How do you handle EXTREME tailgaters? - Page 23 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

ShadeTreeMech · 11-13-2010, 03:49 AM

I discovered how to keep the tailgators away; run some of my homemade fuel system/ engine cleaner on a low amount of fuel instead of the full tank I normally do. Mixed with only 3 or so gallons it stinks to high heavens. But it sure did the trick, the octane knock I was getting is gone. I just feel bad for those smelling the fumes from my....errrr......rear.

Arragonis · 11-13-2010, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bestclimb

Gun thngs

Anyway, on with the tailgaters

I think we could exchange stories all day good or bad - back to tailgating.

Oops, no I mean avoiding them...

endurance · 11-15-2010, 11:13 AM

After my teenage experience with a '78 Olds Cutlass that I kept burning up hydromatic 200s on (until I finally replaced it with the hydromatic 350 that it should have had all along), I wonder if having a large syringe full of Dextron ATF positioned just above the catalytic converter might not do the trick. I'd go through more than a quart a week and sometimes you couldn't see behind me, and that smell... Nobody would dare tailgate you for more than a few seconds before bailing to the next lane over to get around that stench. Not exactly an environmentally correct solution, but it's a thought...

KY Metro · 12-03-2010, 04:33 PM

Or we could all drive non condensing steam cars. That'd clear the tailgaters in a hurry....

rdtony · 12-03-2010, 06:01 PM

Tailgating a constant problem on our interstate in southern NY. I brake-check them and they will usually pass me or back off. The heck of it is, I do teh speed limit (65mph) and they still act menacingly.

comptiger5000 · 12-03-2010, 06:29 PM

The other day, in a heavy rainstorm with almost no visibility between the rain and the spray from other cars, I had some twenty-something chick in an Explorer about 5 feet off my back bumper for a while. She could have passed me at any time, as there wasn't a ton of traffic. Plus, everybody was doing between 40 and 55 depending on visibility, merging, etc, despite the speed limit being 65.

Obviously, this wasn't good enough for her, especially considering I was leaving a good bit of space in front of me, and I wasn't speeding up to go tailgate the next car. She didn't get the picture until I tapped the brakes very lightly and quickly about 5 times just to flash the brake lights at her. Then, she finally moved right and blew past me.

rdtony · 12-03-2010, 09:08 PM

AND: OMG- try getting tailgated by a semi on a motorcycle. I remember coming off a steep decline in Pa. called "Boot-Jack Hill"; so steep it has runoffs. When I looked in my mirror all I could see of the semi was the expanded mesh grille material covering his radiator. He was too close for me to even see his vehicle name on the radiator.
Not much I could do there but speed up, pull over and wish I had an extra pair of shorts. Not the time for a brake check on my part! What bothers me the most is, if anything - ANYHTING happened (like the bike sputtering when it ran out of the main fuel supply and needed to be turned on to reserve) I was dead.

brucepick · 12-03-2010, 11:03 PM

Driving a standard tranny, I've discovered another type of tailgater. The one who pulls right up to my bumper when stopped at a light on an upgrade. My car WILL roll backwards at least a few inches when I take my foot off the brake. I think most drivers of auto trans cars don't consider this at all. I haven't rolled into anyone yet but on a steep hill, it could happen.

I once asked a police officer about this. In a collision, the car in the rear will be the one at fault. Of course that's just a verbal opinion that I got but I like it.

Thymeclock · 12-03-2010, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucepick

I once asked a police officer about this. In a collision, the car in the rear will be the one at fault. Of course that's just a verbal opinion that I got but I like it.

You may like it but it's not true. If one vehicle is in motion and the other isn't, the one who is moving is the cause of the collision. Makes no difference whether you are going forward or backward (as with those who put the car in reverse mistakenly and hit something).

Thymeclock · 12-03-2010, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comptiger5000

Obviously, this wasn't good enough for her, especially considering I was leaving a good bit of space in front of me, and I wasn't speeding up to go tailgate the next car. She didn't get the picture until I tapped the brakes very lightly and quickly about 5 times just to flash the brake lights at her. Then, she finally moved right and blew past me.

Don't complain about being tailgated if you were in the left lane and had the opportunity to move to the right to let her pass. If she were able to move to the right then you were also able to do so, which would have eliminated the tailgating situation.