Texas ups speed limit to 85mph!

[BladeVenom]

ive noticed my gas mileage suffers when im cruising at 80 instead of 70.

I haven't measured gas mileage, but I can definitely feel and hear the difference between 70 and 80.

 

[HendrixFan]

There is no rule of thumb. It differs vastly from vehicle to vehicle.

My camry has gotten 38mpg at best on long road trips. I measure the mileage on the trip odometer and divide by gallons filled up at each station. When I cruise at much faster speeds (past 80 or 90 depending on road conditions and traffic) my mileage will only drop to around 32 to 34mpg. For comparison, I usually get 27 to 28mpg in mixed driving that I do daily.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I remember coming home from a cross-country trip and being in Northern Alabama heading South. We were on a stretch of the interstate that was way off in the hills and vehicles in the left lane were all doing around 100-105. I remember getting our truck at the time (2004 Expedition) up to around 100 and their were cars starting to come up behind us. At that point the truck was floaty as hell (every little bump in the road made the truck start bouncing up and down as I would suppose too much lift was developing under the truck). I got back out of that lane soon after. Anything more than a car really shouldn't be touching 100. They're just not designed for it. There would need to be a huge ass spoiler or something on the back of the trucks to keep them down

Maybe I should have riced out the truck..

 

[keyed]

Which is pointless. There's NOTHING in west I-10.

There aren't even cops. On my roadtrip, I floored my car and drove at 130mph the whole time.

On my roadtrip several years ago, I passed half a dozen+ cops and was pulled over by one. I was given a warning even though I was driving with cruise control set on the speed limit.

 

[ShawnD1]

What the hell is wrong with Texas?

I44 heading up into Oklahoma has been 80 and that road is a complete piece of crap. I usually go 70 on it because I'm afraid of bouncing off the road.

Take a road trip to Saskatchewan, Canada. Even going 50mph you'll shit your pants at how scary it is. Bumpy highway with pot holes and no shoulders, and it's like that the whole way through.

 

[GotIssues]

On my roadtrip several years ago, I passed half a dozen+ cops and was pulled over by one. I was given a warning even though I was driving with cruise control set on the speed limit.

They probably weren't looking for speeders. There was probably some large event nearby or a holiday and they were looking for any excuse to pull someone over and do a drunk check.

 

[CZroe]

im assuming this is on the rural stretches of I-10 in west texas.

On that very stretch I found myself accidentally doing 100MPH on my Ninja 250 several times. Yes, on a dinky little 250.

 

[BoberFett]

Big Oil must have the Texas legislature in their pockets. This move just decreases fuel efficiency and increases the demand for gas. *dawns tinfoil hat*

Why are you wearing Dawn's tinfoil hat? Give it back to her.

 

[ShawnD1]

I remember getting our truck at the time (2004 Expedition) up to around 100 and their were cars starting to come up behind us. At that point the truck was floaty as hell (every little bump in the road made the truck start bouncing up and down as I would suppose too much lift was developing under the truck).

Modern cars are remarkably stable. My 2006 Civic at 100mph felt rock solid. Held the road well. The only thing that worried me was corners, so I still slowed down for those.

The good old days of being young, back when we didn't really care about the law. Going 30mph over the limit here means mandatory court appearance, probably a reckless driving charge. Insurance becomes 99999x as expensive so it's as good as having a license taken away.

 

[Insomniator]

Nice 85 is actually a reasonable limit. Should be 85 everywhere imo... going 55-65 on the parkway feels like you are parked anyway.

If you are PAYING ATTENTION when you drive then the difference between 65 and 95 is hardly anything in todays cars. If you are eating a meatball sub and talking on the phone while driving like half of America then I guess the limits should all be 35.

 

[gaidensensei]

Ya, this is only gonna be on the interstate and rural areas. Dallas/FW, Houston, etc all have their traffic jams.

I slow down at the Juarez passthrough. Who wants to rush through when you can take a lookey doo over the border?

 

[JackBurton]

Nice 85 is actually a reasonable limit. Should be 85 everywhere imo... going 55-65 on the parkway feels like you are parked anyway.

