speeding...

[laserblaster]

Probelms with the speed limits is why people speed this means drivers exceed the speed limit?

why..... well some people like driving fast, but facts are that speed limits are set too slow so traffic ends up going to slow and this causes congestion!

but driving at high speed demands greater concentration, not only this but people will less likely to be messing with the hair or make up etc.

its also benificial to your engine crusing at a high speed normaly ups the revs in the gears, cars are not built for slow limits and at highway 80 + mph the engine will be better suited to the gear ratio, you will get better mpg, the engine will last longer as both engine lubrication and engine cooling is better at higher speeds.

and because the engine is operating much better the emissions will be cleaner, and because the traffic is traveling fast theres no congestion.

if you notice that the only reason we get congestion on the motorways is because of the variable limit signs causing traffic slowing!

and times saves lives imagine being unconcious and you stop breathing every second counts, within 4 mins brain damage occurs.

over here in the uk some campaigners want fire engines and ambulances to stick to the speed limits!

i hope some day they end up in need of help and the ambulance is doing 30mph or under!

[Obsidian]

I drive fast for the enjoyment of it. I rarely speed simply to get somewhere quicker. Most of my fast driving is done with no particular "final destination" in mind.

-Obsidian-

[compu44]

I just hate going slow--A nice steady 80mph on the highway is just perfect. I never constantly go 15 over cause they can nab you for reckless driving--thats when the ticket really shoots up

15+ reckless? Wow. Illinois sucks in all other regards except the reckless law - 40+ over the limit.

[bunny]

its also benificial to your engine crusing at a high speed normaly ups the revs in the gears, cars are not built for slow limits and at highway 80 + mph the engine will be better suited to the gear ratio, you will get better mpg, the engine will last longer as both engine lubrication and engine cooling is better at higher speeds.

Sorry to disagree with you but that isn't true. Most cars get best mpg at 55mph. Every car differs, but I have never heard of a car getting better mpg at 80 instead of 65. Maybe a nicer bmw or something that is a 6 speed, but other then that you want the best mpg then it is probably around the 55mph range. It is also better on the engine.

[GET 1T DONE]

its also benificial to your engine crusing at a high speed normaly ups the revs in the gears, cars are not built for slow limits and at highway 80 + mph the engine will be better suited to the gear ratio, you will get better mpg, the engine will last longer as both engine lubrication and engine cooling is better at higher speeds.

Sorry to disagree with you but that isn't true. Most cars get best mpg at 55mph. Every car differs, but I have never heard of a car getting better mpg at 80 instead of 65... the best mpg then it is probably around the 55mph range. It is also better on the engine.

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This is correct. They tested a bunch of the different ways to improve fuel economy in last month's Car and Driver.

[jimbonzzz]

http://www.caranddriver.com/columns/...l-economy.html

[Switchback]

its also benificial to your engine crusing at a high speed normaly ups the revs in the gears, cars are not built for slow limits and at highway 80 + mph the engine will be better suited to the gear ratio, you will get better mpg, the engine will last longer as both engine lubrication and engine cooling is better at higher speeds.

Sorry to disagree with you but that isn't true. Most cars get best mpg at 55mph. Every car differs, but I have never heard of a car getting better mpg at 80 instead of 65. Maybe a nicer bmw or something that is a 6 speed, but other then that you want the best mpg then it is probably around the 55mph range. It is also better on the engine.

You are defenitely stuck in the 1970's!!! Holy crap!!! this was the BS our Govt. told us back when everyone was driving the factory muscle cars with 4.11 gears in the rear end from the factory!!! Do you remeber the arab oil embargo? people freaked when gas went from .35 cents a gallon all the way up to .52 cents!!! Oh, boy!!!!

Have you guys ever heard of the "manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices" Part 23 of the CFR to be exact?

It states that to set a proper speed limit, a full traffic engineering survey must be completed which includes measuring speeds of the normal (unrestricted) traffic flow, and taking the average of the 85th percentile of the speed traveled and round it up to the nearest 5 mph setting.
This is federal law on how speed limits are to be set. a state, town, village cannot strictly invent a speed limit under this federal law. So those areas of roads that seem too slow (25 mph on a 4-lane divided highway with no house or business on them) is considered a speed trap by the feds, and therfore an illegally posted speed limit.
The feds have done this to make traffic speeds more uniform throughout the country and to crack down on towns that post limits so low that it is ridiculous to travel at those speeds. Those towns are the ones operating speed traps.
If a town actually performed this survey, it must also be within 5 years for that speed to be considered valid, if not, it is considered an invented numerical value with no scientific basis, which is illegally posted and therefore unenforcable. Under section 4 of our united states constitution it states that federal law takes precedence over any state, county, or local law. So if the municipality uses any federal monies for roads, they must adhere to this law. 99% percent of prosecutors are ignorant to this law, and about the same percentage for judges. I am willing to bet at least 75% of the posted speed limits in towns are illegaly posted under this law. but nobody knows any better and they keep paying for tickets for moving with the flow of traffic. Why?

Most ticket fighting packages for sale on the web strictly use this defense, so be careful in where you spend your money. Some judges are so pompous that they think they make the laws, and they are the prosecutor too.

I'll see if I can find appropriate case law pertaining to this little known tidbit and post it in the ticket defense area for you guys

look up the "MUTCD" on google, specifically part 23.

[Arvetus]

You CAN tune a car to optimum fuel efficiency at 70-80 MPH, but it requires vast knowledge of your car's computer and you'll probably have to replace some drive pulleys, which may or may not benifit you in the long run because your water pump or alternator or something won't be spinning as fast. My friend's F150 is tuned to get optimum fuel efficiency at 80. I think he's somewhere around 20-25 mpg with the truck ( V8 ). It IS possible, but unless you have the know-how yourself and have the very expensive computer equipment, it can cost some serious bucks to get that done, and you have to know the right people.

