California Senator Scott Wiener is introducing a new set of bills to make streets safer across the state, including one that would change how you drive.
Cars are designed for fuel efficiency (well, it should at least be considered.) To make an IC engine efficient, it has to be able to rev higher, and reach higher speeds. So while it can technically reach 100 mph, it’s most efficient at 55.
If you make an engine with a top speed of 65mph, and run it at 65mph all the time, it’s going to guzzle fuel like an alcoholic going through an angry divorce.
Plus what if the car is loaded down with 5 people instead of just 1? Or something on the roof like a roof box? Now your 65mph top speed is 50. And what about hills?
If it’s energy savings we’re actually going for, EVs as they are aren’t the answer.
If we take the real awnser of public transportation out of the picture then moving to EVs as a replacement for SOVs does in fact conserve our energy.
An internal combination engine are Only 35-40% efficient as a lot of heat is generated and lost. A gas turbine on the other hand can be as as high as 80% efficient .
It’s more efficient for us to burn fuels to generate electricity to power EVs including transmission losses and charging losses than to burn them in ICE vehicles. Again though public transportation is the better solution overall.
Cars are designed for fuel efficiency (well, it should at least be considered.) To make an IC engine efficient, it has to be able to rev higher, and reach higher speeds. So while it can technically reach 100 mph, it’s most efficient at 55.
If you make an engine with a top speed of 65mph, and run it at 65mph all the time, it’s going to guzzle fuel like an alcoholic going through an angry divorce.
Plus what if the car is loaded down with 5 people instead of just 1? Or something on the roof like a roof box? Now your 65mph top speed is 50. And what about hills?
Removed by mod
If we take the real awnser of public transportation out of the picture then moving to EVs as a replacement for SOVs does in fact conserve our energy.
An internal combination engine are Only 35-40% efficient as a lot of heat is generated and lost. A gas turbine on the other hand can be as as high as 80% efficient .
It’s more efficient for us to burn fuels to generate electricity to power EVs including transmission losses and charging losses than to burn them in ICE vehicles. Again though public transportation is the better solution overall.
that may have been the case during the carter administration, but the efficiency curve of a modern car tops out a fair bit higher than 55.
Most cars still do drastically drop off in efficiency past 55mph, wind resistance is still the same as it was in 1975.
Modern cars are more efficient at 70mph than older ones, but they’re still less efficient than they were at 55.
Citation needed. Hybrids and EVs at least are actually most efficient at even slower speeds.
Okay, but that’s only because the top speed is much higher to bring the RPMs down into the efficiency sweet spot.