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Fuel Efficiency and Slow Driving?
vile8 writes "With the high gas prices and ongoing gas gouging in my hometown many people are trying to find a reasonable way to save gas. One of the things I've noticed is people driving exceptionally slow, 30mph in 45mph zones, etc. So I had to take a quick look and find out if driving slow is helpful in getting better mileage. I know horsepower increases substantially with wind resistance, but with charts like this one from truckandbarter.com it appears mileage is actually about the same between 27mph and 58mph or so. So I'm curious what all the drivers out there with the cool efficiency computers are getting ... of specific interest would be the hemis with MDS; how do those do with the cylinder shutoff mode at different speeds?" Related: are there any practical hypermiling techniques that you've found for people not ready to purchase a new car, nor give up driving generally?
Make those fuel consumption displays mandatory.
Most cars these days know their consumption - it's one of the first things they look at when they connect the laptop to the engine when you go for a service.
Make the display mandatory, make it large, and put it in a prominent place. It'll do wonders for everybody's fuel consumption.
No sig today...
I've gotten lazy with this. When I know a stop is coming up, I put the car in neutral and let it coast. After a while, my clutch leg starts to hurt, so it's easier this way. People may think I'm weird, but I do it up to a mile away. The car coasts really well, so I'm usually not going any slower than I should be anyways. :)
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
Oh, for mod points. Most people (well, most men anyway) are competitive, and we like to beat our "high scores". Tachometers show us speed, clocks show us time, but neither of those contributes to efficiency. Adding a fuel economy display gives a better goal to beat.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Three reasons this is a bad idea. One, if you suddenly have to swerve to avoid something, you might miss the edge that the power steering would provide Two, you might need to suddenly apply engine power in some emergency situations, like if you hit black ice and start skidding. Three, if you accidentally turn the key too far back, you'll engage the steering wheel lock and won't be able to steer at all.
In short: really bad idea.
Four, if you need to stop suddenly, I hope you have strong legs. Those brakes don't work very well when your system isn't pressurized anymore.
Five, your cooling system may no longer be working, and if you are riding the edge of an overheat (considering you're driving far enough to consider killing the engine on coast) this may push you over the edge.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Really? How many more miles does he expect to get on that engine before the repeated stress of starting it burns out the starter motor, at a minimum? Seriously, when the engine isn't running, the oil pump isn't running. When the oil pump isn't running, the oil runs down into the drain pan (especially when it's already hot). When you start a car, the cylinders are underlubricated until the oil pump gets things moving again. How many gallons of gas to you have to save to pay for a new engine, both in economic and ecological terms?
Also, keep the jerk in mind the next time you have a smoggy day. What did you think happened to all that unburned gas in the exhaust? Catalytic converters aren't magic, you know.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?