I love it when people fly by me while I'm coasting, have to stop, and then they have to watch me fly by them because the light turned before I got to it.
Thats an amazing feeling. @Tony, very true. Always have to check the cross traffic before breaking the coast. Another hazard is that someone towards the back of the line will get the urge to cut me off so they can beat the first car at the light.
Jase, I coast to a red light also when possible so you dont always have to stop but more often then not some idiot(s) will race past and cut back in front of you then stop at the red light, then you have to stop too as they seem to have a slow reaction to the green , maybe checking their phone while stopped?
Just started driving with my learner’s permit and I already manage to do that Well unfortunately I realized my “lead-foot syndrome” takes a quarter of a tank from my mom’s Toyota Sienna in just 2 days of back and forth from school ._. Dang fun comes at a price indeed
The reason realy is, atleast here in Germany, that the traffic lights have weight sensors. So if there is no car standing at the white line, the light will stay red for longer
Engineering Explained right?! Or on the freeway with brake lights ahead and immediately on their brakes. Just coast... who knows, maybe you’ll never have to touch your brakes.. Save $ on both brakes & gas...
@@firstname405 just that it takes you few times longer to get to destination point. And that you use much more energy and you have to spend more money on food. And it makes you sweaty and dirty so it makes you spend more money on water and soap. And all the time to cook and eat more and use bathroom more. And you can't carry basically anything or very little load, max few kilograms, so serious shopping is not really possible. And you can't carry any other person as you could on your car. Your wife or kid has to use also a lot of time and calories to ride on a bike next to You.
The best way to truly understand these principles is to cycle. You will really notice these points on efficiency, as your legs will be doing all the work.
I'd say that's the most important thing above everything else when driving. Not only saves your fuel AND fuel of others (if you keep slamming your brakes you'll confuse others too), but also prevents accidents and is less exhausting for all drivers as it makes traffic more fluent.
Small caveat: if you're constantly changing lanes in traffic to go to the lane with the least amount of traffic and most amount of open space, then you might be saving fuel but causing massive phantom traffic jams. It all depends on how you're reacting because most people just want to save themselves a small amount of fuel while destroying others' fuel economy.
I can’t stand the people who are constantly tapping their brakes on the highway to slow down slightly. It’s like they don’t understand the car will slow down if they just let off the gas.
It cancels cruise control (although there is a button for it) and signals the driver behind one is slowing down. Because WAY to many drivers follow too closely.
As the other person mentions, too much tailgaiting going. That is why I usually tap the brakes even though I don't need to. I will not do it if nobody is behind me, but otherwise it is safer to show that I am slowing down.
coen071993 Hitting the brakes when someone is tailgating is very dangerous. Obviously the tailgater is in the wrong, but you could cause a chain reaction crash. I’ve seen it happen. Just take your foot off the gas and the car will slow down on its own due to friction and engine braking. You shouldn’t be touching the brakes at all on the highway unless it’s an emergency, or you are in bumper to bumper traffic.
@@Rocky32189 The issue with it is that both things are dangerous because not tapping the brake sometimes means they don't realise you are slowing down.
Me when I had to nurse our car home when one of it's brake caliper didn't get pushed back by the spring inside and thus would cause the brake to constantly rub and get hot. Managed to travel 50 miles without actually using the brake
That's the ultimate way to save fuel. After you didn't stop at stoplights you got into an accident an destroyed your car. -> No driving -> no fuel used -> max fuel saved ;)
You joke, but picking a longer route with fewer traffic lights may actually be more fuel efficient, depending on the extra time spent driving vs time wasted idling
@@mjc0961 The regenerative brakes on an EV aren't 100% efficient, so while they're much better for your economy than using the regular brakes they're still worse than not braking at all.
I have never seen in my limited 5 years of driving experience ever seen anyone else coast in traffic like i do. Helps alleviate traffic and saves money and makes you calmer and more focused driver.
