The peak of fuel efficiency seems to ellude American vehicles

[YY1]

I got a good lesson in aerodynamics a couple of weekends ago.

I drive about 200 miles with my trailer in tow.

It has an expanded metal ramp/gate on the back (full of diamond shaped holes).

At 65-70 MPH I was getting 13-14 MPG.

I decided to pull over and fold the ramp down flat, since the trailer was empty, to se if that helped.

After that, I was getting 15-16 MPG for the rest of the trip.

For a 200 mile trip, I'll take the extra 2.5 miles per gallon.

I was mildly surprised that even full of holes, the drag affected MPG that much.

 

[AJ/FormS]

www.geetinternational.com

 

[sireland67]

I got a good lesson in aerodynamics a couple of weekends ago.

I drive about 200 miles with my trailer in tow.

It has an expanded metal ramp/gate on the back (full of diamond shaped holes).

At 65-70 MPH I was getting 13-14 MPG.

I decided to pull over and fold the ramp down flat, since the trailer was empty, to se if that helped.

After that, I was getting 15-16 MPG for the rest of the trip.

For a 200 mile trip, I'll take the extra 2.5 miles per gallon.

I was mildly surprised that even full of holes, the drag affected MPG that much.

X2 I always fold the ramp down on my utility trailer, it acts like a huge parachute at highway speeds.

My wife's 2014 dodge dart averages 32 mpg around town, its the little turbo engine with a 6 speed manual.

My 2012 challenger is a 5.7 6-speed a mileage is all over the place I have seen it between 17.5 and 26 depending on my right foot.

 

[66Dvert]

Hmm I've got a 3479lb(scale weight without me in it) 2007 Dodge caliber. I just turned over 259k on it and the worst gas mileage that I get from it is 26 (me driving) the best (with me driving) is 30.5, now if the wife drives the darn car she gets 31.5 to 32 every d@mn time@#$%$#%@. Of course she drives like a (really,really old) grandma but eventually does get to the speed limit. Me, I can't stand riding with her and always take the truck or drive the car myself. She did the same thing with the neon and it's not a light car either. If I could get a car with that 2.0 and CVT trans to clock in at 2000-2500, I bet She could hit 40mpg (not me, no way in heck I could do that or even try)

my diesel (after fixing the bad injector) now gets it's normal 24MPG unloaded with or without the tailgate.
loaded it gets around 21mpg if I haul the trailer and the challenger anywhere (with tailgate).
without it I loose about a mile a gallon, tailgate was off to fix the stupid latch mechanism and didn't want it locked on there in case of problems.
I can not explain why I loose the MPG but it's a definite loss. I averaged 1 mpg loss overall on a round trip (about 24000 miles) to Michigan from Florida. then turned around and had to make the trip back to bring a charger home to work on with the tailgate on and got back to normal mpg. that's from a 92 Cummins ram. no other changes except the tailgate which now works like it should.

 

[oldmopardude]

This, tighter emission standards, and the increase in weight of both the cars and their occupants, is the reason fuel economy is not better. In 1992, I drove a 1976 Plymouth Arrow with a 1.6 and 4 speed. Beating it like a stolen car, I got 37 mpg. BUT, that was with real fuel, no computer, no catacalismic converter, no nav, no ABS, no A/C, no heated seats, no cupholders, and I was about 100 pounds lighter.

I can identify with 100 lbs lighter! Lol

 

[Bad Sport]

I can identify with 100 lbs lighter! Lol

I can't remember that fer back, lol.

 

[RustyRatRod]

It's amazing how much drag those gates have, isn't it? I have a 5x8 utility trailer and unless I am pulling something I need the gate/ramp for, I leave it at home. You can feel the difference. I never wouldda thought it.

I got a good lesson in aerodynamics a couple of weekends ago.

I drive about 200 miles with my trailer in tow.

It has an expanded metal ramp/gate on the back (full of diamond shaped holes).

At 65-70 MPH I was getting 13-14 MPG.

I decided to pull over and fold the ramp down flat, since the trailer was empty, to se if that helped.

After that, I was getting 15-16 MPG for the rest of the trip.

For a 200 mile trip, I'll take the extra 2.5 miles per gallon.

I was mildly surprised that even full of holes, the drag affected MPG that much.

 

[oldmopardude]

What's fun is towing a trailer with a big boat on it(Monaco) with no front windshield Installed. It is like having a parachute on your Butt! HA HA