'08 Toyota 4Runner aero mods = 14% better fuel economy!

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by mannydantyla

Thanks guys!

Yeah the gaffing tape will certainly see a lot of weather between Kansas and Portland. And it will be getting us around the Portland area for 4 or 5 days, and Portland got 3" of rain in 24 hours a few days ago. I'll keep a roll of duct tape with me just in case.

If you ever want gaffing tape to come off in a hurry go to a self-serve quarter car wash and pressure wash it off.

I highly recommend not washing your car after putting the tape on it.

I recommend even more not using gaffing tape.

If you do experiment with gaffing tape, do it before the long trip, like I said mine only lasted days and you do not want failure in the middle of a long trip and lose time messing with it.

For me it was:

Gaffing tape = less than a week (in wet weather)

Foil tape (with lawn edging backer) = all winter long

[Xist]

You would not have experience removing gorilla tape, would you? Mine has been on my front bumper for about a year, through rain and snow storms, and it seems like it will outlast the car!

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Xist

You would not have experience removing gorilla tape, would you? Mine has been on my front bumper for about a year, through rain and snow storms, and it seems like it will outlast the car!

In Michigan's cold Gorilla tape does not like to hold.

Even when you use it in warm weather, when it gets cold it stops sticking.

It's garbage, I've never found a use for it.

Duct tape in the summer just melts off in the hot sun and leaves a snail like slime behind.

Foil tape is the only thing that seems to hold both summer and winter, but it has no tear strength to speak of and it's silver.

That's been my tape experiences.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

I used duct tape to waterproof the first ecomods I put on my old car, and then painted it silver or black for color and further waterproofing. Held up fine to both heat and rain.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by mannydantyla

Thanks guys!

Yeah the gaffing tape will certainly see a lot of weather between Kansas and Portland. And it will be getting us around the Portland area for 4 or 5 days, and Portland got 3" of rain in 24 hours a few days ago. I'll keep a roll of duct tape with me just in case.

The reason why I measured at 75mph and not 60mph is because 75mph is the interstate speed limit in most states these days, and that will be the speed I will go. We're making it a 3 day trip, but even then those will be long long days. Slowing down to save on fuel will not be an option. But this is not a fast speed, these days, and I'm always passed by all the other drivers except the big rigs. Even at the speed limit, I seem to be the slowest car on the road.

But for much of the drive, other vehicle on the road won't really be a factor. There will be a lot of lone, lonesome stretches, especially in Kansas, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and East Oregon. I hear that I-80 will be mostly truckers (just what I've read, I've never been on that road). I-70 between Denver and the ski resorts will be insane, but I should hit that stretch on Saturday afternoon, well after the crazies have all raced to the slopes. I'm thinking about taking US-50 through Colorado on the way back but I'm not sure yet.

As per the comments about the "******* children who never had parents," that was quite a rant. Do you feel better now?

When my wife is driving, she'll likely go even faster. She drives about 90 on average on her daily commute to work. I'm always telling her to slow down but she has "small car syndrome" as I call it (Toyota Yaris). She hates when another car passes her, especially if it's a SUV or truck, she feels like it's a personal threat against her because her car is small. So she "defends" herself against the bigger vehicles by driving past them as quick as possible.

Is there a better available description of “childish” while at the wheel?

Would you “allow” a drunk 14-year-old with finger on the trigger of an automatic?

“Oh, it was an accident”.

Ha! It’s the same set of consequences.

It isn’t “defense”. It’s abstract reasoning. Visuo-spatial. Lack of ability and compensatory behavior. Seen in 99% of south of the border. Not capable in traffic above 45-mph. Not simply a constant problem for everyone else, but also a threat. (Can’t use cruise control either, right?).

Back to your vehicle. What MPG is it capable of? That’s sub-60/mph with enough miles to outweigh re-fill error percentages. 200-mile loop? Find that number to use as baseline. Then HP calculations can be made. No baseline = No appreciable results.

.

[mannydantyla]

4,200 mile later... I'm back.

I didn't listen and the gaffing tape fell apart after some snow in Idaho. I got some duct tape and it's holding up a little better but there's strips falling off. Should have got gorilla tape.

[redpoint5]

What MPG did you average?

[mannydantyla]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

What MPG did you average?

Probably around 16.5 or 17 mpg. I haven't done all the math yet.

I got pretty bad performance in the high planes, it was very windy. In fact, I was worried they were going to shut down the interstate it was so windy. 35 to 40mph winds with gusts up to 70mph. Also we were going like 80mph. We felt it was worth the added expense to save time and get to our destinations as quick as possible. I don't really like giving more money than I have to to the oil and gas industry but it is what it is. I'm working on a Beetle at the moment and maybe one day I'll put an electric engine in it.

[Xist]

The gorilla tape on my front bumper has held up through rain and snow storms, as well as a high-pressure washer, for about a year.

How do I remove it?!

[redpoint5]

I'm curious; is there a reason the 4runner needed to make the trip rather than a different vehicle?