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Old 04-20-2008, 11:30 AM   #5 (permalink)
Otto
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Quote:
Originally Posted by donee View Post
Hi Again,

There is some wake turbulence back there, though. I know this because I had a ninja motorcyle bike rider draft off my left rear by about a foot while I was running on level terrain in cruise control at 62 mph. And that improved my mileage, rather than decreasing it. The motorcyle and rider were apparently giving my car a psuedo boat tail effect, and probably smoothing out the side body air flow off the back of the car. This was good for about a 2 mpg improvement.
The drag of both vehicles is reduced when drafting this way. Whereas it would seem reasonable that the following vehicle would benefit, the lead vehicle does, too.

You are paying for the wake you make, even though it may be well behind you. Less wake = less fuel consumption, apparently.
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