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Old 01-29-2013, 03:42 PM   #1
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speed and gas mileage

fyi, Here are two articles about driving faster and gas mileage. It's in reference to cars but applies to RV's also. With some thinking you can determine the amount of time you cut off of your trip vs what it will cost you. The first one is a column from our local paper and the second one is from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) who's staff have been performing vehicle research and testing in support of thefueleconomy.gov*website. The net is that the fuel economy of most vehicles decreases above 50 mph [80 km/h].

Road Worrier: Drive fast if you have gas money to burn - Road Worrier - NewsObserver.com

Green Car Congress: ORNL researchers quantify the effect of increasing highway speed on fuel economy
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Old 01-29-2013, 03:58 PM   #2
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I work for my money, I pay for my diesel/gasoline and I paid for my truck and and mini SUV and I will drive them as I please within the limits of the law. Let the tree huggers have the right hand lane, the left coast, no fire arms all the wind mills they want.
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Old 01-29-2013, 04:51 PM   #3
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gasman28110 is too harsh in my opinion. (For Example I actually like my trees and take care of them. ) Still, I do sometimes drive at a higher speed even though it cost more in gas. I know it cost me money but, I sometimes don't have all day to poke along. Sometimes I do. It all depends. I stay out of the way of people that are in a hurry when I am not because there are times when I'm in a hurry to and I understand how they feel. I also live 25 miles from the nearest grocery store, hardware store, and everything else. I'm also 70 miles from the nearest decent sized town and 40 miles from the nearest decent place to camp. I need to move if I'm going to get there.
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Old 01-29-2013, 06:22 PM   #4
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Since this is an RV Forum, I will comment on that side of my driving.
My rig operates at it's best at about 60-65 MPH. At this speed, I will get 8.0-8.5 MPG. This is not always possible due to road/weather conditions but if conditions permit, that is my optimum speed.
Now, If I drive below or above the optimum, my fuel mileage will suffer to as low as 6.5-7.0 MPG.
In my MH, I do not drive over 65 as I don't think it is safe. Has nothing to do with fuel mileage.
That is MY Fuel Consumption Research Test Results. Worth every nickel you paid for it. Have a Happy Day.
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Old 01-29-2013, 06:47 PM   #5
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Dennis. Same results when we had a 23 ft Scotty TT and a "Tiara" custom chevy van. 350 gas engine. On a trip to the left coast, at 55-58 mph, it always lugged down on hills, speed dropped to 40-45, really into the pedal. Coming home, at 65mph, Speed on hills dropped only 5 mph, gas mileage increased by 3-4mpg. Engine in that sweet spot. gearing made a difference.

My diesel MH loses about .1mpg between 62 and 68mph. Another .1 if towing. Some disagree but I see a .4 to .5 mpg decrease since going to the lower sulfur diesel. Present mileage is a steady 11mpg, with the toad.
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Old 01-29-2013, 06:51 PM   #6
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Ya well I work for my money and pay for my fuel too, but when I am paying $4.00 /gal and get 9 mpg (used to be 6 mpg in my gas rig), I like to be educated on how my driving affects my mpg. I know it does but I want to make informed choices understanding the consequences of my driving so I have no one to blame but myself. Personally I would spend a decent amount of money (in gas) to get somewhere quicker but didn't have a good way to know how much I was spending. I thought the article was interesting but I don't think it will affect my driving, just good to know.
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Old 01-29-2013, 06:57 PM   #7
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Here's a paper which is a bit more relevant to diesel motorhomes than the ones cited in the earlier posts: http://weisstravels.com/resources/CA...er+reduced.pdf It was written by Caterpillar but it's valid for any diesel MH.
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Old 01-29-2013, 07:48 PM   #8
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I drive at the peak of the torque curve, 1400 rpm, 62mph, 11mpg toading Wrangler.
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Old 01-30-2013, 08:45 AM   #9
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The dash on my Class A shows speed all the time, the Driver's Information portion has two MPG options, Instant and average.

Freshly washed and waxed, Going East on I-69 from Davison to Port Huron holding it below 60 the Average (50 mile average) has hit 11MPG. Do not do as well west bound. If I cross that magic number (Actually it's about 58 or 59) the MPG goes down as the speed goes up.

For some reason it does better at 50-60 than at 25. (May be due to 25 being in the city).

Before Wash and Wax.. If break 9MPG I'm doing good (Depending on how long it's been) I Wax spring (in South Carolina) and Fall (in Michigan).

So, all that work I do waxing it to get better MPG, 75MPH and it's offset by the drop in MPG.
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