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Old 12-02-2011, 08:27 PM   #240 (permalink)
COcyclist
Aero Wannabe
 
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: NW Colo
Posts: 738

TDi - '04 VW Golf
TEAM VW AUDI Group
90 day: 52.55 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JackMcCornack View Post
I'm easing my way to a Kamm back, currently MAX has Bonneville spoilers top and bottom. And 115 mpg at a steady 45mph.



45mph was the minimum for the X Prize roundy-round race, and it's also the usual freeway speed lower limit, so I took it as my success-or-failure benchmark speed. At 55, I'm just barely under 100 mpg and at 50 mph I'm slightly over 100 mpg.

I'm confident I could break 100 mpg at 55 if I'd...

--do my mileage tests without unnecessary weight on board (no luggage and less fuel would knock off a hundred pounds)
--close in the back and sides of the stern
--add spats to the rear fenders
--cover the front wheels with pizza pans (I lack the fender overhang I'd need for Basjoos-style front spats)
--put a fairing on the headrest/rollbar
--put a tonneau over the passenger's seat
--do my testing in warm calm weather
--put the mirrors inside the windscreens

...and probably any three of the above would tip the scales.

But I'm probably going to pursue weatherproofing before I get into much more ecomodding. It doesn't matter how good the mileage is if I don't drive it, and non-roadster season is rapidly approaching. Besides, once mileage is sniffing at triple digits, the rewards from improvements diminish. The difference between 95 mpg and 100 mpg is a gallon every couple thousand miles.
This car started out as an open wheel replica but it got a rebody in an effort to improve aero and mpg.
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60 mpg hwy highest, 50+mpg lifetime
TDi=fast frugal fun
https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...tml#post621801


Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard View Post
The power needed to push an object through a fluid increases as the cube of the velocity. Mechanical friction increases as the square, so increasing speed requires progressively more power.
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