Yes, after 35 years of driving, 10 years bicycle commuting, and now a couple of years on a motorcycle commuting, I'm really not in a rush to go anywhere. If people are getting all uptight I'm VERY happy to move over and let them get as far away from me as possible. If someone wants to drive like a nut, there you go buddy you just move on past and get in front of me. WAAAY in front. Enough that I have time to brake before I come to the wreck you caused.
Exactly. Especially merging. I'll go off on a whole rant there if I get started. Idk why people think 6 inches off anothers bumper is the fastest way to move. @John. Agreed. I had to drive cross country a lot due to a job. Out of boredom, I'd play with the math to see what different speeds would save me time wise. Not worth it usually. A trick I like is someone hanging in your "blind spot" ( i have too many mirrors to have one) when you want to lane change. Blinker makes them be nice and slow down or be an ass and punch it. Either way, they are now out of your blind.
@@paulparoma rushing, pride, and a false sense of invincibility. That's what I think are the main culprits to the frantic, unsafe, racing mindset many drivers have...
Friends and family make fun of my 'old man' driving because I use these techniques whenever I can but are surprised that I maintain my speed limit on-ramps instead of braking like everyone else. They're even more surprised when my driving gets spirited in curves. Little do they know that I'm keeping myself entertained by challenging myself to drive efficiently.
The sad thing is that we (hardcore viewers of Engineering Explained) are already using these techniques (and are BTW pleased to hear that Jason confirms we are doing this right), but exactly those people who DON'T watch these type of videos are the ones who really need to understand the True Driving. Thank you, Jason! You are the best as always! Love your whiteboard!
Incredibly common sense but 80% of the people I see race towards red lights, I'm just off throttle and engine breaking they blow past me, some time under taking and then break last minute. It's litteray like they can only see 10 meters ahead. I seriously dont understand baffles me I'm not exaggerating
I've seen someone on a highway about to be behind a slow car in the passing lane so he switched into the other lane... That had a slower car and slammed on his brakes, then switched back and... Slammed on his brakes
Even worse on a bike - the same rules on "saving gas" apply, but you feel it in your legs not just your wallet - also goes some way to explain why certain cyclists like to cut red lights
@@TheCorecovers i mean you could do that but that's not really going to do much except make your synchros last longer. would be smoother, yes, but if you have synchros in your car then you should just use them. normal downshifting will be quicker and more practical in normal traffic.
Almost correct. You should drive an automatic of the proper type. With a modern ECT or DCT you don't have the losses of a torque convertor and the computer is much better at keeping the engine in the optimal rev range than you are. Depending on the application a CVT or serial hybrid system can actually be the most efficient solution.
Back when I owned a few air-cooled VW's, they would pull most highway uphills at about 55 mph, in third gear at full throttle. The only trouble was, the transmissions had too much gap in ratios between second and third. You could only go about 40 in second, but you didn't really get on the power band in third below about 50. So, if you got caught behind a truck or other slower vehicle, and had to slow down below 50, you would be stuck in second gear at 40 until you got to the top of the hill.
I do that in traffic. People doesn’t understand that packing more vehicles into smaller and smaller spaces, until everyone stops, is why we all stop. If everyone coasted in traffic, we would go faster and faster.
@@johnsimun6533 none of them. A bunch of idiots on the road I tell you. My worst pet peeve are drivers who tail gate you cause they think if I speed up to the red light, the light will change faster. These are the same people who take forever to take off from a green light.
Most satisfying thing is when one of those drivers that thinks he is cool overtakes you and eventually he just ends up standing still at a stop and you just cruise pass him.
1) Drive fast when you need to stop (1:01) 2) Drive slow when you need to go (2:32) 3) Engine braking (5:22) 4) Hills: Slow Up, Fast down (7:35) 5) Shift Early (9:22)
Yeah but he still makes mistakes. The power used to fight fluid friction is indeed dependent on v², but the coefficient C_d (d for drag) is ALSO dependent on speed. Sometimes, you can increase your speed by just a little bit, and C_d gets divided by 2, which is nice. Also the power produced by the engine is not exactly the same as fuel consumption, because the efficiency ratio is not the same for all RPM (as he stated in argument #5, so if your gear transmission is correctly designed (as well as the car's aerodynamics), you should drive at the speed limit.
