bagwell

pretty much old news but just to re-emphasize...



Drive slow, save money -- really
By Trystan L. Bass Posted Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:49pm PDT
You've probably seen a million lists of gas-savings tips recently (yes, Yahoo! has run our share, we admit). One of the suggestions is always to drive slower or drive the speed limit.

So someone finally asked Salon's resident eco-expert if it's really true that driving slower saves gas. After all, won't you use more gas because it takes longer to get to your destination if you drive slower?

Not so fast, speedfreak. Pablo Päster says the savings is real, and it's due to aerodynamic drag, which trumps the time savings of speeding down the freeway.

Basically "slower speed equals less drag," and you can reduce fuel consumption by 20 percent if you slow down from 70 mph to 60 mph.

For comparison, if you drive 10 mph faster over a 30-mile commute, you'll only shave four minutes off the total driving time. The savings doesn't extend forever, so don't bother creeping along the fast lane at 5 mph.

Salon mentions another great way to improve aerodynamics: Remove the roof rack. Our friends at the Rocky Mountain Institute estimate that you can save 15 to 30 gallons of gas per year if you leave off the rack just half the time. Most folks don't need it up there all 365 days anyway.

Slow down, ditch the rack, and save some bucks. It's true -- it's that easy.

f=ma

Do you realize how much of a ***** it is to remove and reinstall a bike rack?? Plus i hate driving slow, its boring.

silvervett

If I drive from SC to NY which is over 800 miles the diffrence between driving 60 and driving 75 will cost me more gas, but it may save me from making an extra stop or two and buying a few extra meals at a restaurant, an it may even allow me to do the trip non-stop and save the cost of a night in a motel. I have done the trip in one day and have done it in two days. Every time I did it in one day I arrived tired but it was nice to know you were finished with driving till the return trip and when you wake up in the morning that you don't have to get back in the car for another days drive.

When I did the trip in two days I was always just as tired but the diffrence was I was tired for two days instead of one

My point is that when making a long trip it sometimes saves you money to get lower MPG because what you save in other ways more than makes up for it

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Stay home, save money --

Spend less, save more, get richer -- really

Eat less, lose weight AND save money -- really

One Starbucks iced coffee = 1 gallon of gas.

bizzy928

It really IS that simple for most...

silvervett

This does not require gas, but when the engine backfires it can be very nasty

dunnojack

yes. everyone is forgetting about Opportunity cost from Economics 101. This is unneeded pennypinching.

faster to work = make more money at work, or at least you're able to get off work earlier.

who wants to spend a greater %age of their life on the road?


^^ This dude must spend 60% of his life on the road. what a life.


now, that starbucks idea is great. Down with starbucks.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Bingo. On another forum there's a lot of threads about fuel economy and the 'optimium speed' to go, etc. Those folks are talking about driving 53mph on the interstate. SCREW THAT. a) I'd fall asleep, and b) on a decent trip that's gonne take a half hour or more to get there, fuggedaboutit - I've got stuff to do and saving $2-3 on a trip like that isn't worth it.

silvervett

When I take a 30 mile trip from Anderson to greenville I take it slow 55 to 60 and sometime I even take the back roads and do 30 because I am new to SC and I like to explore, But when I take my rides back to NY I do 65 to 75 because as bitkahuna put it Quote "fuggedaboutit - I've got stuff to do and saving $2-3 on a trip like that isn't worth it".

I would go crazy if I had to drive all the way to NY doing less the 55

PS a similar topic came up on a Corvette forum a couple years back when someone mentioned the were going to take a long trip and want to know what speed would give them the best MPG. I just find it hard to believe that someone doing long distance driving would be willing to spend Ali that extra time behind the wheel to save a gallon of gas.

RX_330

Could you imagine having to drive 55mph if you live in the middle of nowhere? I nearly fell asleep driving the 65mph limit in Illinois near the Iowa border where it's just ALL corn so I just said "screw it" and cruised at 85-90 the whole way...surprising thing (well not really) was that I was still going with the flow of traffic.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Yes. Politicians that talk about 55 live in the DC Beltway or Manhattan where they're driven around (slowly) in limos so what do they care?

A vast chunk of Americans though live in rural areas and literally their livelihood depends on getting places and not taking all day. 55 would be a (another) burden to the economy.

MoLexus

I don't know about everyone else but honestly I'm tired of these gas saving tips. Lets all carry on with our lives.

bagwell

nope, I always fly if at all possible!

driving in the middle of nowhere is boring, whether you're going 55 or 85. I have better things to do than sit in my car for hours at a time.

uh yeh, right.

the entire economy and country had a huge burden to overcome before the 55mph speed limit was repealed in 95

cpone

I read on the interwebs that if I remove all the seats in my car, take out the spare, remove the AC, switch my hood to carbon fiber, went to stock 15 inch wheels, took off all my mods and removed the carpet, headliner and radio that I will increase my MPG too!

I'm on my way home now to do it!

SLegacy99

Travelling yesterday in the RXh I managed 28 MPG holding 70 MPH. My dad doing 75 managed a measley 26 MPG. Thats with A/C running.