Unmentioned Energy Fix: A 55 M.P.H. Speed Limit

The New York Times ^ | May 1, 2005 | Jad Mouawad and Simon Romero

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Exactly. In aviation it's referred to as "stoichiometric" and thats why some cars labor and get worse mileage at lower speeds and some a higher speeds.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Well, the signs along the roads in Florida say

Speed
55
Limit

However the signs are next to the emergency lanes, so I suspect they refer to the speed limit for that lane in particular. The other lanes don't have posted limits.

[Paladin2]

Optimum engine controls depends on all sorts of things. Running the air-fuel ratio at stoichiometry is not likely to result in the best fuel economy (emissions ignored). Typically to get the most fuel burned (and the most work out of the fuel you put into the cylinder, you have to have a little extra oxygen to make sure that (almost) no fuel molecules can't find some oxident. Similarily, to get the most power one would add extra fuel so that all the air (typically the limiting factor) gets used.

Over fueling and suboptimal ignition timing can definately hurt fuel economy.

[King Prout]

if you do the math, factoring in rpms at specific gears, you will find that -even with increased air resistance at higher speeds- the 55mph limit actually works against fuel economy.

[Sachin]

Reasons why not 55 MPH

1. It will reduce capacity of highways which have higher speed limit, resulting in more congestion and fuel wastage.

2. Longer travel time will cost more in terms of labor hours.

Better options

1. Use Hybrid vehicles

2. Reduce traffic during peak hours by Telecommuting, Flexible working hours and compressed work week

3. Invest in nuclear energy and alternative fuel research as OIL is a perishable resource, which will last only for about 40 more years.