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Arragonis · 11-12-2012, 04:39 PM

A bit of advice from the assembled "expertness" if you please

I was trundling with George along the M9 motorway (aka freeway) last week. Normally I like to trundle along in the left hand (i.e. slow here) lane with the trucks so that a) I can get some limited draft effect (I don't tailgate) and b) so that people coming up behind apparently blind whilst driving at 85+ (limit is 70 but hey...) notice me and I don't get those last minute panic lane changes.

But on this occasion there were few trucks so I had to scurry along about 5-10 MPH faster than normal. That combined with changing wind direction (its a hilly area and it was stormy) and unfriendly inclines meant my MPG was low compared with recent averages, about 55-60 vs 70+ (imp).

I tried P&G but pulsing at these speeds (60+) is kind of limited before you have to do it again and George is just not that aero and is very light - the net result is falling MPG not steady - and of course I managed to pulse just before we hit another headwind of incline - Not sure if anyone has seen the old cartoon of Homer Simpson falling down a cliff and hitting everything on the way but it kind of felt like the ecomodder equivalent of that whien I tried stuff.

Eventually I decided on a DWL cruise with 60 as the minimum speed and anything over 55 as the MPG target, but ended up with a low-ball average of 56 for the round trip - not good.

So a question for the Metro-style folks - how to trundle at higher speeds (say 60-65) in the most efficient way in mixed conditions on an empty road except for speed freaks.

11-12-2012, 04:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
Arragonis The PRC. Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Elsewhere. Posts: 5,304 Thanks: 285 Thanked 536 Times in 384 Posts	The big bad motorway vs the tiny car A bit of advice from the assembled "expertness" if you please I was trundling with George along the M9 motorway (aka freeway) last week. Normally I like to trundle along in the left hand (i.e. slow here) lane with the trucks so that a) I can get some limited draft effect (I don't tailgate) and b) so that people coming up behind apparently blind whilst driving at 85+ (limit is 70 but hey...) notice me and I don't get those last minute panic lane changes. But on this occasion there were few trucks so I had to scurry along about 5-10 MPH faster than normal. That combined with changing wind direction (its a hilly area and it was stormy) and unfriendly inclines meant my MPG was low compared with recent averages, about 55-60 vs 70+ (imp). I tried P&G but pulsing at these speeds (60+) is kind of limited before you have to do it again and George is just not that aero and is very light - the net result is falling MPG not steady - and of course I managed to pulse just before we hit another headwind of incline - Not sure if anyone has seen the old cartoon of Homer Simpson falling down a cliff and hitting everything on the way but it kind of felt like the ecomodder equivalent of that whien I tried stuff. Eventually I decided on a DWL cruise with 60 as the minimum speed and anything over 55 as the MPG target, but ended up with a low-ball average of 56 for the round trip - not good. So a question for the Metro-style folks - how to trundle at higher speeds (say 60-65) in the most efficient way in mixed conditions on an empty road except for speed freaks. __________________ [I]So long and thanks for all the fish.[/I]