Drive further by going a little slower in super-cruise ultra-high efficiency modes :)
Learn about How to Use Hypermiling to Boost Your Fuel Economy & Save Gas Money Nowhttps://youtu.be/FMJIe0SnCKo
Aerodynamic losses start to become significant above 40 MPH & increase significantly at 45 MPH where 50 MPH the aerodynamic crossover point of diminishing returns such that most vehicles achieve their best energy economy, best fuel economy, or lowest amount of fuel used per unit of distance traveled at less than 55 MPH, the highway speed limit that many American states adopted for freeway' & highway speed limits after the 1973 OPEC oil-embargo caused widespread gasoline shortages in many locals of America.
Scientists at the EPA worked out that most automobiles of that time with 3, 4 or 5 speed manual or automatic transmissions were in their highest gear ratio above 40 MPH such that the engine spinning the lowest RPM possible at the higher speed, such that this condition where most vehicle achieve the highest energy efficiency converting fuel energy to forward movement of the vehicle, passengers & cargo carried in the automobile.
A number of technological innovations were rapidly improving automobiles with carburetors replaced with fuel injection, crude simple exhaust systems were replaced with emission controlled exhaust systems featuring an O2 sensor to give EGT exhaust gas temperature voltage information to the ECU or Engine Control Unit, a simple low performance fan-less computer that takes data from the MAF mass air flow sensor, the CPS or crank position sensor, coolant temperature sensor, oil temperature sensor & other IO channels to optimize spark timing or ignition event timing where high voltage from an ignition HV source creates a hot plasma arc in the head of the spark-plug to ignite compressed fuel & air mixtures when the piston reaches TDC & slightly past such that the spark causes the air fuel mixture to deflagrate (quick combustion)(not explode, low Brisance (shock wave fast explosions) like typical high explosives) with hot expanding exhaust gas pressure shoving the piston down the cylinder bore so the wrist pin can translate that mechanical force to the connecting or con rod down to crank spin the crankshaft suspended in oil lubricated bearings, such that rotational mechanical force known as torque sent to the transmission & then by way of driveshafts to the wheels to force the tires against the road so the friction between the tire & road creates tractive force to pull or push the vehicle forward. This concept of translating torque into wheel motion to spin tires against roadways also at work in bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, motorcycles, trucks, cars, SUV's, busses & other wheeled road vehicles & offroad vehicles like dirt bikes or 4x4 and in many other applications.
Early automobiles with 1-3 HP engines could only go 12 MPH, but gasoline engines became more powerful & new innovations improved power to weight performance of engines such that gasoline fueled aircraft & helicopter engines became possible with higher power to weight performance.
Smaller lighter engines with more power output. Today we see the world's automakers using turbochargers & gasoline direct injection with electronic variable valve & ignition timing to get 2.0L engines to make 350 HP or more & even little 1.5L turbo GDI engines with 200+ HP.
Our 2019 Nissan LEAF SV electric synchronous motor generators 147kW or just less than 200 HP & seems very quick while accelerating with the pedal to the floor :) Nissan says the LEAF SV gives the performance of a V6 from 0-30 MPH under heavy acceleration & has massive instant torque that can spin the front wheels & smoke the tires on warm dry pavement when TC or traction control turned off (not in eco-mode which reduces motor power by 30% to increase range by reducing battery current draw or to reduce electrical loading of the traction energy storage battery system which has a peak storage capacity of 40kWh & a mass of around 480 lbs.
Amazing to drive a modern EV like this given how vastly superior it is to the early automobiles being sold around 1900, when EV's using PbA or lead acid batteries were common i big cities, with short range & low speed. Before strong plastics like PP (polypropylene) that are common today, battery boxes of early lead acid batteries were made of wax lined wooden boxes.
SLI batteries with 6 cells of 2vdc nominals comprise the overwhelming majority of car batteries today as 12 Volt Batteries to power the starter motor & as an energy storage buffer with the engines alternator to power 12vdc electrical loads created by the radio, head lights, turn signals, brake lights, ECU, sensors & other electronics that are so common on newer vehicles that as of 2023 a new car contains more than 130 compute modules with CHIPS (see chips act law vs automakers) for ADAS or advanced driver assist technology like Automatic Emergency Braking or Lane Keep Assist or varying levels of Autopilot or Self Driving modes. The Tesla Model 3 the bestselling $50,000+ electric vehicle now, while the Chevy Bolt & Bolt EUV are the best value per unit of battery range per dollar. I like the Nissan LEAF SV & SL because I have a history with Nissan LEAF.
