Consistent High MPG with one SECRET!!!!

[JasonCzerak]

8x85=680miles and I don't think a steady 85 works most places.

heh, wow, I musta got my numbers mixed up. that should be closer to 9 hours.



And yeah, you can't do 85 everywhere, but then again, 95 for a bit helps get that average closer when you have to slow down.

 

[Joe G.]

Being 6' tall I can't get so close to the wheel and still use the pedals easily so that I run into the difficulties you describe. No problem steering or anything like that. It's just easier on my shoulders so I'm not nearly as tired when I get where I'm going. Highway driving is not like racing, at least it should not be.

 

[tgordon]

Jason, my wife is about 5" and for the same reason she dislikes driving my truck, to close to the air bag for comfort. For the vertically challanged I wish we had those fancy moveable pedals, oh well. I the latest issue of one of those fancy diesel magazines they got 30+mpg on the highway with a 12v, 2nd gen, automatic, extended cab one ton. Does that mean we will all plcae a limiter on the go pedel, only drive 60-65, take every non essential item out of the truck, keep the windows up, cover-up over half the radiator, cover the front wheel lugs, and drive through the desert without the A/C, HECK-NO. Maybe we should out law A/C since that draws down milage.



We should not get rid of the speed limits, to many stupid people are out on the road who cannot handle operating a vehicle, let along decide how fast is safe to drive.



Besides my 12v will easily get over 20 mpg up to 70 unloaded, and hauling a jeep on a gooseneck doing 80 will drop me down to 15. When I am towing I will run a little slower, traveling a long distance for a reason I will push the speed, vacation I take my time and enjoy the view to the right.



Troy

 

[JasonCzerak]

...



Highway driving is not like racing, at least it should not be.

It's worse then racing. I'd feel more comfortable/Safe in a full cage with 5 point belts in a honda civic then in my truck.



Drive how you like, It's your life not mine. My point merely was it's much safer to get away from the wheel and with your arms at the proper position you can maneuverer much better. You should treat the open road like race course with much much much much much less predictability and expect the un-expected at all times.

 

[BTowler]

This is the #1 reason why my GF will not drive my truck, she is less then 12 inches from face to wheel.

Jason, stop dating 14 year olds! :-laf Just kidding...

 

[JasonCzerak]

Jason, stop dating 14 year olds! :-laf Just kidding...

:-laf :-laf :-laf



#ad




Hope this doesn't violate any thing on this site.

 

[klenger]

I am totally offended by that picture. Where can I get a high-res copy of it?

 

[JasonCzerak]

I am totally offended by that picture. Where can I get a high-res copy of it?

Umm, google search for "jailbait" might be a good start.



But that's what I've heard.

 

[BTowler]

I was so offended I had to copy it to my harddrive and e-mail it to all my friends so they could be offended too!:-laf

 

[AWray]

Ohio needs to enforce the "slower traffic stay right" sign/law. I pass people almost daily when they are cruising in the left lane at 65 mph with no one around. I realize I am part of the problem, but maybe 1 in 20 times will the slower car move to the right. It's extraordinarily frustrating when I have places to go and things to do.

 

[aharman]

I have often wondered what kind of mileage I could get if I slowed down, but I've never had the patience to find out.



Q: How can you tell when I'm speeding?

A: When I'm behind the wheel!



I cruise 77-78mph, and get 19. 5mpg. Double-overdrive really makes my truck a highway cruiser.

 

[DJW]

AWray, regarding incorrect road usage, watching the German News on a PBS station, the German Hiway Trooper was saying it was an offence to pass on the Right so traffic stays mainly to the right depending on conditions. Tailgating is punnished very severely, there is no set fine, it's guaged on your income, the one stopped in the news was fined to the value of $20. 000, wonder if he'll remember that next time? As for staying in the Left Lane, not sure in all States, but in many States it's a Passing Lane, and Not a Travel Lane, some places the signs read, 'Keep Right Except to Pass' well with the state of education, ability to read, etc, etc, ?

