Highway exit speeds - too slow??

[sankuspr]

Don't you just love cruising on the highway in 5th (or 6th) gear in your manual trans ['97 saab 900s convert]? Going 60-70 mph with that smooth blissfull feeling of the engine pulling the car along effortlessly; Especially when you know this is the healthiest driving for your car. You come up on your exit and you know it is wide and flat and the turn is broad. Plus the road curves inward with the turn the make it as easy (and as fun) as possible to take the exit at speed. And you start taking the exit knowing that you can stay in a healthy overdrive range of 50-60 mph, since the exit transitions smoothly into a smooth wide 45mph road with very little red lights. and you look forward to that feeling of taking a turn at a good speed so that it pushes you very slighty into the side restraints of the seat. When all of a sudden you have to hit the brakes and downshift because some jackoff feels the need to ride the brakes down to 35 just to accelerate again. That typical american auto trans slingshot (slow down - speed up - slow down- speed up) driving that wears so heavily on the car. I hate that crap! I even get anxious on the highway before hand to pass people because I know that one of the goofballs who feels the need to pass me at 75 is just going to slow me down once i'm on the exit.

[900t]

60-70 mph ? What the heck I prefer 80 - 100 mph

Exit ramp advisory speed limits are usually based on a certain set of design principles usually related to 1940's cars. It isn't actually that you should go that speed, rather as a gauge of how sharp the bend is, i.e. a 25 mph advisory or a 40 mph advisory, in good weather, you can still grab the first at 40 and the latter at 60... but imagine if you were driving a truck!

I wouldn't say the "slingshot" driving as you describe wears heavily on the car. Burn a bit more gas, and maybe replace brake pads a few thousand miles sooner. Pretty much negligible. But its annoying

[sankuspr]

Originally Posted by 900t

60-70 mph ? What the heck I prefer 80 - 100 mph

Exit ramp advisory speed limits are usually based on a certain set of design principles usually related to 1940's cars. It isn't actually that you should go that speed, rather as a gauge of how sharp the bend is, i.e. a 25 mph advisory or a 40 mph advisory, in good weather, you can still grab the first at 40 and the latter at 60... but imagine if you were driving a truck!

I wouldn't say the "slingshot" driving as you describe wears heavily on the car. Burn a bit more gas, and maybe replace brake pads a few thousand miles sooner. Pretty much negligible. But its annoying - especially in a manual. And with my high mileage car it means a bit more wear than you might think - my tranny/clutch assembly hates it.

not sure what the advisory is, i imagine pretty high. I'm pretty sure if i push it i could take it at 70 plus - never tried and won't. I'm mainly complaining about the incompetancy of the drivers in front of me - the types in cars that i know can outperform mine doing freakin 35. And i'm no stranger to the 80/90/100 (128) mph plus. 128 being the fastest i've ever driven.

[saabmarine]

138 in my ng900 and not gonna lie its a very very scary, adrenaline rushing ride

[900t]

Originally Posted by saabmarine

138 in my ng900 and not gonna lie its a very very scary, adrenaline rushing ride

I don't know if I would ever drive a speed "scary"

You need to head out to wider and better roads

By advisory I mean the yellow signs on exits and sharp curves with a low speed on them. They aren't legally mandatory (you can drive as fast as you want... well less than the number on the white sign), just a suggestion for you.

[fiveiron9688]

How about getting up to 100 on the onramp and having to slow down to merge with traffic? Fun fun fun

[900t]

Originally Posted by fiveiron9688

How about getting up to 100 on the onramp and having to slow down to merge with traffic? Fun fun fun

I used to do that one all the time in my 90 900 T on my morning commute... then I'd cruise 95 - 105 all the way home for lunch, then back again. Oh it was fun

Now I commute downtown and I am happy if I can even drive 10.5 mph. I have a average speed reading on my SID, I reset it on Sunday at my cottage, when I got back home it said 85 km/h (pretty good considering I was driving on 2-lanes at night not freeways). Now it says something like 45 km/h and it isn't even Friday

[cash2490]

HAH I just went to court today for and then paid for my ticket that i got on an offramp last month. Highway speed 65. Speed of traffic 75.

I got a ticket 100ft onto the offramp for going 56 in a 40. I was just costing to slow down from 70 on the 2000 ft offramp.

[126p]

Originally Posted by fiveiron9688

How about getting up to 100 on the onramp and having to slow down to merge with traffic? Fun fun fun

Traffic? Please. Where do you experience traffic whilst in WI?