Back in 2013 Meg & I leased as 24kWh Nissan LEAF S for $2000 down at signing, then $199/mo for 24 months. We turned in the LEAF at the end of the lease & then purchased a brand new 2015 Honda CRz- 6sp manual hybrid coupe & drove that for 3 years before trading it for a 30kWh 2015 Nissan LEAF S that I drove until 2018 when we traded it for Meg's Gen 3 Toyota Prius. I resumed driving my 05 Prius that we never sold, then recently sold that Gen 2 Toyota Prius to Allan, and purchased a used 2019 Nissan LEAF SV. Meg still has the 2010 Toyota Prius III, and we just inherited the 01 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro from my late mother Connie, who we held a funeral for earlier this day, at a catholic mass & catered lunch afterward. It was nice to see so many friends & family & friendly people to celebrate her life & the memory of Congetta Marie Schwarz, may God bless her soul forever, Amen. Most of the people who attended the funeral got there by driving their privately owned automobiles, a mixture of cars, hatchbacks, sedans, trucks & SUV's.
I feel deeply thankful & super appreciative to God & other people for these amazing automobiles in our personal collection.
We have a 2020 Yamaha MT-03 motorcycle with exceptional energy efficiency able to get 85 mile per gallon of fuel with light hypermiling & gives 58 MPG when riding normally while riding like I stole it returns 37 MPG, from the 321cc offset twin cylinder fuel injection water cooled engine that was refined for 11 generations in the R3 Sport bike. The upright seating position, beginner friendly ergonomics, low seat height & gloriously click-y mechanically superior 6 speed sequential transmission gives an almost orgasmic riding experience with a tasteful exhaust note that tickles the ears without being too loud, though at higher sustained speeds in the middle of America where its legal to go 80 MPH & many people drive even faster than that, the MT-03 feels a bit buzzy with the engine humming along around 7800 RPM with an 11,900 RPM redline, at 60 MPH its more like 5400 RPM & around 50 MPH down towards 4900 RPM when the ECU turns on ultra-lean-burn modes & the fuel economy rises to above 80 MPG. Meg 2013 Honda PCX150 get over 104 MPG when ridden conservatively, while riding top speed 2 up with her & I on it (think 300lbs of people) it gets 83 MPG, good high economy given the tiny 1.1-gallon fuel tank.
Tires have improved a lot over the years with some newer automobile tires able to last 90,000 miles of regular driving. ECO tires with LRR Low Rolling Resistance inflated to 10% over the recommended inflation pressure offer the least amount of energy waste, as a conventional car tire bending & heating up wastes up to 20% of the fuel or battery energy, while the tread wearing away from the tire during normal use releases micro-plastics into the environment.
Most of the emissions problems from automobiles because there are billions of them in operation. Its the huge scale of human activity for 10 billion people trying to live like the rich & famous in America that causes climate change & ecological devastation to be so problematic that species extinction rates are increases along with acid rain & other air pollution, water pollution, chemical pollution, toxic emissions, CO2 levels rising from carbon combustion of wood, coal, natural gas, gasoline, diesel, Jet-A, kerosene, heavy bunker oil, rocket fuels & other carbon combustion systems that release acid rain smog forming lung damaging emissions.
Wayne Gerde's teaches people to get 40% better fuel economy by hypermiling, while vehicles entered into the Shell Eco-marathon get thousands of miles per gallon. The Aptera has the lowest drag with a CD of 0.13 that smokes even the most slippery automobiles which have a CD of 0.20 or higher. At speed below 12.4 MPH rolling resistance from tire deformation the major source of energy waste, while aerodynamics start to become the major energy loss at higher speeds. You can test this speed vs aero forces when riding a bicycle at speeds higher than 12 MPH where the wind in you ear will become loud enough to cause hearing loss, especially after 40 MPH. When riding in someone else's car at 50+ MPH try sticking your head out the passenger door window when it's rolled down & get a face full of high-pressure air & listen to how loud fast-moving air can be to your ears.
Many motorcyclists get hearing damage from the wind noise, not from their bikes loud aftermarket exhaust, slip-on or similar straight pipe racing exhaust system. When some criminal stole the catalytic converters off of our 2005 Prius, the exhaust was so loud that Meg came back inside & said "something is really wrong with the car" never having been in motorsports or having experienced how loud racing exhaust systems can be in first person, I explained that that is what the engine actually sounds like when exhaust gas flows directly off the header, where the filtering noise suppressing catalytic converter was previously operating in combination with a downstream resonator & muffler to further reduce exhaust noise to a minimum. Many people who experience catalytic converter theft soon after learning how loud their vehicle engine is with straight pipe exhaust coming directly out of the exhaust header.
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