|
Yep, driving style is most of it. Consider this: one of the threads in the aerodynamics section had a link to some stuff suggesting that smooth wheel covers decrease the drag of the wheels by 15-20%. The wheels account for maybe 25% of the drag of the whole car. Drag accounts for maybe half the total fuel consumption of the car (where engine inefficiency is considered "consumption"). So adding smooth wheel covers gets you 2% more fuel economy if you're lucky.
That's a similar change in magnitude to substantially lowering the car, adding a belly pan, adding grille blocks, etc. So if you do the whole suite of simple add-on aero mods you'll get maybe like 10% more mpg if you're really lucky. By comparison pulse and glide can give you a 20% boost easily.
I never really noticed the gas needle moving any slower when I lowered my car, added a grill block, pumped up the tires, or used thinner oil, but the gas needle definitely moves down a lot faster if I cruise at 65 vs. 60 or 55, and it definitely moves faster if I get lazy and don't pulse and glide. That means with aeromods you have to 1. not expect much and 2. know that measurements of the effects is very difficult.
|