Quote:
Originally Posted by kach22i
I felt that way about the first huge air dam chin spoiler I built on my van back in 1983.
The added stability in cross winds made the effort well worth it, and it looked cool too.  |
This goes to the heart of the thing. Handling adverse winds. I can run down the road with a 53’ van behind me (full skirt & tails) and it is more the position of the tandem trailer axles that alerts me to this adversity (tandems positioned to even out weight of load with the Drive Axles) as leverage increases with length past those axles position.
In other words, most of the time I don’t notice the effect of the tail (3.5’ deep). Not until wind loads increase. It’s only judging by the Current Fuel Economy readout that the advantage is obvious in every driving situation.
I think ABBA testing not a big deal. If fill up is possible at same station pump every time to first auto-shutoff it’s more than enough. That also rules out fuel blend changes per brand.
Reading engine hours is the last. Calculation of Average MPH per tank is handy. Accounts for operator changes. Keeping it at or above 26-mph is the key to long-term engine life and FE.
Same fuel, same basic routes, same average mph covers “transparency”.
Aero aids are cake icing. Operator inputs FAR outweigh it as this is a metro-mobile, not a highway runner. The margin added is in keeping MPG high versus weather penalties per tank.
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