His math is often bad. At 3:32 he explains that V^3 (velocity cubed) means the power increases "exponentially", but he doesn't understand what this means. V^3 is a polynomial function (simply cubed). Exponential would be something like F^V (F to the power of V, where F is some factor, and V is velocity again). That grows much faster with increases in V, which is why "exponentially" means growing very fast. But this is not exponential. He repeats this "exponential" mistake later too. Maths may not lie, but people can lie about maths (though I don't think this was intentional).
@Mark Skowron Totally fair point. Hopefully, your state doesn't have a traffic law where you can be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic, like California does.
@Mark Skowron You can't really be in the right on this subject. Question is, what priorities do we as individuals have? Your priority might be to save gas and be gentle on your engine, while someone else prioritizes dynamic driving and experience that comes with it (not speeding, just dynamic), and don't really care about fuel economy. It's a matter of perspective, you can't say someone's wrong only because they have different point of view.
I learned that first method with stop lights while driving motor scooters in town. If you slow down to give yourself more time before reaching the red light you have a better chance of reaching it still moving and you actually end up passing everyone that had rushed up to the light and then stopped. I have been especially interested in vehicle efficiency for about a decade and I can stand behind all your explanations. Even though I knew most of these I'm glad to hear it explained so clearly and with great detail.
A lot of this advice is also a good way in extending the life of your braking system as well. Also, for the love of God, no slow up, fast down on freeways.
@@kunstderfugue only if traffic is light enough for people to easily get around you, cause if you are the one causing a train of cars behind you, I would like to slap some sense into you
@@kunstderfugue For long hills, you don't need to slow down because you can do that when you near the top of the hill. And since the aerodynamic drag doesn't change much, might as well stay at cruising speed for higher efficiency until you near the top of the hill since the load (weight of your car x distance x grade of hill) remains constant.
Pablo López-Ortega usually hills on highways are quite long so like others have said unless traffic is extremely light then no you’re going to cause problems.
Highest gear and lowest RPM possible isn't always the best. Too low rpm and too much load can create a worse efficiency. Also your engine, dual-mass flywheel and drivetrain don't really like too low rpms.
Right, it's called lugging the engine. Basically if you can floor it without picking up speed, you're lugging, which is bad for the engine in the long run and there's no real benefit to fuel economy anyways.
Jeremy Clarkson said something about frequent braking wasting fuel a while back. Some cyclist got in the way and he joked about running them off the road to save fuel or something like that lol
I was filling my 2006 Focus every 10-14 days and now I'm filling my 2020 Kona every 21 days. I'm pretty sure that the difference is not just a more efficient engine, but better driving habits -- the latter owing to the Kona's fuel economy meter making me more conscious of how I'm driving.
Somehow mine freaks out and thinks I don't see the light since I'm slowing too gradually for her to tell I'm doing it on purpose. Conversely, I think she's not paying attention because she stop accelerating later and brakes harder.
I had to teach my boyfriend this recently, but he's quite logically minded and open to ideas so he was quite receptive to it. After a bit of practice he found that not only was the ride smoother from not having to brake as much, but overall range increased by ~15%. Unfortunately he still gets caught up in fear based ideas though.. like our Range Rover had DPF issues a number of months back so now on his way home from work if the DPF system starts a regen cycle he will purposely drive an extra 15-20km around the highway before coming home, wasting time and fuel just because he's scared it will immediately clog up on him if he doesn't. For reference, the issues it had were quoted by our original dealership to be $3,000 in repairs.. while another dealer literally at the other end of the street just updated the software in 45 mins for free which fixed all the errors and improved economy by 1/3rd instantly.
