Well, Jegzus, if you are right, than the physics laws are wrong! :wink:
Yes, the proper specs is very important, but the faster you go, than more you spend!
And please, don't tell me to stay out of the"middle" lane.
I'll stay wherever i feel comfortable at the moment! :P

 

Your wrong Solo. I just got off the phone with NASA engineers. Let me repeat that, NASA ENGINEERS. They told me the Space Shuttle burns the same amount of fuel at 3,000 mph as it does at 50,000 in outer space.

Lets see you explain that one smartie pants.

 

I race a car at the local dirt tracks. I race at 1/4 mile tracks and half mile tracks. On the quarter mile tracks you put a lot bigger gear in, I usually put a 6:00-6:20 in and turn 7500-8000 rpms. On a 1/2 mile I run a 5:14 or 5:29 and try to turn the same rpm's, but I don't reach them near as quickly. I watch my fuel closely. I can tell you that I get the same fuel mileage in both. It all depends on how hard you are on the throttle. RPM's are what burns fuel. I have ran a 5:43 at the quarter mile track, I did this as a test, I was trying to burn less fuel to keep more rear percentage at the end of the race. Believe it or not, with that gear I burned about 3 gallons less in a 20 lap feature. Why? Because the whole feature I turned 6700 rpms. Now that is like comparing apples to oranges however. I am hammering the throttle, letting off, hammering and letting off. In a truck you are accelerating and in most cases keeping it there. In a truck, the harder the engine runs, the more RPM's you turn. To go faster, you push down the accelerator harder so it is going to burn more fuel. I'm sure you weren't running the same gear in the 120 mph car and the 170 mph car. You were probably running a taller gear in the 120 mph car, going for quick power and running a shorter on in the 170 mph car for speed. Put the 120 mph car on the track that the 170 mph car was running on and run some laps. If you don't blow the motor due to RPM's, you will notice you burned much more fuel.

 

So Steve...just cause you have a Star car doesn't mean you get to call NASA direct...

Now....hold your hand out the window palm facing forward at 30mph and 70mph. Takes a lot more "energy" to hold that palm there doesn't it. Wind resistance increases geometrically with speed. Therre is simply NO WAY that it takes less energy to go 70 than 60.
However the gearing, torque, and rpm's certainly impacts fuel consumption. If you geared your truck to run 70 then you will probably consume less fuel running 70 in the sweet spot of 13th gear rather than screaming along in 12th at a higher rpm but lower speed.

 

That's easy! There is no air, at "outer space", therefore, no resistance!
Here, on Earth, even outside temperature, affects air resistance!

And one more thing, about the "same MPG" at the same RPM, no matter what speed;-
I'm going 1500 RPM 70 mph, up, or down the hill.
Does it mean my MPG, is the same? :P

 

There is some resistance from particle friction even in a synchronous or asynchronous orbit. The International Space Station has to get a boost from a visiting space shuttle to insure the whole thing won't slow down and come crashing down (like MIR).

Steve's point is that the velocity of an object in space is unrelated to the fuel consumption needed to accelerate the object. The acceleration is constant, therefore the 'miles per gallon' is constant. The difference between starting velocity and target velocity determines how much fuel needs to be burned to reach the speed desired, but the fuel flow is the same.

In the physics of a truck, one must remember Newton's 1st law of physics. An object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force (this is called momentum).

80000 lbs in motion will stay in constant velocity until other forces such as mechanical friction, air friction, and the force of gravity act on the truck. Pretend you take a truck out of gear and let it coast (don't actually do this please), and see how long that truck will take to slow down. It'll take minutes before you come to a complete stop on a perfectly flat plane. Therefore, air resistance & mechanical friction: NEXT TO NIL.

 

YES IT DOES. Have any of you called NASA???? NO!!! You don't have a WS.
All this talk about physics, motion and particle MIR space stations is hurting my head. I'm gonna go out and floor my truck.

 

Sorry about that Steve.

Here have an ice pack, on me.

 

Imagine that there are other people out there that understand what I was talking about. It's more about the right set up than the speed. 8)

And solo I wont tell you to stay out of the middle lane but don't start crying on the radio about people passing you on the right. :roll:

 

I don't care! It's free country, you could burn tour money, or do other stupid things...it's all legal! :P :lol: