Crazy as in high or low?
I-5 between San Francisco and LA is about ~70mph limit. That's ~113km/h.
A lot of highways in Europe are often at 130km/h sometimes going up to 140km/h limit.
P.S. And if you think those limits are even remotely observed, try a road trip in Italy or Bulgaria :P
Er, no, traditional gas cars fuel economy is optimal in freeway driving, despite the fact that more delivered energy is required than at slower speeds. Hybrids and electric cars, which can be closer to peak delivery efficiency over a broader range of speeds, have peak economy at lower speeds.
Depends on how you define "freeway driving": If you mean constant speed, then yes; if you mean high speed, then no.
> Hybrids and electric cars, which can be closer to peak delivery efficiency over a broader range of speeds, have peak economy at lower speeds.
So do ICE cars. Energy (=fuel) consumption rises with the square of speed, because aerodynamic resistance does. That's just a law of nature, irrespective of engine technology.
Not sure it's doing much more than inputting the single number fuel economy into an equation though.
> Same way you won't get good mileage on any car if you do that
What do you mean by that? Aren't ICE cars often more efficient at highway speeds? My car usually averages 45ish MPG on the highway and more like 30 in the city.. the sweet spot seems to be around 60-70 mph. Some US highways get up to 80 or 90, but that still (at least for the cars I've owned) ends up more efficient MPG-wise than city driving.
Try driving US highway 1 from Key Largo to Key West. It’s about 100 miles with a 45mph speed limit, at sea level. Set your cruise control at 45 on an evening with light traffic. It will be the best fuel economy you’ve ever seen in your car, by a wide margin.
No. They're more efficient at constant speeds, because the ICE can only be really optimised for a very narrow RPM band, but that need not necessarily translate into higher speeds.
Just choose a lower gear, and watch your fuel consumption drop significantly below what it would be at higher speed in a higher gear.
The main reason for this is that air resistance, which costs energy (=fuel) to overcome, rises not linearly with rising speed, but in proportion to the square thereof.
Agreed. I've been driving a Leaf since 2015 (two different generations by now) and the main reason that makes road trips unpalatable is NOT range. Not at all. Charging more often? Sure, whatever. Unless it's a business trip or a trip across the country it's fine. I've discovered some stuff I'd probably would never have otherwise, by routing via chargers in small towns.
No, the problem is how sparse some quickchargers are, and the fact that many don't even work - and the best you can do is check comments to see if people have complained about them recently. Some of them (specially Nissan owned!) are located in places that _close at night_. That's not acceptable, we can find 24/7 gas stations almost everywhere.
However, that only accounts for 0.1% of my trips. I've optimized for the most common use-case (city driving) and don't regret that one bit.
> If you've ever driven a Tesla on a highway you know you'll not get the full 230 at highspeeds.
Yeap. Same way you won't get good mileage on any car if you do that. Thankfully liquid fuels have a ridiculous amount of energy, so we can afford to waste 70% as heat plus drag and the only real consequence is the wallet (and filling up more often).
US highway speeds are crazy and it is indeed shocking when you see it the first time. It would also be quite shocking on ICE cars too, but they don't have accurate fuel gages, let alone accurate range estimates. At least most don't.
> I wish them all the best with this amazing migration to electric vehicles.
Me too!