best cruise speed - General Forum

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best cruise speed
Wednesday, December 10, 2014 2:23 PM
i have tried a few times to search on here already but cant seem to find a topic for this. Im trying to find the best speed speed to be at for the max MPG on the highway. i have gone 55 before and gone 70. 70 is just too high and will kill about 1/4 of a tank in about an hour. just looking for that sweet spot to go at so i can set the cruise control at.

have a 2002 2.2 OHV just rolled over about 235k i think. its chugging along nicely and doesn't burn oil surprisingly and all stock

Re: best cruise speed
Wednesday, December 10, 2014 9:05 PM
I think doing 60 mph is the optimum speed generally at highway speeds.In short depending on the type of car you have and the specifics like tire,psi,trans,and how you drive make the difference.For instance I run all my vehicles at 32psi no matter what it is and front and rear.Just keeping your tires checked weekly and in alignment makes a big difference.There are tires made today like the firestone or bridgestone with the ecopia brand style.These tires have a lower rolling resistance and can improve your mpg too.I guess there are many things to improve mpg and the list is not short.The best I ever got on my 85 cav was 34mpg hwy at 65 and it is a 2.0 tbi with a 4spd manual.Keep in mind my car is almost 30 yrs old and kind of humors me to see some new cars today struggle to get that now.Seems while mpg always a topic that even the 1st gens had solid fuel economy even back in the 1980's!Just my thoughts.



Re: best cruise speed
Wednesday, December 10, 2014 10:20 PM
proneto911 wrote:i have tried a few times to search on here already but cant seem to find a topic for this. Im trying to find the best speed speed to be at for the max MPG on the highway. i have gone 55 before and gone 70. 70 is just too high and will kill about 1/4 of a tank in about an hour. just looking for that sweet spot to go at so i can set the cruise control at.

have a 2002 2.2 OHV just rolled over about 235k i think. its chugging along nicely and doesn't burn oil surprisingly and all stock


Back in 1973 the Government mandated a nationwide 55mph speed limit. IIRC, it was supposed to be the best overall speed for saving gas. I've got a 95 2.2OHV 5 speed that's gotten as high as 34.9 doing 70-75mph.

I like the previous suggestion of about 60mph for best mileage. Please be careful if you go too much slower than the traffic flow (somehow I feel the need to say the obvious).

dennis
Re: best cruise speed
Tuesday, December 16, 2014 6:18 PM
yeah right now going 55-60 im getting about 27mpg but kinda want to try for the estimated 32 but beginning to think its not realistic. and thanks for the replys
Re: best cruise speed
Friday, January 02, 2015 2:28 PM
Ron Love wrote:I think doing 60 mph is the optimum speed generally at highway speeds.In short depending on the type of car you have and the specifics like tire,psi,trans,and how you drive make the difference.For instance I run all my vehicles at 32psi no matter what it is and front and rear.Just keeping your tires checked weekly and in alignment makes a big difference.There are tires made today like the firestone or bridgestone with the ecopia brand style.These tires have a lower rolling resistance and can improve your mpg too.I guess there are many things to improve mpg and the list is not short.The best I ever got on my 85 cav was 34mpg hwy at 65 and it is a 2.0 tbi with a 4spd manual.Keep in mind my car is almost 30 yrs old and kind of humors me to see some new cars today struggle to get that now.Seems while mpg always a topic that even the 1st gens had solid fuel economy even back in the 1980's!Just my thoughts.

i've seen that too and mostly about cars from the 80s , i heard that the cars from the 80's got better mileage thanks to "lean cruise mode" when the vehicle is driven at a consistent speed a/f ratio is leaned out past 14.7:1 for improved fuel economy, this went on until the epa found out (lean mixtures creates higher cc temps resulting in higher nox emissions) and we've been at 14.7:1 ever since. its a bit before my time and i'm not quite sure if thats true
Re: best cruise speed
Friday, January 09, 2015 7:18 PM
What transmission, 3speed with lock up, 4speed or 4 speed with o/d? Is it a manual?
My 3speed does best at 45mph,
my old 2002 cavie with o/d did 65mph to get max mpg on hwy and city sucked no matter what .
My 5speed manual 2001 ohv did 75mph for best hwy mileage.
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