Spot on video. "Drive fast when you need to stop" is literally the optimum way to approach a red light, where "fast" means "keeping the minimum speed as high as possible". This is only perfectly achieved if you know exactly when the light will turn green. You would immediately brake down to and maintain a constant speed that would carry you to the intersection in the time it takes for the light to turn green. In reality, there is some uncertainty as to when the light will turn, and traffic behind you might get annoyed if you apply your brakes "prematurely". So use your best judgment in traffic, and if feasible, use engine braking exclusively to slow down as you approach the light, so that you are at least decelerating at a steady but modest rate well before the intersection, buying yourself more time to coast while not using any fuel, and not annoying the cars behind you to do so. "Drive slow when you need to go" is pretty accurate most of the time, except when the speed limit itself is set very low. If you can reasonably get away with driving over the speed limit when the speed limit is 5 mph, 10 mph, or 15 mph, you will get significantly better fuel economy in basically any vehicle (FE at 10 mph is approximately double the FE at 5 mph, and FE at 20 mph is typically somewhat close to double FE at 10 mph). Cars typically achieve their best fuel economy somewhere between 20-40 mph, with small-engined, low power/weight cars (ie Toyota Prius) peaking in the lower end of this range, and large-engined, high power/weight cars (ie Chevrolet Corvette) peaking in the upper end of the range. The drop in fuel economy due to increasing air drag is usually not significant until speeds reach 50+ mph, depending on the aerodynamics of the vehicle. For best highway fuel economy, drive in the far right lane as slow as you safely can. The denser traffic is, the smaller your speed differential relative to the flow of traffic needs to be. If traffic is very sparse, you might be able to drive at the posted minimum speed limit, but when doing so, you need to be constantly watching for cars approaching from behind in your lane and accelerate to a reasonable speed as they get close. Never drive slower than the posted minimum in clear and dry road conditions when traffic is freely flowing. You will notice the most dramatic improvements in fuel economy using this technique on the higher speed limit freeways. "Slow up; fast down" for hills is optimal because it reduces your vehicle's average speed and allows the engine to do its work in a more efficient manner. You might also find that hills where the elevation change is substantial enough, increasing throttle on the uphill sections such that your speed drops gradually to 5-10 mph below the speed limit by the crest of the hill, places the engine at a more favorable BSFC. Then coast down the hill in neutral or in highest gear with very light throttle to allow as much of the stored potential energy to be converted to kinetic energy as possible. "Shift early" is an optimal strategy because it keeps engine rpms down and engine load higher, which places the engine at a more favorable BSFC, as long as you're not lugging the engine. As far as accelerating softly; this is actually not as efficient as accelerating at higher engine load, depending on the distance between stops. In city driving and on residential streets, accelerating harder (half to three-quarters throttle) from a stop light/stop sign allows you to reach the speed limit earlier using less fuel and begin coasting sooner to the next stop. If you want to lower your average speed, just don't accelerate all the way to the speed limit (say 5 mph under). If the speed limit is 45 mph, then accelerate to 40 mph efficiently and quickly, hold at 40 until you're close enough to coast to the next stop, then coast in neutral the remaining distance. You can take this one step further and try pulse-and-glide, traffic permitting. You would accelerate to 45 quickly and efficiently, then immediately begin coasting in neutral, down to 35 or so, and then accelerate again quickly and efficiently back to 45, and repeat the process as necessary to cover the distance. This method of driving is a lot more fuel efficient than driving at a steady 40 mph, since the engine would be at a very low load driving at a steady 40 mph. Of course, driving a manual transmission vehicle gives you more control when applying these techniques.
Every experienced driver? What a joke, as someone who puts on 120,000+ miles a year I can assure you that no possible bracket you put drivers in would have everyone doing anything the same, hell it would be a miracle if half did the same thing. Except being on there phone while they drive, that's like 75% of everyone on the road.
I was driving like this on my driving lessons few years back and the instructor was amazed and said no one learning drives like this and I was just like it's complete common sense... Doesn't everyone drive like this?
