I just went on a trip and noticed a big drop in efficiency at highway speed. I was going at 80 mph and lost over 29% versus what I usually get driving around town.
OK, now comes the twist: this wasn't my electric car. I see threads all the time with new owners complaining about Tesla's "false numbers" because they drove fast and weren't getting the rated range, and frequently there are claims that their gas cars never had that problem. Well, this WAS my gas car.
We were taking our 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, and I got on the interstate in Idaho and drove at 80 mph for two hours and only got 31 mpg versus the 44 mpg we always get week in and week out in our normal driving around town. So yeah, a 29% drop in efficiency because of the high speed.
I just wanted to have a bit of an eye opening counterpoint to all the griping I see against electric cars to point out that physics is a cruel mistress that affects all and is a witch with a capital B at 80 mph!
OK, now comes the twist: this wasn't my electric car. I see threads all the time with new owners complaining about Tesla's "false numbers" because they drove fast and weren't getting the rated range, and frequently there are claims that their gas cars never had that problem. Well, this WAS my gas car.
We were taking our 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, and I got on the interstate in Idaho and drove at 80 mph for two hours and only got 31 mpg versus the 44 mpg we always get week in and week out in our normal driving around town. So yeah, a 29% drop in efficiency because of the high speed.
I just wanted to have a bit of an eye opening counterpoint to all the griping I see against electric cars to point out that physics is a cruel mistress that affects all and is a witch with a capital B at 80 mph!