Drafting - pros & cons

[DrEMHmrk2]

Originally Posted by DonEaston

Very good points on defensive driving, and a better point about your 6 being what you have to worry about.

If you got a long train going, what you really have is a pile-up waiting to happen. And, if you're driving a Geo Metro, while an '08 Superduty follows at about 35 feet, you're looking to become the piece of bologna between a trailer and truck.

Good points- something to think about!

Drafting would be a good way to alleviate the cost of shipping goods via truck and trailer though, you know? A semi is going to get 7mpg no matter what. But if you got 6 vehicles behind it, getting a total savings of 40mpg, suddenly semis aren't that bad of a deal!

Yeah, We should be able to tether up to big rigs we see on the highway, Grappling Hook style!

[MetroMPG]

Or, if GM's researchers could have their way, "platoons" of cars driving in close draft positions under computer control:

Smart cars and automated highways

Shladover also cited the energy and environmental arguments that favor highway automation: "The fuel consumption and exhaust emissions of a motor vehicle is related directly to its specific driving cycle. If you can smooth out the traffic flow, vehicles can run at constant speed, which increases mileage and reduces air pollution." Furthermore, "with platoon spacing set at a half a car length, cars can draft off each other, reducing drag by half." This arrangement, Shladover added, could result in a 20-percent boost in fuel economy and similar-size cut in emissions.

[DonEaston]

I hope not... I'm too much of pioneer to be led around by a rope.

Is the flow of traffic so dear, or the lack of pollution so sweet, that they should be purchased at the price of compact cars and automated driving systems?! FORBID IT, almighty God! Give me a Land Rover Disco, an open stretch of road, and 20 gallons of gas to burn, Or Give Me Death!!

-Don Ftiz "Patrick Henry" Easton

[metroschultz]

"Yeah, We should be able to tether up to big rigs we see on the highway, Grappling Hook style"


Wheres my tracyion beam Scotty?!

[basjoos]

Originally Posted by bestmapman

The biggest problem are the small stones or gravel that chip the windshield and or paint.

There are bigger things than small stones and gravel that can potentially be thrown up behind a truck. I've seen good-sized chunks of blown truck tires and small boards becoming airborne behind a semi, plus the fact that if the truck you are following straddles some good-sized object on the road, you have only a very short reaction time to try to miss it. The ultimate answer to the drafting dilemma is to knock your Cd way down. My car is so low drag that drafting produces only a minimal improvement in my mileage, so it not worth the hassle and stress of doing it.

[newtonsfirstlaw]

Originally Posted by basjoos

My car is so low drag that drafting produces only a minimal improvement in my mileage, so it not worth the hassle and stress of doing it.

Wow, you just saved me writing the same exact post. Thanks basjoos!

[claytori]

One thing to consider when drafting is the fact that in dry road conditions is the fact that large air braked vehicles (18-Wheelers) have approximately twice the stopping distance of a car. As long as you cover your reaction time you will be easily able to stop from fairly close. I do a fair bit of drafting, and find that you don't have to be right up close to gain significant improvement. But I normally won't stay in a land with one of those things behind me.

[bennelson]

Small stones and things really aren't a concern if you drive a blue beast Dodge Shadow.

Seriously, I am so NOT stessed out about anything that will make the paint job worse.

I knew one guy who bought a brand-new Corvette convertable a few summers ago. I thought he was a stressful guy before. Should have seen how jittery he was in parking lots.

Love my car - very defensive paint.

[Who]

A shredded truck tire carcass will lift a small car right off the road... been there, done that and my insurance company deems it collision.

[tasdrouille]

I stopped drafting when one of those trailer tires blew up right in my face and about half of the tire sole landed on my front grill. I don't like to imagine what this thing would have done to my windsheild.