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Observations after driving with the extension for three days:
1) When big trucks pass by going the opposite direction, the car moves more to the right than it did before. It doesn't physically move in the lane, but the car rocks slightly side to side.
2) It's definitely easier to maintain lean burn on the same road, going the same direction and same speed. Before, the car would struggle to keep lean burn going over slight rises in the road, but now it's noticeably easier.
It may not mean much and take this with a grain of salt, but the first night driving home from work on a 60°F day, the car registered 95 mpg under the normal driving conditions. This was about 10 mpg better than normal over the same 33 mile route.
3) The change in fuel consumption is in the neighborhood of a change from 75 before to 85 now. This is not concrete, but noticeable on the same 55 mph stretch of road.
4) Real coast-down testing is already started with two runs recorded on the GPS, and I will report some findings after 20 or so runs. I can compare the new numbers with those from last year on the exact same section of road and under the same conditions. Temperature and wind speed are also recorded in the spreadsheet that is used for analysis.
5) Some people at work really liked the change in the look of the car. Most people did not say anything, but simply stared at it for a while, then went on their way. Several people had smiles on their faces and were chuckling as the car went by on the way home.
Jim.
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