I've actually been doing most of these since I started driving. I'm geeky. I like efficiency. I went and learned all this and literally made a lifestyle out of it. But as he said, at the same time I had to learn to be courteous and aware of what other people are doing around me. I highly recommend everyone do the same. You can only maximize a lot of these techniques on relatively empty roads. Coasting alone I find saves you the most. you can still coast and not bug ppl too much, just don't brake last minute.
5:30 the most frustrating thing about where I live is that drivers will _speed up_ to red lights and rage at you if you slow down at lights you obviously cannot make. But I generally try and do this. I had no idea it was better for fuel economy. Great video, man. stuff like this really helps.
I’m glad you added that very last part, I already do all of these things regularly but not in heavy traffic. I’ve been stuck behind people doing them in heavy traffic and it’s annoying as hell. Especially if someone is coasting up to a red light in the left lane which then makes me miss the green turn arrow making me wait an extra 20-30 seconds at the light.
@@paulparoma i dont know man ive feel more in synch with my car and what's going with it in general because of the transmission ive heard quite a few people say the same in one way or another over the years. Thats the best way to put it for me. I know quite a few of manual trans drivers out there and they're all good drivers except one. My pops lol hes got too much goin on most times.
I agree. Quite a few of these scenarios change significantly when you drive a manual. Gears don't change automatically for you so going down a hill at 45 might not actually take using your brakes. 75 in in 5th isn't the same as 75 in 4th as 80 in 6th. There's a lot more factors than mentioned here.
I have a Hyundai, a car with the fancy-shmancy "shiftronic" transmission. It's just an automatic transmission with a +/- lever selection next to "Drive". It allows the driver to shift at will, by telling the computer what they want it to do (computer calculates if shift can be performed, based on several factors, and then does it). The computer DOES prevent stalls, forcing downshifts as the car begins stopping. Other than that, it's as close to a manual experience as any automatic transmission vehicle can get. Whoops. I rambled. On to my main point... That car's unique functionality allowed me to begin appreciating just how combustion vehicles are able to do what they do. It also taught me RATHER QUICKLY what is good and bad for transmission operation.
@@TheUchihasparky It's a joke relating to how Americans call unleaded fuel 'gas', while in the UK, Australia and some others we call it 'petrol'. Here in Aus, gas refers to LPG which is a totally different animal. Ethanol is an interesting one, because when tuned correctly you can get significantly more power out of an engine, but you're certainly right that you use more of it. In general, 100% ethanol means ~30% worse economy. As such, E10 (10% ethanol) is 3% worse economy. The reason why some encourage it though is that the emissions and production are better for the environment when compared to regular unleaded.. but depending on the area and production facility that is still being debated too.
@@MotoCat91 Yup, the fertiliser production and soil destruction of corn agriculture means ethanol often hits a higher total carbon footprint than just using petrol. Leave it for racecars and liquor stores imo
The stoplight strategy would work well if people could estimate light timing. Instead they start coasting way too soon, take too long to speed back up and then the light is red again before we get there and everyone has to stop. This also doesn't take into account that often a brisk acceleration will get me through the next light before it changes and a slower acceleration, while saving fuel, leaves me idling at the next light and triggers a pattern that ends with me waiting at nearly every subsequent light. Your city's traffic planning may vary.
A small point: the amount of power required to overcome air resistance in relation to the speed is not exponential, but cubic (still polynomial). But otherwise fantastic video :)
English is not my native language so I didnt learn maths stuff in english but here a kubic function is still considered as exponential growth or exponential correlation. Also in theory you could write x^3 as a power of e so thats still an exponential function. :P
@@invalid8774 x^3 is not exponential growth, 3^x would be exponential growth. You cannot express x^3 as a power of e, but you can express 3^x as a power of e. In order to be exponential growth, the rate of change needs to be proportional to the current size. The rate of change of x^3 is proportional to x^2, not x^3, so it is not exponential. The rate of change of 3^x is proportional to 3^x, so it is exponential.
