Quote:
Originally Posted by LoudMusic
Too true. However, in this situation, the terrain was massively different per tank. For example, <27MPG was climbing the Rocky Mountains, >29MPG was coasting down them (:
We used cruise control A LOT. My rule of thumb is 110% of the speed limit, rounded down. For 65MPH limit I do cruise at 71MPH. For 75MPH limit I do 82MPH.
Interstate Speeds (according to my feeble memory)
Arkansas 70
Oklahoma 75
Kansas 75
Colorado 75
Utah 75
Idaho 75
Oregon 65
Washington 75
Canada 100km/h (62mph)
Montana 75
North Dakota 75
Minnesota 70
Wisconsin 65
Illinois 70
Missouri 70
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Owch, I can't cut-and-paste these into the spreadsheet image. BTW, don't worry too much about variability. My recent trip to NC suggests that the mileage effects of modest hills on mileage is not that significant at these speeds:
The hills are effective energy storage systems that store energy on the climb and return it on the descent. At highway speeds, the air drag at 60-75 miles per hour easily absorbs the returned energy. The only problem is higher power settings going up the hill can put the engine in less fuel efficient rpm and power ranges.
Ken@Japan has in the past pointed out that the starting and ending altitudes are also important. You've provided enough information about the cities that we can add the altitude changes. I'll try to post that later this evening (got to scamper off to work.)
Bob Wilson
ps. Would you consider posting the comma delimited values from your spreadsheet? It would make subsequent analysis a lot easier.
pps. I am quite happy to share my gps+scanner data but it is a little large. The spreadsheet is already at 27 MB. But if you have an interest, send me a PM and we can work out the logistics.