The MPG thread

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watkins
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Re: The MPG thread

Post by watkins »

They determined that it is helpful up to a certain point. Once you get too close it uses more gas to maintain the distance accurately than you end up saving by being that close in the first place.
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Re: The MPG thread

Post by Rope-Pusher »

watkins wrote:They determined that it is helpful up to a certain point. Once you get too close it uses more gas to maintain the distance accurately than you end up saving by being that close in the first place.
Years ago, with a fuel economy meter from Sears installed in my car, I found that my instantaneous mileage improved the closer I dared to drive behind the semis out on the 401 heading toward Chatham, ONT. One guy didn't appreciate being part of my experiments and he got off on a service plaza exit and got on again right behind me - must have been trying out his own fuel economy meter I spose. I let him take his own readings for about 5 miles or so and then zoomed off ahead.
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Re: The MPG thread

Post by theholycow »

Interesting. I thought there was too much turbulence when you're that close and the helpful part of the draft doesn't exist there.
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Re: The MPG thread

Post by potownrob »

theholycow wrote:Interesting. I thought there was too much turbulence when you're that close and the helpful part of the draft doesn't exist there.
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Re: The MPG thread

Post by wannabe »

Squint wrote:
theholycow wrote:At highway speeds it's only going to be a small percentage from the best drafts, but those are easier than you think: Merely back off from the average driver's usual distance from a 53' box trailer. The best draft behind one of those is at a 2 to 3 second following distance, which is 2 to 6 times the distance I see most people following them.
Didn't Mythbusters do an episode about drafting semis where they showed that you could significantly improve fuel economy but you were basically riding the bumper of the semi?
Yes. http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/28/myth ... rove-mile/
Warning: Don't try this! The safest distance to drive behind a big rig at 55 miles per hour is 150 feet. Driving any closer is insane because it puts you in the driver's blind spot and also does not give you enough time to respond if the big rig's driver changes speed. This post is for informational purposes only.
Anyway, they found drafting increases your miles per gallon up to 39 percent at 10 feet distance away from a big rig. At two feet apart however, they found miles per gallon actually went down.
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Re: The MPG thread

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Isle bet that it really depends on the rig you are tailing and what ewe our driving as two wear the "Sweat spot" four maximum fuel smileage lies - Juan sighs doesn't fit owl.

That bean sad, Eye bet that their are smiles per gallon too bee hat most any spot inside the wake of the tractor-trailer, even if Nun of 'em are safe to drive at.
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wannabe
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Re: The MPG thread

Post by wannabe »

rope, your posts get more and more difficult to read some daize
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Re: The MPG thread

Post by Rope-Pusher »

wannabe wrote:rope, your posts get more and more difficult to read some daize
Image
Vas ist das "Daize"?
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Re: The MPG thread

Post by wannabe »

Rope-Pusher wrote:
wannabe wrote:rope, your posts get more and more difficult to read some daize
Image
Vas ist das "Daize"?
type of flower!

Image
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Re: The MPG thread

Post by Squint »

Thanks for finding the actual results, wannabe. Also, nice flowers.
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Re: The MPG thread

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Aisle Half a Draught - From Autoline Daily
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"At the Autonomous Trucks 2015 show in Detroit yesterday we learned about a company called Peloton Technology that enables heavy trucks to travel in platoons, where the truck behind will mirror what the truck ahead is doing. But what most impressed us about the system from Peloton Technology is that it can be retrofitted to older trucks. Josh Switkes, the CEO and founder of the company told Autoline that unlike cars, heavy trucks use open systems and modular components, so they’re relatively easy to change out or modify. He says that when platooning trucks, the one in back improves its fuel economy by 10% while the one in front improves by 4.5%, and that can pay for the technology in 9 months. The system is also being developed for new trucks, but by being able to retrofit it, we should see this technology spread very quickly."
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