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Old 02-09-2012, 08:17 PM   #4 (permalink)
JRMichler
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Phillips, WI
Posts: 1,015

Nameless - '06 GMC Canyon
90 day: 37.45 mpg (US)

22 Maverick - '22 Ford Maverick XL
90 day: 50.51 mpg (US)
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No problem, I can help walk you through it. If you want to do a coastdown test, your best approach is to just get started and save the calculation stuff for later.

Find a straight level stretch of road and coast both ways with a video camera on the speedometer. Use one of the free online topo map sites to find a level road. Look for 5 foot contours with no contour lines crossing the stretch of road that you will be using. Then look at the road - it should look absolutely level.

Try for zero wind. Second best is a very light breeze straight down the center of the road. Crosswinds are very bad - they act like a headwind both ways. It's a good idea to run a garbage test to work out how to do the test.

The regression equation from my test showed a 5.5 MPH wind. That light a wind almost feels like a dead calm, but you can see from the first graph just how much it affected the test.
__________________
06 Canyon: The vacuum gauge plus wheel covers helped increase summer 2015 mileage to 38.5 MPG, while summer 2016 mileage was 38.6 MPG without the wheel covers. Drove 33,021 miles 2016-2018 at 35.00 MPG.

22 Maverick: Summer 2022 burned 62.74 gallons in 3145.1 miles for 50.1 MPG. Winter 2023-2024 - 2416.7 miles, 58.66 gallons for 41 MPG.
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