If you are PAYING ATTENTION when you drive then the difference between 65 and 95 is hardly anything in todays cars. If you are eating a meatball sub and talking on the phone while driving like half of America then I guess the limits should all be 35.

Exactly.

 

[FelixDeCat]

im assuming this is on the rural stretches of I-10 in west texas.

Obviously.

 

[Zap]

Take a road trip to Saskatchewan, Canada. Even going 50mph you'll shit your pants at how scary it is. Bumpy highway with pot holes and no shoulders, and it's like that the whole way through.

Yes, it really depends on the road. Had some scary moments in Mississippi driving the WRX at around 70-75MPH on interstate 55 coming up from New Orleans. There were these bumps going on/off bridges that I swear I caught air over, or bottomed. It was a seriously rough ride.

However, on the same interstate 55, but in Northern Mississippi, the road was really nice.

 

[Demo24]

Yes, it really depends on the road. Had some scary moments in Mississippi driving the WRX at around 70-75MPH on interstate 55 coming up from New Orleans. There were these bumps going on/off bridges that I swear I caught air over, or bottomed. It was a seriously rough ride.

However, on the same interstate 55, but in Northern Mississippi, the road was really nice.

Miss has some of the worst highways I've been on. Took interstate 20 through there and it was like a damn rollercoaster ride up/down but there were no hills, the landscape was flat.:| Particularly disturbing in a loaded out minivan riding low in the back.

 

[LordMorpheus]

Which is pointless. There's NOTHING in west I-10.

There aren't even cops. On my roadtrip, I floored my car and drove at 130mph the whole time.

... I got a speeding ticket on I-10 way out in West Texas.

I was going 80, but it was night so the speed limit was 65.

Another time on I-10 between San Antonio and Houston I saw a dude get two speeding tickets. Lifted, big truck goes zooming by me. I see him pulled over a few miles later. About a half hour after that he goes screaming by me again, and sure enough I see him getting another ticket after a few miles. Must have been a rough day for that guy.

 

[Jaepheth]

They should have gone with 88 MPH

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

I hope we can have something like an autobahn in Cali that only people certified to drive on it can use. I would love being able to cruise from Fresno to Sacremento at 120mph.

Most cars probably couldn't and shouldn't try to keep up. Would be nice to have that option.

 

[Scouzer]

Take a road trip to Saskatchewan, Canada. Even going 50mph you'll shit your pants at how scary it is. Bumpy highway with pot holes and no shoulders, and it's like that the whole way through.

Sask has come a looooong way in the last 5-10 years. The roads are a lot better now.

 

[Red Squirrel]

That's a kick in the butt for time travelers, couldn't they at least bring it to 88?

Seriously, that's freaking fast. Just did the conversion and if I went that speed here I'd lose my license. 137km/h! The highest speed limit is 80 here. Most highways are 90. The bigger cities it's 100. Then again cops allow 10-15 over. imo they should just raise the limits, and enforce it more.

 

[Red Squirrel]

going 55-65 on the parkway feels like you are parked anyway.

That's why they call it a parkway. :awe:

 

[Scouzer]

That's a kick in the butt for time travelers, couldn't they at least bring it to 88?

Seriously, that's freaking fast. Just did the conversion and if I went that speed here I'd lose my license. 137km/h! The highest speed limit is 80 here. Most highways are 90. The bigger cities it's 100. Then again cops allow 10-15 over. imo they should just raise the limits, and enforce it more.

Ontario has ridiculously archaic speed limits. Stupid province.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Once in a while Texas does something right but that doesn't make up for all the things they do wrong.

that governor perry is a real doozy

IIRC, the relationship is cubic. Going 2x as fast increases your drag by 8x. This is why the Veyron needs over 1000HP to go 250mph.

drag squares with speed

 

[SP33Demon]

I'm moving to Texas, awesome.

 

[ShawnD1]

Ontario has ridiculously archaic speed limits. Stupid province.

Indeed! Speed limit on most of the trans canada highway is 110k (69mph).

There's no right answer for what the speed limit should be. If it's a windy road and there's a cliff on one side, then maybe 80k (50mph) really should be the limit. Trying to apply the same speeds to every road is what gets us into trouble.