I believe the hill solution could provide more insight by also computing a correlation coefficient of a linear regression between the dependent and independent variables. Obviously, based on constructive knowledge, speed, distance, and time are independent variables and fuel consumption would be the independent variable. The absolute value of the standardized coefficient for each independent value can compute the variance to the dependent value to answer which of the independent values affects the dependent value. Just a thought. Probably not practical for real world driving 😂 but if you mapping a rout and want to maximize your fuel consumption this would be a fun little project. 🤷🏻♂️.
Heavy truck active cruise control with radar incorporates the decelerate up a grade technique, much to the chagrin of those travelling at a constant speed behind you. The trucking schools also train progressive shifting to save on fuel by staying in low RPM's too. It's important when you are moving a 30k lb vehicle (empty) and have around 10 or more gears to get through.
Very true - truck drivers are experts in economical driving, so following a truck (at a safe distance) is still a good idea for fuel economy, even if you're not drafting.
@@santiagodamelio1013 Some of this works in iRacing, but not everything. Mainly due to its far-from-perfect fuel consumption calculation ... iRacing only checks gas pedal position, it doesn't care about rpm. So coasting works, but using higher gear doesn't.
I been driving like this since I started driving Lol....I just thought it was common sense if you see a light that’s red ahead you start to slow down slowly
Great tips! In addition to those, when climbing a long hill you should speed up. Longer your engine works against gravity, more fuel burns. Don’t forget that gravity causes acceleration in the opposite direction when going uphill.
That actually isn't the case, for two reasons. 1) It takes the same amount of energy to go over a hill no matter how long it takes you to climb the hill. Potential energy= mass x height x acceleration due to gravity. However, 2) the faster you go, the more air resistance there is, meaning it will take more energy to climb the hill. In conclusion, driving uphill faster will take more gas than driving up the same hill at a slower speed. On another note, if the terrain is very hilly (up and down), it is beneficial to speed up slightly and not brake down a hill, because you will have more speed (kinetic energy) when you begin to climb the hill on the other side, meaning you will need to use less gas to climb the hill.
@Cloudchaser, you should go at least 4k rpms for more than 30 seconds once in a while. Not that you should do that every journey but once in a month would be enough.
@@martinwilliamson5250 i dont think so. I know your science checks out as far as the physics goes but you have to take into account the engine efficiency. Steadily speeding up a bit BEFORE a hill (which i think is what hes saying) helps you stay in low rpm high load when going the uphill part without significantly increasing air resistance relative to the overall engine power
Everyone drives like lunatics during rush hour. Literally all good driving habits get thrown out the window. I live in the city and the traffic is god awful, but it gets bad in some parts of LI as well.
Hey here in the Netherlands we get taught this kind of stuff in driving school. And it's a requirement for when you get your driver's license. I guess that should happen at more places in the world 😅
It is pretty common in Czech republic too. Although some private driving schools do not teach this behaviour from what I gather. How their students get a driving license is beyond me.
@@pavelkryl457 Ah yea, in the Netherlands I know tho, they test this on your theory exam and again during practical exam so there really is no way around it here atleast.
It became a huge misnomer, because everybody wants to sound smart, so they use exponentially for pretty much anything that can be defined as “more aggressive than linear”. They don’t even bother
hah! I was thinking the same! But I always feel that I'll come off as a dickhead every time I want to correct people on that. So mostly I don't, but sometimes I do. It's amazing how many people, even with a fairly sound base in mathematics do this mistake!
Only thing i gotta say is please don't be that person that slows down every time you go up a hill if you have a line of cars behind you. If you are by yourself, go for it.
@@josugambee3701 -- It can be avoided by not playing hyper-miling games when there are other drivers on the road who will find one's self-centeredness exasperating.
I love that you mentioned the total drive time vs speed. Coworkers speed home from work every day (about 25 minute commute), I just do the speed limit. They might save 30 seconds on their total drive, which is all thrown out the window when they get stopped at a stop light and I happen to come by right when it's green. Of course, that can be random for any given day.
