How much time does speeding save? Speedr - Android app that shows time saved speeding

[george graves]

One of the things I like about r3v is that someone posting a new idea, even if they are just here to sell something, we don't run them out on a rail. People hear them out and add their two cents. Unless you're a total retard.

All I know is that with a m30b35 in my e30, MPG seems to follow the (inverse) square of the speed above 60mph. At 85, I can almost watch the gauge move.

But my favorite game when driving long distance it to break it down into percentage of the trip. On a long 400 mile trip, you'll just be getting situated in the car when you pass the 20 mile mark. That's 5% done. And you just keep doing that the whole way. A few stories and songs later, you'll be 20 percent done. It works - trust me!

If you want to be reckless and drive at or close to the speed that can send you to jail, that where the real time savings come in. Not 5 or 10 above. I may have or not may have shaved a 4 hour and 50 min drive down to 3 hours and 35 mins - but I was young and dumb. I'd never do that again.

If you want to see a pro at work, getting the coast to coast speed record(at the time), you've got to watch 32hours7minutes - it's a documentary that follows Alex Roy in a BMW m5 going from NYC to Venice beach. It's required viewing for any car nut - and follows the history of the cannon ball. http://www.32hours7minutes.com/

[jakehilborn]

What needs to be considered when taking a long trip is whether time saved outweighs the cost of extra gas burned. The difference between 70 to 80 mph is an ~8% drop in fuel economy for me, with my wide high performance tires, 4.10 rear and horrible aero speed makes a bigger difference in fuel economy vs a stock E30. Not that I worry, if I was pressed to afford gas I'd just commute solely on my motorcycle again.

I'd like to add increased fuel consumption estimates in a future version. Either by reading from the OBD2 port or via rough estimations. Right now Speedr helps you understand the time factor of speeding. A wholistic view of all the costs of speeding would be even better.

[Sps]

And to think, I've been doing this in my head for all of these years

What needs to be considered when taking a long trip is whether time saved outweighs the cost of extra gas burned. The difference between 70 to 80 mph is an ~8% drop in fuel economy for me, with my wide high performance tires, 4.10 rear and horrible aero speed makes a bigger difference in fuel economy vs a stock E30. Not that I worry, if I was pressed to afford gas I'd just commute solely on my motorcycle again.



Timed lights... it depends on what point in their cycle you pull onto the road. No way to beat them unless you know the precise timing and leave your house at the correct time every time.

In California, they use to post optimum speeds on main roads in order to make all green lights. The posted speed would say 35, and another sign would read optimum speed 32 mph. When pressure plates were installed, the need for optimum speed was removed. Most signals are now are a crap shoot. I wish they would go back to those days.

[varg]

And to think, I've been doing this in my head for all of these years

What needs to be considered when taking a long trip is whether time saved outweighs the cost of extra gas burned. The difference between 70 to 80 mph is an ~8% drop in fuel economy for me, with my wide high performance tires, 4.10 rear and horrible aero speed makes a bigger difference in fuel economy vs a stock E30. Not that I worry, if I was pressed to afford gas I'd just commute solely on my motorcycle again.

The timed lights thing is tough. Many people report that timed lights in their area require them to drive the speed limit to get all greens. Others report that they need to speed somewhat to get all greens. If you can find a stretch of road to speed on and get all green lights then yes, that percentage increase will be larger than on a freeway.

Timed lights... it depends on what point in their cycle you pull onto the road. No way to beat them unless you know the precise timing and leave your house at the correct time every time.

[Matt-B]

In for the app that tells me how much time I'd save running red lights...

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[jakehilborn]

Yes, give the ability punch in your numbers, and come up with what you need, whether it be time or speed over a given distance.

I like the idea! I'll add it to the feature list and will hopefully implement it sooner rather than later.

[estoguy]

Thanks for trying it out. Can you clarify what you mean by time-distance-velocity calculator? Do you mean a sort of reverse-ETA where you put in your destination & arrival time and the app calculates how fast you need to go?

Yes, give the ability punch in your numbers, and come up with what you need, whether it be time or speed over a given distance.

