[ds968]

One of our local representatives, Jackie Speier, is introducing a bill in Congress for a federal 60mph limit, asserting this will save billions in gas consumption , and a few lives as well ( incidentally, her husband was killed in a head on collision but that was a decade or more ago, so this is purely an energy related bill ).



If the law passes, I can't imagine more than 10% of the driving population actually abiding by it, so the only effect this is going to have is more revenue from speeding tickets to municipalities.. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/dry.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[xrad]

bullchitz, i say! do today's moden aerodynamic autos REALLY get better gas mileage at 55-60mph? or are the stats still stuck in the 80's. My best gas mileage is at 70mph, seems to be the sweet zone for the BMW 3.0 engine. 30mph+ on the highway (driving with steady pedal control and without flooring it every chance)

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[rxter]

Same thing happened in the 70s after the first oil shortage. Made Sammy Hagar famous.



http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?vid=99038&artist=1129



I let the video run while I was posting this and then checked back in. Man that was a gay video. Song still sounds OK though.



Don't know about mileage, but my 968 feels best at 90. Must be the downforce - dunno, but it rides smoother, sounds better, and damn it must look good howling down the road at 90.

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[flash]

lol - urban myth - no gasoline powered vehicle gets better mileage at a higher speed - that goes against the laws of physics - however, what generally happens is that people have a difficult time maintaining the lower speed, and consequently keep tickling the throttle, thereby using more fuel



truckers used to swear that they got better mileage at higher speeds, but when it was actually tested, it was disproven - same with any other vehicle



set your cruise control at 55, and then at whatever speed above that you choose - if you get better mileage at the higher speed, and can document it, i'll buy the gas for the test and the drinks for the night



as far as i know, the national speed limit is still 55 - however, the states are allowed to set their own speeds above that for roads for which they find an exception

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[Chris Vais]

I think if Jackie Speier is truly concerned about energy independence she should offer up San Mateo Co. as the first county in California to volunteer to host a new nuclear power plant. All her proposal will do is turn us into a bigger nation of law breakers.



Flash, you should see if you can get a gig on "Myth Busters".

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[S_Cal968]

If that goes through I won't have any need for 6th gear....

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[wjk_glynn]

Annecdote about Jackie Speier...



She was a congressional aid to congressman Leo Ryan. They were part of delegation that visited Jonestown (Guyana) in November 1978.



Jim Jones' crew attacked them at the airport. Ryan was killed. Speier was shot 5-times, but survived. Later that day, 900 people commited suicide at Jones' camp.



Many years later, Speier was elected to the house in April 2008. She took over a seat that was left vacant by Tom Lantos. Lantos was a holocaust survior, having been imprisoned and escaped from a camp at Szob.



Pretty staggering stuff when you think about it...



Karl.

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[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='flash' post='56201' date='Jul 11 2008, 07:07 PM']lol - urban myth - no gasoline powered vehicle gets better mileage at a higher speed - that goes against the laws of physics[/quote]

Flash,



You are absolutely right; the only way I can think of to get better worse mileage at lower speed would be if you forgot to shift, leaving the engine running at higher rpms at the lower speed. I'm not even sure that would make up for the aerodynamic drag, though.



I don't know about the range from 55-90 mph, but when I picked up our BMW 328i in Munich last year and drove it to Frankfurt on the Autobahn, going between 100-130 mph most of the way, that gas gauge dropped like a rock! I had maybe a quarter tank left when I arrived in Frankfurt. BMW then filled it back up for me by the time I picked it up at the dealership - very nice customer service.

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[flash]

lol - yeah - i have one many a bet on this one - i used to have a standing bet - sf to la - you pick the speed one way, and the choice of direction - i pick 55 the other direction - loser pays for both - i never lost

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[ds968]

[quote name='S_Cal968' post='56208' date='Jul 11 2008, 05:56 PM']If that goes through I won't have any need for 6th gear....[/quote]



lol, we won't have need for 3rd , 4th ,5th or 6th

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[gryphon]

Of course Jackie gives no consideration to the effects this might have on the transportation industry in terms of longer travel times, more Federally required layovers, etc., nor the cost to consumers.



