On Tue, 14 Feb 2006 19:07:19 -0500, the renowned "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

"Pooh Bear" wrote in message
...


Ed Huntress wrote:

All else being equal, light cars typically get their best mileage at
just
over 50 mph, and heavy ones somewhere between 45 and 50 mph. There are
many
factors involved, including engine design.

Quite possibly so for artificial tests where it's possible to maintain a
constant speed.

One key to low fuel consumption is the absence of braking and
acceleration. It's
rare IME to be able to travel at those kinds of speeds without losing
energy in
braking from time to time on typical roads. It's worse still at town
speeds.

A consequence of this is that in the real world I actually see reduced
fuel
comsumption ( compared to a lower average speed ) when I can drive
'freely' at
an average speed of around 60 mph, typically topping out at ~ 70 mph.

You can see reduced fuel consumption at any speed where you don't have
braking and acceleration. It peaks at around 50 mph for most cars.

Include the value of your time vs. gas cost and I wonder what is the
optimal speed? A fair bit higher, obviously, assuming your time in the
car is not otherwise useful, and assuming you'd otherwise be doing
something useful, not just wasting time posting on usenet or
something.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
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