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Old 06-27-2008, 02:22 AM   #12 (permalink)
Arminius
Future EV Owner
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Sussex Wisconsin
Posts: 674

Wannabe - '05 Honda Civic LX
90 day: 40.53 mpg (US)
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Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevlar View Post
OK, now you got me piqued about drafting... Is it true you can do great drafting semis? And, Iv'e heard this, can they supposedly tell when you are drafting?
Sorry, I didn't see your post above until I came here to report that my mileage was 48.39 on my last tank. Thank goodness for warmer weather.

To answer your question, drafting really does seem to help in my van, but I don't draft closer than 3 seconds behind. I think my last long trip had improved mileage of about 35%, most of which is due to drafting. The last time I drafted, I drafted the same semi for 3 hours and he called the police. I backed off a bit when they showed up and they did not pull me over, but it was very clear that they were looking for a reason to. I wouldn't have done it if the trucker had shown any indication that he was upset.

I don't draft semis too often in my Civic, mostly because I'd have to accelerate to catch up to a semi, and because there are few opportunites on the routes I take. But I do get lucky once in a while and catch a smaller draft off of the rare slow-driving SUV or van.

I'm off to Mexico (by plane) for a few days. See ya.
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Last edited by Arminius; 06-27-2008 at 02:36 AM..
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