Got a good draft this morning.

[Fat Charlie]

I start one of my morning commute EOCs at 60 mph. I used to start it at 70 until I found that the extra speed was just wasted gas- what with the contours of the hill and my car's aero, I end up at 60 on the top part, just over 50 in the middle and 60 again near the bottom. This morning I got passed by a pickup with a camper in the bed just before I got to the top. I goosed it to 70 and followed him down, doing between 62-68 the whole way. A mile and a half into a two mile EOC I was doing 8 mph faster than normal! I stayed with him through my next EOC, and he helped me carry enough speed that I went a lot farther than usual. That section is longer than I can reasonably coast and traffic is usually more of a consideration there, so I don't have any "normal" numbers for it.

Keep in mind that I don't draft closely. If something's big enough to be worth drafting, it's big enough to punch such a hole in the air that you can follow it at normal distances and still get a real benefit. What makes it drafting is that I understand the help that's there and I'm behind the rig on purpose to get that bonus rather than just being helplessly stuck behind a truck. It was nice to see a solid example of how much it can help, even though it was kind of depressing to see just how much aero my car is giving away.

[ecomodded]

You will be seeing fairly big mpg gains by slowing down 10 mph.
Combined with some safe distance drafting I think you are going to be setting your new mpg record on this tank, Commuting 5 days a week it really makes sense to leave a few minutes earlier and drive slower as in the long run you will be making less pollution and bringing home more pay for your bank account and less to go on your fuel bill. Good move Fat Charlie





speed kills (your mileage)

[Fat Charlie]

Unfortunately, my speeds are somewhat fixed. I can't leave earlier because I can't drop my kids off earlier. I can't slow down on that road- even at 60 the only people who don't pass me going up that hill are the ones who get pinned behind me and can't move to the left lane. And that's the only easy passing opportunity for 20 miles.

I'm stuck with one route and I'm already going as slow as I can, so within those limits I'm driving as efficiently as I can.

[graydonengineering]

How close do you follow? I always try to drive behind someone when I can find a car that matches my speed. The semi trucks are great but a lot of them are going over 70. At that speed, I sill get worse MPG than going 64 alone in my truck. When they are going slower, they are great because unlike other cars, they slow on the hills due to the heavy wieght they are pulling so I can drive with consitant load. I try to keep a 2 second gap.

[Fat Charlie]

With a bus or a big rig I'm usually far enough back that a couple of cars could slide in and it wouldn't look too crowded. Maybe a stack of four could slot in from an on ramp and then work their way to the left past him. The big guys give me enough of a help that I don't need to be that close, and at 70 with a draft I do as well as 60 without one. As an added bonus I'm getting there more quickly and not balking traffic.

There's no benefit in chasing a truck that's already up to speed, but I'll zip out of the tolls to catch one that's still climbing the hill and watch for one that just came up and isn't up to speed yet. If one passes me, I'm sticking with it.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

NOTE--obvious "tongue-in-cheek" posting!

Q: What's better than a "good draft"?

A: A tall, frosty, "cold ale"!

Or the 18 wheeler that gets you to that ale sooner!

[larrybuck]

He's a truck watcher, he's a truck watcher, there's one noowww! My oh My!!!!