HP, 60 mph, level ground (2025 Update)

Existential Angst · 2013-05-08T06:53:41+00:00

Awl -- KiddingHisSelf has been awfully quiet as of late. One can only hope the bliss will continue, but it may just be the lull before another hysterical menstruating storm.....Hopefully this will shut him up a little bit longer.... or act as a maxi-pad.....Previously I estimated my Honder Fit hp at 60 mph at about 12 hp, and some proly thought that this was ridiculously optimistic, but in fact, it was proly conservative.Consider , which calculates the hp for a Corvette at 65 mph at 11.8 hp..... !!!! From the chart at the very end of the article.If you look at , you'll see the CdA for many cars is 5-6+.Thus, interpolating between 55 and 65 mph, and figgering the CdA of a Fit is proly a bit less than the Vette, the hp req'd for the Fit at 60 mph is proly between 8 and 9, ie, under 10 hp!!!!Not that this is such a big deal (vs. 12), but it does illustrate just how low steady-state hp requirements can be. It is only acceleration and hills that really amp this requirement up.Oh, yeah, and being an asshole.You may find some varying results with different tables, analyses, but the near-universal consensus is very low hp is required for modest speeds. Note that hp requirement for a Vette drops to 1.16 -- Yup, one point one six -- at 30 mph. And jumps to 31 at 90 mph..... and even that seems surprisingly low. The table shows 344 hp for 200 mph, which def'ly seems low, so maybe this chart is skewed a bit. But you get the idea. Mebbe others can provide other tables.The wiki article shows how CdA can vary, with a few surprises, such as the very impressive CdA for the Honda Insight -- lower, even, than the Honda NSX.Bottom line is, fuel efficiency is *inversely* proportional to the CdA, so that if you halve the CdA, you double the car's efficiency -- which is what the Aptera et al are all about -- regardless of the underlying power plant strategy. In fact, the mpg ROI from CdA proly swamps power plant considerations.Had GM spent that $1.++ BILLION on the...

May 08, 2013 Last reply: 8 months ago 42 Replies

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Existential Angst 13 years ago

Actually, it could be, and much more accurately: As I discussed with Vic, you can get near-5 or mebbe full-5 digit accuracy simply by dividing when you fill up. THAT is your TRUE average mpg's.

But YOU tweak your ass off on a gadget for something that is totally superfluous AND less accurate!!! Typical of those who just don't get it -- and never will. And refuse to acknowledge what the gadget IS useful for -- cuz, well, you just don't get it -- and never will.

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Paul Hovnanian P.E. 13 years ago

[snip]

First thing; don't forget the tire rolling resistance.

Also, given the acceleration of a Fit, think of how much fuel you'll save by having the guy behind you push you along the on-ramp. The poor person driving the 'Vette has to do that all by themselves.

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Jon Elson 13 years ago

Can't give you an HP number, but I drove my kid about 250 miles to a basketball tournament last weekend. I got 57 MPG in the Honda Civic hybrid with 4 people in the car. That sure is a record for me! (And, that's with gasohol, pure gasoline would be even higher.)

Jon

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