not give as good mileage as a fast acceleration. Faster acceleration puts you into highest gears sooner, and the best mileage. My Toyota mechanic told me that his 'average' customers are getting higher mileage with the auto trans than 5 speed manual stick. It appears that the transmission computer is better at setting the optimal combination of speed and gear ratio. Experienced drivers using manual do get better mileage than even the computer.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

I normally drive 55-60, sometimes 63-65 on the freeway, but always in the right lane and only if the freeway is 3+ lanes in each direction. If the freeway is only 2 lanes in each direction, I'll drive the limit in the right lane. In the Houston metro the freeway speed limits are usually 60 and 65. There might be a few places where it's 55 and a few where it's 70. Outside of metro areas the speed limit on freeways is 70 in some places and 75 in others except where it's 80 (from i think it's mile marker 61 to mile marker 491) on I-10 and possibly a few other places....and of course the new raised limit of 85 on a toll road between Austin and San Antonio.

I was at a Barnes and Noble a couple of hours ago thumbing through one of the mainstream automobile magazines (Automobile, R & T, Motor Trend, etc) and I came upon an article about this 85 mph limit road. A map inset is included with the article. I learned the road is designated SH 130. The last press report I read about this road lead me to believe that the location of this road = west of I-35. I know the 85 mph limit started only last year, but I haven't bothered to seek it out because the thought of fighting traffic in Austin was always in the back of my mind. When I saw the map inset, I thought I've seen the interchange at HWY 290 during trips to and from Austin and I've even driven on it (but I know I didn't pay a toll). My impression was that this is a very well constructed highway. I just looked the highway up on Wikipedia. Wikipedia states that the 41 mile section between Lockhart and I-10 is the 85 MPH limit section, the highest posted speed limit in the U.S. This section just opened in late October 2012. I tried to find it on Mapquest, and this section isn't included yet. I tried Google (which I try to avoid), and this new section is on Google Maps.

This section is (in its entirety) East of I-35 (as is all of SH 130). The part of I-10 where it ends is pretty rural (IMO, from experience). I imagine the rest is as well. I have yet to make it to The Alamo (), even though I could do it on a long day trip (and I have spent some time in San Antonio on trips to and from California). When I do make it to The Alamo, I'll budget time to explore this 41 mile stretch of SH 130 as well.