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Old 05-17-2009, 09:22 AM   #13 (permalink)
MetroMPG
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,515

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 52.71 mpg (US)

Even Fancier Metro - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage top spec
90 day: 70.75 mpg (US)

Appliance car - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 52.48 mpg (US)
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Thanks, Neil. I remember that graph about the Pillbug car. The problem there is it's not representative of a typical car, being completely streamlined including a smooth underbelly.

Lowering is one of those questions that has an "it depends" answer.

But for typical production vehicles, I believe it's probably safe to say that the default ride height is not optimal for best aero (thus the number of auto makers who drop their vehicles when pursuing higher efficiency).

Also, would you be able to see a difference at the pumps by lowering? I'd argue probably not. If I recall, Lexus claimed a 0.01 difference in Cd by lowering their big sedan one inch. That kind of improvement would be lost in the noise of normal variation of MPG at fill up time, even if all other factors are pretty consistent.
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