Tom

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[968Z]

FWIW - I ran a 130 mile stretch on I-75 at approx. 78 mph (cruise control) and another stretch of about 100 miles at 54 mph (contruction zone) in my Saab. Using the trip computer, I compared the two MPGs. At 78 mph, 30.6 MPG. At 54 mph, 33. 7 MPG. Not exactly scientific, but pretty conclusive.

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[flash]

yup - depressing, but reality



by the way, that's actually a very good differential - most cars don't get nearly that close with that much speed difference - shows how aerodynamic that car is - cool

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[rxter]

[quote name='gryphon' post='56237' date='Jul 12 2008, 04:34 PM']Of course Jackie gives no consideration to the effects this might have on the transportation industry in terms of longer travel times, more Federally required layovers, etc., nor the cost to consumers.



Tom[/quote]



She must not care about the pissing off the enthusiast vote either. I wonder if I could run on a 'car guy' platform. Kind of like Iaccoca. My first three planks would be.



1. 93 or higher octane (no ethanol) mandatory at all stations

2. Abolish the HOVME lane

3. Place US 101 on the permanent National Historic Register



I would pleased to add additional worthy planks from my fellow 968ophiles.



   

"If nominated I will run, if elected I will serve. "



Imagine the secret service buzzing around in DB9s <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[ds968]

[quote name='rxter' post='56308' date='Jul 14 2008, 05:43 PM']Imagine the secret service buzzing around in DB9s <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />[/quote]



well, if you get elected ( and I'll vote for ya ! .. even help with the campaign may be ) I better be the first appointee to the secret service !

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[xrad]

Flash: the 'laws of physics' <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



I understand that much of engine power fights air resistance, and this increases exponentially until you break the sound barrier. BUT, there must be a sweet zone where engines are tuned for the most power which crosses the best speed to travel. PLEASE don't tell me this calculates to 55mph. I will have to go by a moped and sup it up so that I think i'm flying!

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[flash]

while there is a "sweet spot" where a gasoline powered 4 stroke engine will produce more power per amount of fuel consumed than at other areas, the amount of change in power is so small by comparison to the increase in wind drag that it is insignificant



i snatched this from the web:



The power to overcome air resistance increases roughly with the cube of the speed, and thus the energy required per unit distance is roughly proportional to the square of speed. Because air resistance increases so rapidly with speed, above about 30 mph (48 km/h), it becomes a dominant limiting factor. Driving at 45 rather than 65 mph (72 rather than 105 km/h), results in about one-third the power to overcome wind resistance, or about one half the energy per unit distance, and much greater fuel economy can be achieved. Increasing speed to 90 mph (145 km/h) from 65 mph (105 km/h) increases the power requirement by 2.6 times, the energy by 1.9 times, and drastically decreases fuel economy. In practice, rather than doubling or halving the fuel economy, the difference is actually closer to 40-50%, because engine efficiency varies greatly with the torque/speed operating point. Rolling resistance, which is broadly proportional to speed, is also a factor particularly at lower speeds.

There were complaints when the speed limit was lowered from 65 mph to 55 mph that it could lower, instead of increase fuel economy, and in fact the 1997 Toyota Celica gets 1 mpg better mileage at 65 than it does at 55 (43.5 vs 42.5), although almost 5 mpg better at 60 than at 65 (48.4 vs 43.5). Other vehicles tested had from 1.4 to 20.2% better mileage at 55 mph vs. 65 mph.

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[xrad]

darn physics.

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[flash]

lol - tell me about it



i'm trying hard to find ways to cheat the wind even just a bit on the denali - i'd love to pick up even 1 mpg without giving up speed - i have a couple of things to try over the next few weeks, and should see some gains, but i'm guessing maybe .5 mpg at best



the problem so far is that the things i have done that have increased highway mileage decreased around town mileage - granted, they were all engine related - next is aerodynamics work

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[rxter]

Knew I could count on you Dan!

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