I love when the person in front of me slows down early in the left lane to save a few drops of fuel. I have missed countless green lights in left turn lanes because someone wanted to get better mpg for themselves more than they wanted to let me into a turn lane. They got their efficiency by stealing mine.
There's a reason I included a message at the end about being conscious of those around you. Be considerate of other drivers first and foremost, then worry about your efficiency gains haha.
Yeah, you don't want to do that style of driving in front of a semi driver who is trying to keep his speed up for the hills. There will be a lot of blue smoke coming from the cab if you do!
just exede the speed limit downhill, problems solved. most trafic cams use avg speed to measure and give you ticket. also that keeps you at the speed limit on avg and the car behind you can keep its steady pace.
That tip really shouldn't be used on the interstate unless there's absolutely nobody around. I mean, if you're going to 45mph on the interstate, you already fucked up.
avg speed makes up for it, please think about it. i was perfectly clear about that. there is then space for anyone behind doing the speed they where already doing. just do the math if you dont understand it by intuition.
and spend more than you ever would have spent on gas, that uses electricity from natural gas and coal. Do you think a 40,000 $ car will offset fuel costs in a short time? Maybe a lifetime of driving yes
@@maxpelletier2237 My point stands though. 40,000$ new car would take; Assuming you drive 10,000 Mi a year @ 27 mpg, and paying 4$ a gallon for gas (california) 27 YEARS to pay back the cost of fuel. Not including the materials needed for batteries, tires, components of a Tesla. Besides we don't know how long Tesla's last, they might all start failing in a couple of years
@@Taydrum 2012 Tesla Model S are holding up pretty well, according to the degradation stats, the Model 3 Battery is already showing signs of lasting twice as long as Model S. Depending on power production, The battery construction "pollution" offsets an ICE car within the first 2 years, and are Recyclable. Once your car is payed for (8 years of payments) an EV becomes sooo much cheaper compared to an ICE where you'll still BURN above $2K of Gas every years. Gas cost doesn't account for the externalities of extraction, refining, and transport, and the impact on the environment, but yet, you count the manufacturing impact of the battery. No, your point doesn't stand.
When there's nobody around, I like to flirt with danger by downshifting with a blip of throttle rather than applying the breaks. And then keep the revs below 2,200 at all times, with the occasional rush of blood to clear the injectors. The joys of a manual diesel at 35 mph and 60 mpg. Living the life.
Good video, good points covered. I was ready to say that in scenario #4, most likely the person behind you would be on your tail, flashing lights, and giving you the “you’re #1” sign. But you redeemed yourself with your final point to be aware of traffic around you. Well dome👍.
My Driving teacher repeated to me often: enable like two brain cells and think about whats going to happen and what you are going to do in 10 seconds. Too many drivers only ever think about what is going on NOW and what do I have to do NOW. they do not predict anything. purely reactive.
Slower speed doesn't always correlate to better fuel economy and neither does more load at low rpm. As cylinder pressure (load) increases, the air/fuel ratio gets richer to make more power and prevent knock. This is especially true with TGDI engines where low speed pre-ignition is a major concern. An air/fuel gauge can be very valuable in this case as you can keep the rpm down and throttle open to just before the ECU increases the short term fuel trims. For the speed, same deal. Too low of rpm at too low of speed can lug the engine which you don't want. I was shocked to find that my wife's Altima actually got better fuel economy at 55 mph than it did at 45 mph. That engine is just at a more efficient rpm and load at 55 mph, enough so to overcome the increase wind resistance. Another note to that also, wind resistance only starts to become a big factor above about 55 mph. Below that speed, the air can usually drift over and around the car pretty easily. Above that, it doesn't have time to move out of the way and air pressure begins to build in front of the car. This also increases the drag (vacuum) generated behind the car. That air dam in front is something we take full advantage of in racing.
