i feel a lot safer crusing at 80-90 in this car than my toyota avalon.

 

Nope. Top down, window up, heater on and cruise control set at 85MPH, I drove from Simi Valley back home in Irvine at 10:30PM last Saturday. I felt the wind was blowing my hair with fresh air and my shoulder down was warmed with the air from heater. It was a nice drive in middle of winter night with top down.

 

Yeah, on most back windy roads I try to average about 75 and on the highway it's usually 70mph.

 

I smell a lot of BS in this thread.

Here is what I posted in the other currently popular "drag related" thread.

It requires almost 1.5 times the power to go 85 mph than it does to go 75. Assuming the engine is operating at the same volumetric efficiency and all other drag related variables (tires, bearings, drivetrain) are held constant, of course.

I really can't imagine that the engine undergoes a 1.5x change in volumetric efficiency across a 580 RPM span.

 

Just double the speed limit and you are at the ideal speed! j/k

But in CA and most freeways, it seems no speed is fast enough but what scares me is not my driving skills but the idiots in their beaters going 100 mph. In those I cases I'd rather have them in front of me than behind me anyday.

Back in Chicago, I remember driving on LSD (for those who don't know chicago it's a windy stretch 3-lane each way road that winds through downtown on the lakefront) and I've seen these cars that look like they belong in a junkyard flying at 90+ mph!!!

In my s2000, I try to keep it around 80 just to be safe. As many have mentioned, going faster than that and you won't have time to slow down if my V-1 goes off. And being in a yellow sports car, you don't want to be the first one leading any traffic pack....hahaha

I'm really afraid to put on an aftermarket exhaust since on long trips the drone just kills ya and to be honest that is what usually keeps my speed around 90.

But on my trips between CA and Portland, I do average in the 90's usually until I hit Medford since Oregon State Patrol are super anal about speeders....trust me on this! On my most recent trip in one of the new m5's we had a 3 car caravan for a show and hit short bursts of 150+ just to see how fast the car really is. The two e46 m3's had no chance to keep up as we pulled past 150 but that is on a day with NO TRAFFIC.


Rick

 

To simplify that, its retarded to say that you get better gas milage going over 80mph then under.

Theres a reason why many cars gear themselves to cruise at around 60, and thats to comply with speed limit laws and gas mileage.

I dare you to do w/e trips you mentioned in this thread going 55mph (regardless of speedlimit) and see how much mpg you get (Cruise control of course) compared to how much mpg you get going 30mph faster.