Road Horse Power

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

Hey, Aerohead, is it possible to get the issue-number/month of that HOT ROD Magazine article where that graph came from?

Yes,I'll snag that for next week.

[aerohead]

The article is "ADVENTURES IN AERODYNAMICS",Part-1,by Jack Heltemes,Page 34 (for the graph),HOT ROD MAGAZINE,April,1962.
This graph also appeared in the same article

[aerostealth]

We are having several inches of snow here in sounthern NM this morning. I had to take my daughter to work. I was managing 20 mpg in my big truck at 40 mph. Not bad for some of the worst conditions for mpgs. Top speed was 50 mph in places.

[LeanBurn]

No electronic speed limiting in your truck?

[aerostealth]

I beleive there is a speed limiter in my truck. I don't know what it is set for? My tires are only speed rated to 105 mph so it is probably right around that speed.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by aerostealth

I beleive there is a speed limiter in my truck. I don't know what it is set for? My tires are only speed rated to 105 mph so it is probably right around that speed.

Somewhere I read 100-mph.

[awcook]

100 seems about right. I don't wanna see trucks going anywhere near 100 though, that can end pretty badly, since they have a higher center of gravity and are more affected by wind because of a larger total area. Handling on one would be pretty bad compared to an average sedan. 8th gen and maybe 9th gen Civics are rated for 130 MPH top speed, but stock they can easily go above 150, it would just take a while. The Odyssey is rated around 110 I think, but it's pretty scary to be going 95 in one.

[aerostealth]

You should see our blogs and articles in Ev World about doing 100 mph with aero. Phil Knox co-authored them with me. One is titled 100 mph at 32 mpg and the other is an article on how these higher speed aero principles could be applied to trucks and buses at 90 mph.

I would have no qualms about driving my truck with aero at 90 mph. I have already driven it at 85 mph in West Texas where the legal limit was 80 mph and I got 16.2 mpg. I think with further improvements the truck could get 16 mpgs at 90 mph. By the way the truck was extremely stable at 85 mph but I was just testing for mpg data and as soon as I got it I slowed down to 80 mph. Then I passed 2 cops with radar in short order.

The truck was so stable at this speed I let go of the wheel and counted to 14 seconds (1,001 1,002 etc) before I had to take hold of the wheel again. When conditions are good, when the highway is built for it, and the vehicle has the appropriate aero mods and is good condition I have no problem with higher speeds then 75 mph. I think aero can allow us to go faster, safer, and more fuel efficient then vehicles without good aero.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by awcook

100 seems about right. I don't wanna see trucks going anywhere near 100 though, that can end pretty badly, since they have a higher center of gravity and are more affected by wind because of a larger total area. Handling on one would be pretty bad compared to an average sedan. 8th gen and maybe 9th gen Civics are rated for 130 MPH top speed, but stock they can easily go above 150, it would just take a while. The Odyssey is rated around 110 I think, but it's pretty scary to be going 95 in one.

The T-100 felt rock steady at 105-mph on the salt.It had nearly a 50-50 weight distribution and isn't as tall as many contemporary pickups.
She's essentially zero-lift according to the wind tunnel,which validates Goro Tamai's comment about the stability of half-bodies.
And she's very stable in crosswind and gusts.
I suspect Aerostealth's F-150 can shrug off many issues which would plague a garden variety pickup.

[Xist]

My experience driving 100 MPH: "Wait, I am dead?!"