Battling the non-believers

[oil pan 4]

Airliners cruise above 450mph also. They use the thin air to reduce drag.
Cutting drag by about 70% more than makes up for any fuel economy lost due to thin air.

[pete c]

Originally Posted by ecomodded

Very Bad-ass.
looks like a 1/4 mile car , short axle and very fast looking.
Holy crap would be a good name for it haha.
Nice long boat tail on it as well

That beast looks a little pudgy to be a 1/4 mile car.

That is a sweet boat tail though. I'll bet it saves a lot of gas at 200 mph.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by pete c

I think it comes down to RVers having already numbed themselves concerning the topic of mileage. I mean, you have to, to drive around in a barge getting 6 mpg. Any attempt to bring them out of the fog is met with the same reaction you get from a junkie when you want to take his fix away.

Same goes with the bigfoot wannabe 17 year olds in their lifted rangers.

I do think that there is a correlation between "being able to afford it" (means FE is irrelevant) and the few years most will use them (maybe 6-10 at the outside). Still, if one collected the number of threads that have an interest in FE in the title it is not a small number. I hate to think there is a culture of enforced stupidity, but it would appear so . . as if throwing money away needlessly means one is "rich".

Frankly, most do not travel all that much. 5k annually for families (say over a decade), up to maybe 15k annually for retirees (under a decade).

Still, this does not include those who have moved from the stick & brick house to a mobile home (in the truest sense of that term) which allows them to pursue opportunity cross-continent at a low long-term cost. This is a growing segment (tens of thousands; possibly hundreds). The annual per person energy consumption has to be compared to other sorts of housing, or housing arrangements for a fuller picture to emerge.

In another example, if one specs an aero lightweight trailer, then one is not forced to use a pickup for full-time use. The best vehicle that suits ones solo miles that can also tow a travel trailer is far wider than most assume (practically, one can name the car, from Mini Cooper to minivan to sedan). This is resisted on assumptions not tested . . much less in keeping with what was done from the 1950's to the 1980s when cars became underpowered for this job, and trailers (even the aero ones) got heavier.

To end this, the usual gas powered pickup pulling a sqaure white box at 8-11 mpg (a general norm) meets up with a Euro turbodiesel pulling an aluminum aero trailer at 21-25 mpg (a rare, but possible mark). Initial purchase price is one thing on brand new, but the market is full of used for the savvy buyer.

.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Here ya go! The PO told me it had maybe 1000 miles put on it in 10 years.

regards
Mech

Very cool! What are your plans with it?

You can tell it's a product of the 80's though, the scoop, sport mirrors, and supertrapps look a little out of place, IMO. At least it has no gaudy purple and yellow graphics on the side.

[ever_green]

never driven a truck in my life or knew anyone who did, but i do have a 4000lbs crossover. turning off the engine while coasting? i never did it and never will. personally i don't think my/passenger/other driver's safety are worth to be put to the risk so to save a dollar that day. plus i have been able to massacre the official epa estimates without engine off.

[TheEnemy]

A lifted truck with significanly larger tires can require as much foot pressure as the stock truck without assist. But if the person doing the mods does a brake upgrade to compensate the lifted truck can stop faster because of the greater traction the larger (softer rubber) tires provide.

That being said outside of magazine articles and full on trail rigs I have only seen a handfull that beefed up the brakes when lifting, almost all of which are used off road as well.

I'm not going to adress stability, that ones a no brainer.

When we do the local mud bogs you would be surprised at all of the lifted trucks..... in the parking lot.

[ecomodded]

The '51 in stock form but not nearly as fast..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHjXp47iGPc

[pete c]

Originally Posted by TheEnemy

A lifted truck with significanly larger tires can require as much foot pressure as the stock truck without assist. But if the person doing the mods does a brake upgrade to compensate the lifted truck can stop faster because of the greater traction the larger (softer rubber) tires provide.

That being said outside of magazine articles and full on trail rigs I have only seen a handfull that beefed up the brakes when lifting, almost all of which are used off road as well.

I'm not going to adress stability, that ones a no brainer.

When we do the local mud bogs you would be surprised at all of the lifted trucks..... in the parking lot.

Good point about the larger diameter tires making the truck work harder. As for the larger tire having more traction though, I doubt it. We are talking mudder tires. Their contact patch consists of the tops of big ridges. Their traction on hard pavement is crap. Also a substantial lift means a big rise in the center of gravity which increases further the weight shift to the front tires which is bad for braking and worse for handling.

The bottom line is that a hiked up truck creates way more of a safety concern than responsible EOCing does, IMHO.

[pete c]

Originally Posted by ever_green

never driven a truck in my life or knew anyone who did, but i do have a 4000lbs crossover. turning off the engine while coasting? i never did it and never will. personally i don't think my/passenger/other driver's safety are worth to be put to the risk so to save a dollar that day. plus i have been able to massacre the official epa estimates without engine off.

I am fairly certain that your crossover is automatic. That being the case, I am glad you won't be EOCing it. It isn't good for your tranny and is quite dangerous because you haven't the ability to instantly spin up the engine as you have with a manual.

[TheEnemy]

Most mud tires are very soft compounds, and are wider giving the same contact patch with gripier rubber.

My Jeep will outstop my wifes car that has higher end brakes and tires because the tires grip so well as long as it isn't icy. I'm running 31" mud tires which is as tall as I can run and still not stress the front brakes. The back brakes though can't handle even the stock tires so they will get upgraded before I go up to 35's which will also need an upgrade to the front brakes.