Quote:
Originally Posted by al74dart
You missed the point of my question all together. Actually the 2008 / 2009 xB's have a Cd of 0.32 which isn't bad for a car I can actually put stuff in like 5 full size adults and gear. I live in the mountains of Northern Arizona and go to Phoenix about once a week, 90 miles away. With the Mountain driving and two moves hauling everything I could fit into the car my average MPG is about 29.2 with over 30,000 miles on the car. rkcarguy, if you have any useful information I would be pleased to here it. However, comments like, "trade it in on something with a better shape" was one of the most worthless replies I have seen anywhere. I just finished reading some of your other posts here and I know you can do better than that.
Al
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The xB is a "full-wake" vehicle.There is virtually no body taper underneath,along the sides,or at the roofline to the rear of the body.Consequently,the wake of the xB is as large as it's frontal area.Had the xB been shaped like Klemperer's "aero-brick" of 1922 (with Cd 0.16),the xB would see a 25% improvement in HWY mpg.The xB would probably benefit from any boat-tailing you could tolerate.A friend has a Toyota Highlander,getting 28-mpg HWY.I am to fabricate a 30-inch long tail for his car when the time avails itself.We are reasonably confident that the tail will deliver mpg comparable to his wife's Camry (34 mpg HWY).He's trying to wrap his brain around the length issue,and it will be receiver-hitch mounted for easy on-off and perhaps dedicated only for road trips.The difficulty of significant drag reduction with van-type rear vehicles is reflected in the comment about trading for a different type of vehicle.A full aero trailer could net you a 30% increase,but then you'd be pulling a trailer.Not very practical.