Quote:
Originally Posted by avalon
This thread caught my eye. I just did a 3K miles round trip driving, all interstate, mostly 70-75mph on my Toyota Sequoia. I blocked the lower grill using a thick cardboard, just for experiment. What is surprising, I was averaging 18-18.6 mpg with only 2 passengers on board. I have monitored the mpg closely in the last 4 yrs I owned her, and always does 16-17.5 mpg consistently on the highway, depending how many passengers and loads on board. I never get even close to 18, so this was a great surprise.
Is it possible that this simple mod can improve mpg this much? I am now considering a better solution than a cut up cardboard to make it looks better. Wife got to approve the look since it is actually her ride.
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I ran a quick calculation.If the grille-block cut airflow through the cooling system by 50%,drag would be cut by 6%,which at 70 mph would give a 3.6% mpg increase.A best case scenario,using 18.6 mpg as your starting point would yield 19.269 mpg potential from the single mod.So 18-18.6 doesn't seem to be beyond the realm of reality.Congratulations for lowering US reliance on foreign petroleum!