[jakehilborn]

That is actually completely backwards.


On the freeway just difference in time made up by going from say 80 in a 65 is minimal unless you are in a very, very long trip. VS going 50 in a 30, which point you will make up a LOT of time.

View it as Percentage of speed increase. Not to mention, part of the time lost in surface streets is stop lights. So if I am going 45 in a 35 and make x percentage more lights then those that go the limit and get caught at every light, that's a huge amount of time made up.

I've used Waze and Google both to prove this theory multiple times. And even in my own commute (I live in the city and not suburbia), knowing the routes with say lower posted speed but no stoplights or stop signs makes a huge difference in time. Especially if you can raise the average speed in those sectors..

The timed lights thing is tough. Many people report that timed lights in their area require them to drive the speed limit to get all greens. Others report that they need to speed somewhat to get all greens. If you can find a stretch of road to speed on and get all green lights then yes, that percentage increase will be larger than on a freeway.

[djjerme]

The intent of the app is to be informational. By using it you're most likely to see that speeding in non-freeway scenarios saves hardly any time and isn't worth the risk. On an open freeway though speeding will save time so this app can help you gauge whether the saved time was worth the extra gas.

That is actually completely backwards.


On the freeway just difference in time made up by going from say 80 in a 65 is minimal unless you are in a very, very long trip. VS going 50 in a 30, which point you will make up a LOT of time.

View it as Percentage of speed increase. Not to mention, part of the time lost in surface streets is stop lights. So if I am going 45 in a 35 and make x percentage more lights then those that go the limit and get caught at every light, that's a huge amount of time made up.

I've used Waze and Google both to prove this theory multiple times. And even in my own commute (I live in the city and not suburbia), knowing the routes with say lower posted speed but no stoplights or stop signs makes a huge difference in time. Especially if you can raise the average speed in those sectors..

[Kershaw]

One time I was going to make a trip that was just over 11 hours, then a brake hard line failed in the truck, so I got a ride to the airport and was at my destination just over 5 hours later.

That's a savings of at least 5 hours, and a cost of just over $600 higher considering the return trip/rental car! Amazing!

So despite what my friends might think of me even I know that speeding is not always the answer.

And compared to a crazy speeding ticket for speeding all the time, it's nearly the same expense!

[jakehilborn]

Well, gave the app a spin this morning. I monitored an hour drive to work. Most of it was highway, speed limit of 90 km/h, I was doing 100 km/h. Not a massive saving of time, about 12-13%, which was about 5 minutes. I like some of the ideas for the future.

One that I have... adding a time-distance-velocity calculator. That would be very handy.

Thanks for trying it out. Can you clarify what you mean by time-distance-velocity calculator? Do you mean a sort of reverse-ETA where you put in your destination & arrival time and the app calculates how fast you need to go?

[estoguy]

Well, gave the app a spin this morning. I monitored an hour drive to work. Most of it was highway, speed limit of 90 km/h, I was doing 100 km/h. Not a massive saving of time, about 12-13%, which was about 5 minutes. I like some of the ideas for the future.

One that I have... adding a time-distance-velocity calculator. That would be very handy.

[nando]

The app realizes you are beating it's time right and adjusts because it knows how much ground you have covered?

I don't think so. I'm talking about the estimated time from when I punch it in before I leave - not while I'm driving. I don't think google can legally assume you're going to speed.

[roguetoaster]

One of my favorite things to do on long trips is to knock off as much time as possible off of the estimated arrival time on my GPS. My record is 17 minutes over a 2-hour drive.

One time I was going to make a trip that was just over 11 hours, then a brake hard line failed in the truck, so I got a ride to the airport and was at my destination just over 5 hours later.

That's a savings of at least 5 hours, and a cost of just over $600 higher considering the return trip/rental car! Amazing!

So despite what my friends might think of me even I know that speeding is not always the answer.

[AndrewBird]

One of my favorite things to do on long trips is to knock off as much time as possible off of the estimated arrival time on my GPS. My record is 17 minutes over a 2-hour drive.