Waxing the vehicle for better MPG

[Believer]

Our major goal is to get better mpg. Some solutions are expensive for the results produced some are low cost to no cost such as adding more PSI to tires. Well how about keeping your vehicle waxed? From my past flying experience a waxed small plane would go three percent or so faster if is waxed or a very slight reduction in power for the same speed. It seems to me even if the change in a waxed vehicle is 1 or 2 percent increase in MPG this would be inexpensive and useful to accomplish any thoughts.

FC

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Believer

Well how about keeping your vehicle waxed? From my past flying experience a waxed small plane would go three percent or so faster if is waxed or a very slight reduction in power for the same speed.

Waxing for speed has been done extensively in the flying and racing world.

Airflow on a car isn't nearly as clean, and most of us aren't driving at flying speeds, but you can likely expect a minor positive effect from waxing a car.
Wether you'll see it in day-to-day variations, remains to be seen though.

Even if it doesn't improve your mileage much, you can at least do those miles in style

[Ryland]

Keeping your car waxed and clean if nothing else will help it last longer.
I tend to clean and wax the parts of my car that I know will be first to rust out.

[Old Tele man]

...think of dirt as "Mother Nature's" natural "wind turbulators & dimples" (wink,wink)

[Old Mechanic]

I keep mine so well waxed it almost doesn't get dirty. Also used 1500 on the clear coat to make it ultra smooth. Soap and water bead up and a towel will easily slide off the hood or any other surface with over a 15 degree angle to the horizontal.

regards
Mech

[slowmover]

Keeping glass like new (and mirror glass) is no small chore when done seriously. And any work that makes that easier (bugs tend to stick to edges of glass/metal) is to the good. Better vision means better observation means better timed reactions. All of which goes into maintaining lane-centered-ness.

[CigaR007]

My car is waxed twice a year (Spring and Autumn) to protect the paint (harsh winters in Montreal). Glossy-clean car and possible MPG gains are merely a bonus.

[Cd]

From this article :Car Aerodynamics - Hot Rod Magazine

" Aero Stuff That Doesn't Really Matter
In addition to our list of five tricks that almost always work, here are some things A2 customers might want to try that are really a waste of time.

Wax: Contrary to what you may read on your favorite message board, well-waxed, smooth paint is no more aerodynamic than the worst spray-can, flat-black primer job you can imagine.

Golf-ball dimples: They do not work on cars, regardless of the scale of the dimples, unless your car is a 1.68-inch-diameter sphere spinning through the air with no ground plane.

Taping seams: Rarely if ever are body-panel seams so large and misaligned that smoothing them with duct tape will make a measurable difference in Cd. We tried it on our Camaro, and it did nothing.

Smoothing rivets and hood pins: The removal of minor surface burbles, such as rivets (remember the Howard Hughes movie?) and hairpin-type hood pins shows no measurable improvement in Cd.

Dropping the tailgate: On a pickup, lowering the tailgate does not usually reduce drag. If you are racing a truck, know that extended cabs and crew cabs are more aero than regular cabs.

The biggie: windshield rake: According to Eaker, "Here's a myth I can bust. Once the windshield is past 45 degrees of rake-and many stock cars average like 60 degrees-you will not see an improvement from laying it down at an even steeper angle." We proved this on the Camaro, building a hugely sloped "windshield" out of foam core. It did nothing.
"


Read more: Car Aerodynamics - Hot Rod Magazine

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

I keep mine so well waxed it almost doesn't get dirty. Also used 1500 on the clear coat to make it ultra smooth. Soap and water bead up and a towel will easily slide off the hood or any other surface with over a 15 degree angle to the horizontal.

regards
Mech

1500 sand paper???????

I call bs..............






you need to come to my house and PROVE IT!!!!!

(on my car
)

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Cd

" Aero Stuff That Doesn't Really Matter
Wax: Contrary to what you may read on your favorite message board, well-waxed, smooth paint is no more aerodynamic than the worst spray-can, flat-black primer job you can imagine.

Waxing (and filling gaps) has been done time and again in aviation and racing circles, and does increase speed or reduce power settings for a given speed..
Believer has experienced it himself.

This can only be achieved by reducing drag.

Will it be measurable on a car ?
Very doubtful.