that was my biggest hold back driving to the ski area this winter... id love to get up there more quickly but it wasnt worth extra $10 in fuel haha

 

You guys sound like my roommate with the whole drive slow to save gas philosophy. My thought is, if I can't afford the gas I am driving the wrong vehicle (just for the record...not trying to sound like an ***...so hopefully no one takes offense to that comment).

With my daily driver ('10 Hyundai Genesis Coupe Turbo) I drive a consistent 5-9 over the limit (except school or construction zones). So far with the Discovery I drive the posted limit...even if that limit is 75. I bet my DD gets better gas mileage at 120 than the Discovery does at 70-75 so the Discovery is never going to be a DD for me.

 

peak HP is at 4750

I was wondering what RPMs you guys consider to be a safe upper limit or traditional "redline" for our stock Discoveries.

This is one of the slowest cars or trucks I have ever owned but i do enjoy it except for the MPG's. The only car I ever owned that had less power was a Gran Prix with that awful "odd-fire" V6 that they came out with in an attempt to improve MPG. That damn thing had a 6 cylinder that was basically a 350 minus the last two cylinders. They called them odd-fire because they had a distributor for the V8, so it skipped twice every full engine cycle. Got 28mpg but took forever to build up speed.

I was always heavy footed and drove too fast always. I finally broke that habit after buying this Disco. Big difference compared to my 928, 420SEL, 351 Bronco, and all the others that preceeded those.

 

I paid a few big spending tickets in the past, but none over 85 or so. I was just lucky because I used to drive way too fast in my 280ZX and the Volvo 240 as well. I used to get mad because the cruise control would not engage over 78mph.

I even left the house early in the 928 to take back roads and enjoy my zoom to work.

I bet if you get caught doing 120 in that Hunday, you won't be driving for quite a while, with a license that is.

Now I just sort of Meander around in the Rover. But I must admit that since I got things done addressing vacumn leaks and putting new wires and plugs in it, it will go pretty good for a two ton plus vehicle. If I do kick it, it does go like hell.

 

its far from an affordability problem... but some vehicles really fall off of a cliff efficiency wise as you start to get up in speed.
particularly ones that are brick shaped with really inefficient v8s! hah

ive noticed with my mercedes if i keep the rpms on the highway under 3000 i get a couple mpgs. as soon as you cross ~3000rpm, it takes a nosedive.

 

There is no rev-limit indicated on the counter. What is the limit any way?

BTW....WE OWN AN 8 CYLINDER VEHICLE....that gets 16MPG...fuel economy goes out the window when you get in and drive these things. If you are worried about gas prices, make it a weekend or emergency vehicle.

 

16MPG in a Discovery?

Coasting downhill maybe.

My Dodge Ram Charger 360 with MT 35's only got 8 MPG in HI and about 2 MPG in LOW running around in the Rockies. I had to leave it in Colorado when I changed jobs and had to move to Florida. Could not have possibly driven it that far and gass was only 2 bucks a gallon back then.

I never even checked the MPG's in the 928.

 

You guys are pussies

I drive 70mph in mine... on 35's... cause I want to hurry up and make it to the trail

 

That speed is very, very rare, and only in a controlled environment (aka middle of no where in Wyoming...where the line of sight is at least 5 miles in every direction, with no cars to be seen).

The road between my parents' house and mine has a 75mph limit, so when I visit them the cruise regularly gets set to ~84mph...but I rarely go more than 9 over the limit, and cops in Colorado rarely bother you until you hit 10+ over so I don't worry too much.

I am kind of curious how strong this truck runs at sea level...because it is slow as crap up here. In theory I am losing ~32hp just from being at a higher elevation...so while some people have 182hp Discoverys...I have a 150hp one (well...if it was still new)...and that is in town. By the time I get to the top of the mountain passes I lose 54hp. That right there is why 3rd gear is required for going uphill on the highways in Colorado.

Edit: In case anyone is wondering, you lose ~3% of your base HP for every 1000 feet of altitude in a naturally aspirated engine...at least according to a few sources I found on google.

 

From Physics 101 a long time ago I remember the formula for HP has to do with the change in temperature and the change in volume.

So anthing that affects the input temp and air pressure has an effect on HP. That is basically how things like a turbo or supercharger, NOX, cold air induction systems or increasing the displacement of an engine increase HP.

An overdrive could significantly increase MPG. Gearing changes can help in some areas and hurt in others.