I think it's fair to mention that if the light turned green for the 45mph car it would have used up less fuel since it would have just continued at the same speed it was going. In my city there are a couple of roads where the green light turns on in waves and if you maintain a certain speed you will hit a green light on each intersection.
3:30 Nope! To increase exponentially with the velocity it would have to be something like 2^v, not v^3. So it increases "cubically" (if that's a word).
I'm amazed by how many people can't seem to figure out that the stop lights even things out. I love it when I'm riding my bicycle, and I get to a place at the same time as the guy with the super duty diesel pick up who feels the need to hammer down between every light. Also, when people ride on the back of my trailer when I'm a work I generally start bumping down the cruise control by 1mph every 10 seconds and see how slow I can get before the car finally decides to go around me. I once managed to get down to 48mph from a starting point of 65mph before the guy went around me, and he made sure to flip me off on the way around.
To continue on my comment: in Borger, Texas the main street had timed traffic lights with signs stating that if you maintained your speed at 35 m.p.h. you would hit every green light, and it was true every time I drove thru town and went 35 m.p.h. I would just go straight thru town non-stop. Pretty cool, wish more places were like that. Thank you.
I used to ride two stroke motorcycles, so never had engine braking. I went from a rgv250 2stroke to a gpz900 4 stroke. Engine braking caught me off guard and I had to relearn corner entry and maintaining speed through the corner. One thing that worked for me was on approaching a bend rather than shut off throttle, was go up a gear then use the engine, because the engine braking wasn't quite so savage. I also use this technique when carrying a pillion. But not as a save fuel technique, just to be smoother. When I passed my car test fifteen years later, I use this technique to save fuel on approach to lights, roundabout crossing etc. Car I drive economically, bike is for fun I don't worry about fuel economy
All good tips but the last point is the best "without annoying other drivers." Slowing to 25mph on up hills on a 2 lane road with 10 cars behind you is selfish driving! You may coast up the hill but they may have to break and then accelerate to get up that hill. Slowing as you approach a light so that you make it thru and the 10 cars behind you don't is also selfish. Your fuel economy may go up at the expense of everyone else's. Please be aware of others when you are driving...safety first.
Obviously slowing down as you approach and causing cars behind you to miss a light is an a hole move. But slowing down as you approach a red light in order to keep your minimum speed up once it goes green will increase the speed and efficiency of everyone behind you.
@@ImaFirinMyLazuh in the city sometimes you catch it where you're driving maybe 20mph and the lights turn green block to block right before you get to them. Sometimes! Usually you're just watching everyone cut each other off.
@@nsalcedo22 yep. All lanes filled by a taxi or two waiting to race to the next red light instead of staying at the speed limit and getting the timing right.
The ideal when slowing with a light ahead is to get there just as it's turning green, so the people behind you make it through too - and in fact make it through faster than if they'd had to stop at the light. If you're slowing down and going through way after it turns green, you're doing it wrong.
They should work if the person behind you was smart and also doing this. When I coast to a red light and I see people behind me, I tell myself they should be thanking me for saving gas. And, when we hit the light still going 20 I like to believe they see that what we did was for the better and no longer are pissed.
3:28 "The amount of power ... exponentially ..." - nope, it's only cubed. MPG still only depends on V squared, since you also do more distance per second at higher speeds.
I've been gradually reducing my speed to save fuel and vehicle wear for years now. I believe I have started a trend in my area...everytime I look in my rear view mirror I see a whole bunch of other drivers practicing this same fuel conserving driving. It warms my heart to see the driver behind me cursing his vehicle because it doesn't return the maximum fuel economy that he desires...but he's trying.
“The amount of power you need to produce increases exponentially as your speed increases because the aerodynamic power increases as a function of velocity cubed.” Soooo CUBICALLY, NOT EXPONENTIALLY lol
OMG he used the wrong word! Glad you understood that it's not linear haha. You'll find more vocabularity issues on this canal if you continue to watch.
