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If there was a small effect on the small scale car, it follows that there would be a big effect on a bigger car.
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The simplest assumptions often seem the most clever ones. They are also usually wrong.
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You're thinking: "How can 800 pounds of clay added to the outside of the car not change its fuel economy?" But you're thinking about it wrong. See, we're not measuring the overall real world fuel efficiency of this car. We're measuring it at very precise conditions, i.e. at 65 mph for exactly one mile. Now I grant you, but the clay on the car, it probably burnt more fuel to get up to that speed, but that doesn't concern us. We expected to see no change with the clay on, and the data bore that out.
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Tire pressure didn't change, hence more rolling resistance. The car is definitely sitting lower with 800 pounds on it, hence less aero drag. But then again it's got a slightly larger frontal area. It's kind of surprising all of that evens out, but anyway.
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I can see it now, all the NASCARs are gonna be looking like this. What do you think?
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I think there's a reason land speed record cars do not look like this.
They like A-B only testing do they. Even the beer-liquor test was done that way.
This is also something interesting...