 

[BTowler]

"Left Lane Passing Only" here in Texas, but we must have a high rate of illiteracy!



Finland has a sliding scale on traffic violations, one guy got somewhere around $70,000. 00 fine for speeding.

 

[Blakers]

I had to drive a good distance at 35 mph (had plants in the back), so checked the mileage - got 30 mpg! I generally get about 18 mpg on the freeway at 70, and about 22 on state and US highways at 60.



My old 67 Benz diesel got 35 mpg at about 60, but could get up to about 45 at 45 mph. It was heavy for a car too.



Blake

 

[AKaiser]

You didn't mention the best part, it also saved a lot of lives.

True, but how much of that was just a factor of fewer miles driven. If you look at the number of person/miles driven, the fatalities per mile figure tells more than just fatalities per year. The faster the speed limit, the more miles you can drive in a year, and often do, esp. truckers. Also, factor in longer commutes due to faster speeds on the slab, so commute miles are way up, probably over 25%.



If they reduced the speed limit and enforced it, several things would happen. 1. Commute and vacation travel distances would decrease. 2. It would take more trucks to do the OTR job. 3. More OTR loads would be diverted to rail, and expedited loads would go via air freight. The combination of the reduced speed limit and the resulting changes to lifestyle and freight shipping could create a considerable reduction in fuel consumption. Trucks would be regeared for the new, slower speed limit.

 

[AKaiser]

"Left Lane Passing Only" here in Texas, but we must have a high rate of illiteracy!



Finland has a sliding scale on traffic violations, one guy got somewhere around $70,000. 00 fine for speeding.

My experience on TX "super-two" roads has been positive. On the "super-two" roads I traveled on, slower drivers would pull onto the shoulder, at speed, and let you pass, then pull back into the driving lane. Do that on a two-lane with a solid shoulder in Indiana, and you'd get a ticket. Of course, the road in Tx was probably built as a full four-lane road, weight capacity-wise, but only marked for two lanes. It had a 70 MPH speed limit Most shoulders up here until the last twenty years or so are not really built to drive on constantly. Nobody wanted to spend the money.

 

[AKaiser]

Maybe we should out law A/C since that draws down milage.

So does driving with your windows down, and it's worse than A/C at high speeds. Have you noticed people driving interstate speeds lately with the windows down? I guess they didn't get the memo.

 

[AKaiser]

Like stupid drivers. Too many people here think driving is a right, it is not! It is a priveledge and more education and regular testing should be required. Also, the Safety Nazis report accidents unfairly. If you are going thorugh an intersection and someone runs a stop sign and hits you and there is proof that either car was going even one mile over the speed limit the federal statistics will reflect a speed related accident, not an accident because some idiot ran a stop sign.

Can I get an "AMEN?" #@$%!

 

[AWray]

AWray, regarding incorrect road usage, watching the German News on a PBS station, the German Hiway Trooper was saying it was an offence to pass on the Right so traffic stays mainly to the right depending on conditions. Tailgating is punnished very severely, there is no set fine, it's guaged on your income, the one stopped in the news was fined to the value of $20. 000, wonder if he'll remember that next time? As for staying in the Left Lane, not sure in all States, but in many States it's a Passing Lane, and Not a Travel Lane, some places the signs read, 'Keep Right Except to Pass' well with the state of education, ability to read, etc, etc, ?

Those are rules in Ohio as well. We just have an unbelievable amount of self-centered drivers that can't read. If I pass on the right, it is after miles of frustration. I agree that it is dangerous to roll up on someone and immediately blow by them on the right.

 

[Blakers]

Those are rules in Ohio as well. We just have an unbelievable amount of self-centered drivers that can't read. If I pass on the right, it is after miles of frustration. I agree that it is dangerous to roll up on someone and immediately blow by them on the right.

They used to have a rule in Ohio where you could not pass on the right, but they don't enforce that anymore. And I wish they would put up signs that said keep to the right except to pass.



Ohio drivers are so notorious for driving in the left lanes that there are signs when you enter West Virginia telling Ohioans to keep right except to pass.