European Cars -- IMPORTANT DEBATE

[boganbusman]

Fuel consumption at high speeds has mostly to do with wind resistance, doesn't it? I mean, let's say a car can travel 20 M.P.H. in 2nd gear at 3,000 R.P.M., but it can also travel at 50 M.P.H. in 4th gear, at the same R.P.M. Theoretically, the car would use the same amount of fuel in both situations (not factoring wind resistance), because at both speeds, the engine is turning over the same number of times per minute, right? It's only when the car is moving faster, thus creating more wind resistance, that it has to push harder and use more fuel. At slower speeds (under 80 M.P.H.), it probably wouldn't make much of a difference, but at over 200 M.P.H., the amount of force pushing back against your car in wind resistance is immense.

Yeah, what you are describing is generally called load. Higher load on the engine = more fuel.

Aerodynamic drag, putting more weight in the car, going up hills, and acceleration all puts extra load on the engine.

[Striker94]

Mate, you clearly have no clue on how the fuel use of a car works.
just because a car doing 200 is theoreticly 2 times as fast at it's destination does not mean it uses less fuel just because instead of doing a distance in 10 minutes instead of 20 (all theoreticly because your never exactly 2 times as fast)
And even tough a slower car taking 10 minutes more (when the other is already standing still) the fast car still has used far more fuel then the one driving half the speed.
It simply doesn't work like that.
it's not even close to that cause it's the other way around, the fast you go the more fuel you use every km/mile (not in minutes, cause timewise you will use even more fuel when going fast.)

lets take the Veyron again for example.
Like said it runs out of fuel in 12 minutes at top speed (take 400 kmh (240mph) for easy calculating) wich in your system would mean it could not even run for 48 minutes at 100 kmh (60 mph) wich ofcourse is not true at 100 kmh it can run for much much longer then 1 hour.

If driving faster would make the driving more economical and enviromentally friendly then they would instantly increase the max speeds on highways....

Sorry, just a thought...

Okay, here's another random theory. The government keeps blaming high speed for crashes. If the higher the speed actually was, the less fuel it consumed (i know, incorrect), does anyone think that they would increase the speed limits?

[boganbusman]

No.

Even though high speed is not a major cause of accidents, the government will always try to place immediate human safety before enviromental concerns.