Why Speeding is Bad for Your Car

Not only is speeding against the law but it is also a grave safety risk for yourself as a driver, others driving around you and your vehicle. Whether you have a need for speed or are running late, take a minute to educate yourself on the negative consequences speeding can have on your car.

You lose fuel. There is a price to pay at the gas pump when you speed. Generally, once you go over 50 miles an hour and for every five miles an hour faster that you drive, you’re basically ensuring that you’ll be spending an additional 18 cents per gallon for gas.  If you rapidly accelerate, you can lower your gas mileage by 15 to 30 percent at highway speeds and 10 to 40 percent in regular traffic.

You can damage your vehicle. Driving 85 in a 70-mile speed limit on the freeway doesn’t mean that you’re destroying your engine but rapid acceleration can really do a number on your car.  NPR’s famed show, “Car Talk,” hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, had a great segment several years ago about rapid acceleration and what it can do to your car. A teenager called into the show and admitted he loved flooring the gas on the freeway, driving as fast as he could until he reached 65 miles an hour – and then he drove responsibly after that. The teenager’s question: Was he hurting his car or was it fine to floor it?

Ray explained that it was not a good idea to speed up rapidly:

“The reason it's bad is that when you floor the gas pedal, you start a chain reaction that slams one expensive component into the next. The pistons slam the connecting rods. The connecting rods slam against the crankshaft. The crankshaft triggers the transmission. The transmission slams the axles, and on down the line.”

Driving fast, although it is the best way to waste your gas, is not doing a ton of harm to your car. What will harm your vehicle is consistently flooring your gas pedal and causing more forceful reactions throughout the acceleration process and mechanics of your car, ultimately leading to more serious repairs and issues.

Speeding will put stress on your brakes. Both flying down highways and flooring your gas pedal in the midst of stop-and-go traffic increase your odds of slamming on your brakes.

Just as rapid acceleration isn’t the best thing for your car, neither is hard braking. Those once in a while emergency quick-brakes that we all have when we might fall distracted or someone else forgets to check their blind spot will more than likely not have long term effects on your vehicle. Consistently accelerating then braking, accelerating then braking, and so on will cause unnecessary stress on your vehicle that can be easily avoided.

If you find yourself unable to avoid your lead foot that takes you from 0 to 100 a little too quickly, call the professionals at Mr. TransmissionMilex Complete Auto Care when those negative effects start to pop up on your vehicle.