As far as the roads in the U.S. being designed to travel at 100 + mph, try driving in Michigan. Enough said.

I don't drive fast enough to really warrant a radar detector as a "license to speed" as some people on this board appear to. On the highway, I generally drive 5-10 over (75-80 in a 70) IF THAT. Not really enough to worry about getting stopped for the most part. I enjoy radar detectors, plus, it keeps me informed of what's going on, and I enjoy playing the cat and mouse game. More than once however, it has saved my butt and my car and probably a cop's life. What's the first thing you do when your detector goes off? Speed check and hit the right lane, right? One time, while driving through Lansing on US 127, I was chugging along in the left lane at about 60 and K band goes off. I hit the right lane and let off the gas by instinct. The road ahead curved to the left. I came around the curve and there was a cop IN the left lane blocking traffic because of a disabled car. I was only going 5 over as it was, but even if I would have been doing the 55 mph limit, I would have had no time to react and I would have taken him out, along with the disabled car probably. That's just one experience I've had where my RD saved me not so much from a ticket, but from possibly losing my life along with taking someone elses.

RD's are helpful and I firmly believe in the right to own them. They have come in extremely handy on long trips like when I've driven from Michigan to Florida, or from Michigan to Texas to Florida and back, etc. I'll admit, on long trips like that, I like to keep it at about 80, and I can reach my destination as much as much as 3/4 of a day before I would have driving the limit, and highway patrol seems to know how to pick out the out-of-towners over the locals. So yes, it has come in handy, but not so much for saving me from speeding tickts (although it has - I won't deny it), but more so in keeping me alert and aware of my surroundings.

[GET 1T DONE]

You CAN tune a car to optimum fuel efficiency at 70-80 MPH, but it requires vast knowledge of your car's computer and you'll probably have to replace some drive pulleys, which may or may not benifit you in the long run because your water pump or alternator or something won't be spinning as fast. My friend's F150 is tuned to get optimum fuel efficiency at 80. I think he's somewhere around 20-25 mpg with the truck ( V8 ). It IS possible, but unless you have the know-how yourself and have the very expensive computer equipment, it can cost some serious bucks to get that done, and you have to know the right people.

Umm... sorry. You are completely misconstruing the original debate.

its also benificial to your engine crusing at a high speed normaly ups the revs in the gears, cars are not built for slow limits and at highway 80 + mph the engine will be better suited to the gear ratio, you will get better mpg, the engine will last longer as both engine lubrication and engine cooling is better at higher speeds.

First he says:

"benificial to your engine crusing at a high speed normaly ups the revs in the gears"

In general, the higher the RPM of the engine, the more fuel that will be consumed. Combustion requires fuel (and air of course), so as you increase the frequency in which combustion occurs, you therefore increase the frequency at which you are injecting fuel into the chambers. Now of course when you are under higher load conditions, the vehicle will decrease the A/F ratio thereby consuming more fuel. But for this discussion, we were only talking about highway cruising, not heavy acceleration, towing, etc.

Second:

"cars are not built for slow limits and at highway 80 + mph the engine will be better suited to the gear ratio, you will get better mpg"

1) Why would manufacturers build cars for 80+ when that's not the conditions under which they are used?
2) Different cars have varying amounts of gears and different gear ratios. For example, my Tiburon allows me to cruise at 80mph at 3400 RPMs in 6th gear giving me ~30 mpg. When I drop it down to 65mph, now I'm only at 2800 RPMs and I get ~32 mpg. Cars are designed to operate around stoich A/F ratio when cruising on the highway in closed loop fuel mode, so lower engine speed will typically consume less gas.
3) Manufacturers are also concerned w/noise suppression and must meet emissions standards... these things restrict exhaust flow, making the vehicle less free flowing as RPMs increase above the optimal point.
4) A big thing you are completely neglecting, and the one thing switching transmissions or the final drive gear or the ECU won't affect, is FRICTION. As speed increases, aerodynamic drag begins increasing exponentially. You may only need 30HP to keep a car cruising at 55mph... but increase your speed to 80mph and now you suddenly need 60HP. Why do you think this is?? And why do you think so many cars' top speed is 'drag limited' as oppose to 'gear limited'? Cause drag is a natural enemy of speed... and unless you are packing lots of HP, your car will eventually not be able to increase its speed any longer once drag becomes too great. So good old physics says that as you go faster, the more power you are going to have to produce and consequently the more gasoline you are going to have to expend.

Finally:

"the engine will last longer as both engine lubrication and engine cooling is better at higher speeds"

Have you read any manufacturer's vehicle manuals or read any literature from a major oil manufacturer?? Why do you think oil change intervals are decreased when driving at excessive speeds (classified as "severe" driving conditions)? It's more wear-and-tear on the engine, the lubricants trying to protect that engine, and all the parts associated w/engine operation.

[Arvetus]

You CAN tune a car to optimum fuel efficiency at 70-80 MPH, but it requires vast knowledge of your car's computer and you'll probably have to replace some drive pulleys, which may or may not benifit you in the long run because your water pump or alternator or something won't be spinning as fast. My friend's F150 is tuned to get optimum fuel efficiency at 80. I think he's somewhere around 20-25 mpg with the truck ( V8 ). It IS possible, but unless you have the know-how yourself and have the very expensive computer equipment, it can cost some serious bucks to get that done, and you have to know the right people.

Umm... sorry. You are completely misconstruing the original debate.

Sorry, I was responding to the debate that high speeds give you better gas mileage