In school we learned ” what you save in energy, you have to increase the way.” By that rule you should use the exact same amount of energy (fuel) for the same distance no matter what speed. I’ve asked a few people, but no-one could give me a good answer.
In: 15
YES – for several reasons.
**You are using energy to accelerate your car up to some speed.**
The force you need is linked to both the mass of your vehicle and the acceleration. The equation from school physics F=M*A (force = mas X acceleration) suggests that the force required is proportional to the acceleration used to get it from 0 to whatever speed you cruise at.
Now the bad news of inefficiency, wind resistance and friction.
* wind resistance – your car has a shape that pushes air out of the way. This also takes energy. The faster you go the worse this gets (exponentially I believe)
* Inefficiency comes in so many places.
Your wheel surface is moving in the wrong direction 75% of the time (up, down, forward) and this uses more energy at higher speeds.
Tires change shape (flatter on bottom) and this takes energy as you drive.
Transmission is spinning all the time
Engine is spinning all the time
Most cars have a “sweet spot” for best fuel economy. Everything different is worse.
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