I just saw this at msn main page. It is very interesting to know that some of these are not true like the tail gate of the pick up being down saves gas, higher octane gives more power and etc.....

Click Here to see the the Article.

 

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Huh.

Who wrote this? The idea revolves around psychology (for the cop), not technology (radar gun is color-blind? seriously?). I'm interested in what data the III and ITA used, hopefully it was actually data and not some strange thought processes like the above.

Consumer Reports tested this and indicated there was no statistically significant effect on MPG at any speed from driving with windows down. Not sure how thorough their study was, but I'm hesitant to trust Ford over them.

 

The pick-up bed myth has been busted on Mythbusters.

 

^ same with the A/C myth, windows down before 55mph and windows up and AC on after 55mph, was the most gas efficiant result.

also in reference to myth number 9, ive been doing some testing of my own lately, and thought maybe my results were coincidence until i saw this, i seem to get about 20 miles less to the tank when running premium 93 vs 87. pretty crazy, i always thought the opposite. though that myth is not completely true, premium does make more power on turbo applications etc., there are countless dynos to prove that.

 

I would hate to perpetuate a myth. So I'll preface this all with the admission that this is only my personal observation, it is NOT based on big picture statistics, or a funded study.

I generally agree with most of the findings in the sited MSN article BUT...

I owned a new black nissan pick-up...drove it for 2 years...then (long story) ended up with a new red nissan pick-up...almost identical..except red.

I got pulled over SO much more with the red pick-up. Infact, I almost never got pulled over driving the black one, but once I drove the red it seemed like if their was a policeman trying to monitor traffic, I'd be the one he'd pull over. It happened so much I swore I'd never own a red automobile again. My driving style hadn't changed, and the vehicles were almost identical, so the only difference I could see was one was black...and one was a almost fire engine red.

Yes, I concede it was only my personal experience. But in my experience, I'd say a brighter red can result in you getting noticed more, and getting noticed is often the first step in getting pulled over.

So I don't care what MSN says, I'll never own another red vehicle.

 

From my own dyno testing and years of tuning exp. Premium gas ie 93 octane only produces more hp if you can advance the timing regardless of na/fi.

 

As I understand it, octane is now a measure of self-ignition temp, higher octane, higher temp. A higher octane (temp) fuel is more resistant to pre-ignition and allows higher compression. It's not that the fuel has more energy, it's that it allows other engine design features to work properly and provide the designed increase in performance.

 

I think cars with flashy colors will get the ticket if 3 or 4 cars running together at the same speed. Like what you said that it involves psychology. But I think what the author of the article is stating is that if you don't speed up even if you have the car with brightest but legal color. You don't have to worry about getting the ticket.