Cool hobby Shawn.

Anyone seen Rich. I need to talk to him about P&G in a MT fit

 

I just saw him -- on TV! He was interviewed by the Philadelphia Fox News folks about hypermiling.

But he will probably tell you that his 70MPG trips were, well, you know.

 

My dad (a civil engineer) and my uncle (a truck driving farmer) have debated whether drafting affects the mileage on a semi. There are good arguments both ways; I think the only way to figure it out is to measure it. I'll probably get an SG in the next year, and I was thinking of having my wife drive real close to me (she used to race; I trust her driving) to perform an A-B-A test of instantaneous MPG.

One thing is for sure. Semi drivers don't particularly like being tailgated.

--Barry

 

Drafting is more efficient for the vehicle being drafted as well as for the vehicle doing the drafting. Just ask any bicyclist or NASCAR driver. The physics of the advantage for the lead vehicle has to do with the fact that they aren't dragging that block of disturbed air around behind them anymore -- it moves to the back of the tailing vehicle.

 

Barry
Most of us the have the odometer shot do it because that was the MILES on a single tank. Looking at yours did you get 677 miles?

 

That's a chop... our 7's don't look like that.

And yes that 70 MPG trip was probably in the low 60's. Engine off coasting seems to give abnormally high readings, but everything with the engine on seems to be fairly accurate, as my gauge was off by only 2 MPG last fill.

 

lol BUSTED

 

LOL. I was wondering if anybody was ever gonna notice that.
I forgot to reset the Trip A after my second tank, so the 677 is "real" in the sense that it was on the odo at the end of my third tank. If you notice, total miles on the car was 971 at that point, and I had yet to get a 40mpg tank. I enhanced it (with MS Paint, woo hoo) to make the numbers a little more readable. :P

I have averaged 44+ mpg for the last 4 tanks, with my usual mix of city/highway (20/80), some FAS, and some A/C when the wife is in the car. These are all after switching from the break-in oil to Mobil 1 full synth. Prior to that, I could count on about 42mpg per tank.

My highest mpg on the break-in oil was 47.4 (in CA, Modesto to S.F. to Stockton to Bakersfield, avg 55mph with lots of drafting, 475 miles on that tank). Now that I've switched to the synth, I'm looking forward to my next 100% highway trip, and I'm hoping I will break 50.

--Barry

 

I have had two truck drivers shake me off their tail in the past few weeks. They swerved quickly to the next lane and I was like WTF? LOL! So, I drafted at like 2sec vs. 1 sec. and they didn't seem to mind. I also, asked one of the many truck drivers I see here at work about people following them to close. The truck driver said, "truck drivers are professional drivers and they are held to higher standards especially when accidents occur. It is ALWAYS the truck drivers fault if a car hits/runs into them in the back which is why it pisses us off when people follow close." I was shocked to hear that. It doesn't make sense to me. Now, I only talked to one truck driver so, take it with a grain of salt. I know I am going to try and get away with what I can as far as drafting but I am not going to piss off the driver more than necessary!

 

If you 1-second draft me in my car I would do the same thing that trucker did; shake you off my tail. Don't do it.

 

Don't worry I NEVER draft cars or pick up trucks. People in those are too unpredictable and they are always going to fast.

 

^^^ I have had a few people try to draft me lately... it is obvious when they follow you around inside of the lane trying to get into the air stream.

Be it just tail gating or an attempt do draft, I know it creates additional drag on my car so I get ticked off right away. I usually just let off the gas until they pass or back off.

 

Actually having them behind you reduces drag for both vehicles, which is why it is done in Nascar. It is no excuse of course, but enjoy the reduction in vacuum until they decide to pass

 

with my last tank I didn't even draft because everyone was going too fast.

 

Interesting, I was always under the impression that it interfered with my aerodynamics and increased drag. I did some research on it and I guess it creates a positive air space between the cars and actually pushes the lead vehicle.

Thank you! +rep for the info!

 

I'm not drafting now because I can't stand the rock-chips associated with flowing <1.5 seconds. I must have 50 small (pin tip/blast) chips in the windshield now from a 15 minute draft of a 55mph moving van.

Not worth sand-blasting my car for a few mpg/tank.

--D

 

Not to mention they don't drive slow enough

 

you guys have some impressing #'s for sure.

but if you see a modded SSM Fit sport on your arse, please move
the f- out of my way. thanks.

(my best is 42.3mpg so far... not even close to your averages)

 

Don't worry man...I'll be the Fit in the right lane! Haven't been in the left lane for several weeks now!

42.3 is still an great number!

--D

 

On my recent trip to Colorado, in the mountains I did three fillups with a total of 920 miles and 18.229 gallons of gas consumed. The average worked out to be 50.47 mpg. This was also done using a mix of 85 and 87 octane. The "regular" out in Colorado is only 85 octane. Maybe the rarified air is actually helpful to mileage if the computer reduces fuel injection rates.