[cjhutch]

I just hate when you are behind someone on an on ramp that wants to drive 45 mph and wants to speed up when they get on the highway. It was always bad here in GA where some on ramps are really short, but now it's worse. They've installed those stop lights on the ramps to control the flow of traffic and most of these people just cruise off when the light turns green never getting close to matching the speeds of people on the highway. A lady honked at me the other day for going around her on the ramp. I looked in my rear view and she was on the shoulder still trying to get on the highway because she was driving so slow. Put a smile on my face.

[SaabKen]

Originally Posted by 900t

Now I commute downtown and I am happy if I can even drive 10.5 mph.

Your average speed would be higher if you don't knock off pedestrians

Even faster yet if you stay in your own lanes than in the lanes of the opposing traffic.

I mean, you are in Montreal, non ?

[SaabKen]

Originally Posted by 126p

Traffic? Please. Where do you experience traffic whilst in WI?

WI ....... traffic .........

[fiveiron9688]

Originally Posted by 126p

Traffic? Please. Where do you experience traffic whilst in WI?

SaabKen hit the nail on the head. They won't move over for anything, either

[CycM17]

Originally Posted by fiveiron9688

How about getting up to 100 on the onramp and having to slow down to merge with traffic? Fun fun fun

i did this by accident during my first highway merge with my saab. i had it in 3rd, found my fast moving gap between a subie wagon and 18 wheeler and hit it. seconds later i realized my 'gap' was farther behind me than when i first saw it, and i was nearing 100 mph. oops!

Originally Posted by cjhutch

A lady honked at me the other day for going around her on the ramp. I looked in my rear view and she was on the shoulder still trying to get on the highway because she was driving so slow. Put a smile on my face.

this i did once, and don't think i ever will again. the ONE thing that drives me absolutely nuts when i am in my car are people who think it's easier to merge when you slow down to a near stop. a driver was riding the brakes to a painful 25 mph and as we neared the end of the on ramp i passed the driver in the painted shoulder and sped up into the right lane. looked back and he/she eventually stopped and the cars behind had to pull around...

as far as exit speeds, as long as cars don't slow down too much while still on the highway it's never really a problem. sometimes having a slow exit speed helps because around here many ramps are sharp curves and traffic backs up very far so it's never a comfortable feeling to be the last stopped car on a blind corner on an off ramp...

[SaabKen]

"Off-ramp ........ wazzat ???"

[900t]

Originally Posted by SaabKen

Your average speed would be higher if you don't knock off pedestrians

Even faster yet if you stay in your own lanes than in the lanes of the opposing traffic.

I mean, you are in Montreal, non ?

What opposing traffic in the lane, the sidewalk usually has 50/50 going one way or my way

[saab19]

Originally Posted by fiveiron9688

SaabKen hit the nail on the head. They won't move over for anything, either

yeah, I was gonna say, ken and 126p do bring up good points

[Cuba]

Originally Posted by SaabKen

WI ....... traffic .........

Hey this isn't so funny. Probably the worst motorcycle accident I've had (and it wasn't that bad really) was coming over a rise like the one in the background, just after rain and the road was steaming. Only to see my neighbours dairy herd all over the road. The old CB550 was never good at stopping, with it's super flash "floating calliper" (about as good as another thing I can think of that floats) and the old worn out drums in the back.
I went off the side of the road and lay the bike down in the mud. Winded myself on the tank.
Worst part of the accident was that the muffler fell off. I didn't know what to do with it, so I stuck down the front of my leather jacket. Smokey burnies as burning hot carbonised chunks fell out of it. Felt like such a moron.

[900t]

Speaking of exits, the man downtown exit on Montreal's main downtown freeway has an advisory speed of 55 km/h while the main highway has one of 70 km/h. The end of the ramp is a traffic light.

The ramp is on the right, then goes way down (elevated road), under the highway then back up to street level.

Normally I hit the top of the ramp at 90 km/h and don't even let off the gas, when it starts going back up I slow from perhaps 85 km/h at the sharp curve at the bottom to either a stop at the light or maybe 40 km/h and then accelerate through the green.

Usually there is someone on my tail when I take the exit, then they disappear behind me as I don't slow down

But today I was following a Camry that slowed to maybe 60 for the curve at the bottom, then I needed to accelerate quasi-hard to make it up the incline. Grr A couple of other times I even needed to downshift for these guys.

[fiveiron9688]

Originally Posted by saab19

yeah, I was gonna say, ken and 126p do bring up good points

Hey now, in Milwaukee there IS "real" traffic that isn't just cows...



This interchange was recently redone, and there's some mighty fun curves to take at high speeds, as long there's no slowpokes ahead...I mean, who goes the speed limit?