How fast do you really drive?

Dnt · March 6, 2017

What about those Braves?

Grumpy Bear · March 7, 2017

I know I'm going to get in trouble I always been quite a rebel but I can't help it. Grumpy bear is lots of fun sometimes but reminds me of an ex father in law. Whenever he was around he dominated the room with conversation of stuff that was hard to understand, even for the many aggies that are in the family. Please GB dumb it down my head hurts. And (I think you put out some interesting stuff).

Trouble?...not with me sport. I ain't like that. I don't hold a grudge. Darn things are way to heavy.

CadillacLuke24 · March 9, 2017

This is why I love forums. ALL OVER THE PLACE!

And now back to our regulary scheduled thread:

Turns out to be only 32.68 average mph. I'd think it would be higher with what I would think is a majority of highway driving, but those remote starts after work, as well as slogging through snow drifts, can bring it down.

Grumpy Bear · March 9, 2017

This is why I love forums. ALL OVER THE PLACE!

And now back to our regulary scheduled thread:

Turns out to be only 32.68 average mph. I'd think it would be higher with what I would think is a majority of highway driving, but those remote starts after work, as well as slogging through snow drifts, can bring it down.

Allot of hits for a half dozen data points. PROGRESS

diyer2 · March 9, 2017

I will keep it simple.

I drive the way I feel that day is my guess. Road type, conditions are all factors.

In general the sped limit or 5-10 over or 5 under speed limit.

Grumpy Bear · March 9, 2017

I will keep it simple.

I drive the way I feel that day is my guess. Road type, conditions are all factors.

In general the sped limit or 5-10 over or 5 under speed limit.

Post #24 partial quote:

I should have worded it "Engine Operational Utilization Toward Self Propelled Motion Inquiry" aka, what percentage of the engines operating time is spent moving forward.

It's a statistics question. Don't know how to make is simpler.

Grumpy Bear · March 12, 2017

Data table of what was submitted. We toss the two in yellow. The high and the low.

Do the individual calculations for speed. Miles / Hours. Individual average.

Calculate a Standard Deviation. 2.29 mph

Sum the mileage and the hours then divide the former by the later to get the ‘weighted average’ for the population.

Populations weighted central tendency is 34.21 mph

Upper control limit 1 standard deviation 36.50 mph

Lower control limit 1 standard deviation 31.92 mph

68 % of all samples will fall within the upper and lower control limits.

Individual average is a bit higher at 35.91 mph.

Pretty small sampling but I find it interesting that it still pretty darn close to Fords Commercial Feet Car numbers.

TRN · March 13, 2017

Fast enough to get from A to B

Grumpy Bear · March 13, 2017

Fast enough to get from A to B

There is the speed your targeting. Speed limit or preference. Where you set your cruise control or right foot.

Then there is the speed you average as a matter of circumstance. Stop signs, towns, lower speed limit areas and traffic that holds you up. Farm equipment and snow plows. Even the roads you choose to travel. Mc Donald’s drive through. Warm up. Whatever. That's the one we just looked at.

There is also your trip average. You leave 8 AM and drive until you find a room that evening say 5 PM. You drove 70 mph. It should have been a 630 mile day.

Circumstance reductions took you to 62 mph. Day is now 558 miles.

Then there was a 90 minute lunch and a 20 minute fill up plus a stop at some attraction took you days average for the 9 hours between you leaving and retiring to 7.17 hours and a day now is closer to 444 miles.

Your 70 mph set point just became a sub 50 mph trip result. Fact is on primary US highways that trip number will average over the ride life about 25-30% under the target speed. Yes you can do much better on Interstate and on short trips but over 250,000 miles…you will have a different pattern.

Everyone driving patterns are indeed different and yet…very much alike. They are made up of the same situations just in different proportions and with different priority on each. But drop the numbers in the grinder as a group there won’t be much variance but it is fun to study and see where you fall in that group.

Yep, they will all get you there.

Grumpy Bear · March 17, 2017

True story about how fast we thing we drive.

About 1978 I did an Iron Butt Rally on a modified 76 Harley Super Glide. If you don’t know what this is, it’s riding 1,000 miles or more in 24 hours or less. They are certified and sponsored by a shop. Mine was Cedar Rapids Harley Davidson owned at the time by Bernie and Opal.

My Glide was a bit unusual in that I could knock down 60 mpg like falling off a log but that is a different story for another time. I mention it as a preface to the following so that it makes sense to you.

To do this run you need some decent weather, a good plan and a tolerance for pain. Helps to be young too. I was 24. On the face of it it’s simple math. 1,000 / 24 = 41.7 mph. To do that you need a bike capable of 330 + mpg and a three plus gallon tank and the ability to go nonstop for a day without a pee, rest, a meal, a drink…you get the idea. Eating and getting a drink on a bike isn’t an impossible task but the gas, pee and leg cramps…that’s a different story. Point is you need to run faster. You also have to avoid long stops like getting pinched by Johnny Law. These were the days of the double nickel speed limit. Running out of gas sucks. Even frequent stops can make this a tough task so it is most often done on Interstates.

I had a 3.5 gallon tank and decided a half gallon was a safe reserve which gave me 180 miles of range. Three hours at 60 mph at 60 mpg clips the trip in 16.67 hours with zero stops. Can’t obviously be done. So I plan a 15 minute fuel and relief stop every three hours of running at 60 mph. That’s 180 miles in 3.25 hours or 55.38 mph. That’s 1000 miles in 18 hours and a few seconds. Leaves six hours for…and it’s the for that kills ya.

I sat in a Harley shop on a Sunday for two hours while a new speedo cable was fetched from another dealer and installed. These are certified miles and the repair would need a sign off. I also lost miles from the minute it snapped until I arrived at the dealer I could not count. Another delay of 30 minutes. If I keep this pace going I now need 20.5 hours and my cushion is down to 3.5 hours. We are not done having fun yet. FOG so thick over the dark hours of night slow me to a crawl. Even a stop for a short bit to wring the cramps from my hands and legs.

I finish the trip at 1,056 miles done in 22 hours and 6 minutes.

47.78 mph average and never ever broke 60 mph for the entire trip. It was recorded as the slowest pace (60 mph peak) ever for the event. This trip is done all the time riding well over 80 mph in much shorter times but the statement stands.

Distance is as much a function of time in the seat at a steady sustainable pace as it is speed of the run.

I've done the Denver run, for me it's about 1,000 miles, in under 14 hours by car. It's a much different thing than a bike. Yes I was a close to a hundred and better often.