How do I maximize MPG? from miles per hour
I've been so very lucky to have this incredible teaching opportunity come my way...I'll be teaching the children who travel with the Carson and Barnes circus...shortly, I'll be leaving Texas for Wyomi...
Forum Discussion
skipnchar wrote:
The main REASON you get better mileage at slower speeds is because of the wind resistance. For that reason your optimal speed/mileage combination will change depending on wind direction. It will PROBABLY be slower than you want to drive on the highway when winds are on the nose. Best you can hope for is to just go slow enough that you get as much fuel economy as you can STAND to get for the driving you're doing. MOST of the time your actual optimal speed will be around 20 MPH.
The actual optimal speed on flat terrain is the lowest speed at which you can keep the transmission in Overdrive. That would be at 40 MPH. Coincidentally, that is also the speed at which wind resistance starts to become a big factor in fuel burn. Unfortunately, 40 MPH is often too slow to be safe, so the answer is to keep your speed down as much as you can, within reason. You can achieve 16 MPG or more at 40 MPH on flat terrain with no stoplights, but no one ever gets to drive like that.
The best I have ever done for a full tank is 13 MPG when making an all-highway run at 55 MPH with, possibly, a small tail wind.
I, like many others, use a Scanguage II and adjust my driving based on its feedback.
