Well, it's been a day so I'll say what they came up with on the show. Actually I don't have to say anything at all because CivicDuty already said EXACTLY what they came up with in their test. Now, their test was enough that they know that they'll be flooded with emails as it was mentioned at the end of the test.

On the MythBusters Forum HERE they mention quite a few good varibles that basically I'm sure would draw people's opinion almost right down the middle, much like the results of the poll.

The trucks they used were short bed, 6 ft max.
The engines weren't dyno'ed to see if they were EXACTLY the same.
The fuel flow wasn't metered, burn amount nor the amount put in measured exact.
Use more than one make of truck as a comparison was another recommendation

These are a few examples so IMO it's 6 one way, a half dozen the other for whether or not one way is more efficient than the other.

Wayne: I would think you would of removed the tailgate - very simple/easy weight reduction.

Disclaimer: I didn't put Don't Know in there on purpose, I know that's what I would of put - still would even after watching the show.

 

Hi Rigger:

___My problem is that it is filled up with landscape debris half the time so I have to leave the gate attached

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

think of it this way, your travelling on open highway and air is gushing at your car. YOu can hear the wind noise yada yada and this fat SUV decides to pass you because your a slow ***. I go, "go ahead sucker" and then I immediately speed up to his speed but i can draft behind him. Now since he's going really fast I can keep up too but without fighting drag! So it is possible to get high MPG in the 70 80 mph area if you trail good enough but too close and haha lets hope you got good brakes boy. But be sure the guy your drafting with has a much bigger car than you, bigger the better.

at least for me I noticed wind noise is reduced drastically when trailing behind some sucker. Just put a small flag in front of your car and you''ll see what I mean, its not lies its truth. Hahha one guy finally noticed what I was doing and was trying to run away from me, at that point I just go into the slow lane again until I find another victim =) IE: a car that's bigger than mine in all dimensions.

If you don't have the ***** to save a few cents on areodynamic drag then don't do it, only pros only!

 

Hi Philmcneal:

___Boy were you a busy poster the last few days!

___Drafting is great but it does lose its effectiveness for maximum FE at higher and higher speeds. Not the effect but your real FE. A 55 mph draft is like being in heaven vs. a 70 mph one as the 70 mph one will keep your FE high but the 55 mph one will blow it through the roof! Just another reason to lower the OTR drivers speed down a notch or two

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

lol yeah my obession has gotten the better out of me these days. Question when you draft how much distance do you keep between the car in front of you? Usually for me I imagine there's a car between me and the drafter. And usually I pulse towards the drafter hoping on the glide the drafter will allow me to glide farther! at that rate after pulsing i ALWAYs keep my foot hovered above the brake because like i said drafting SHOULD BE FOR PROS ONLY!

my friend once said, "your crazy for just saving a couple of cents" and i told him its not the money its about the crazy number THAT YOU CAN Only achieve and no one else can. even if its by a few MPGS for now.. its an obessed skill and can only be fine tuned with practice.

but yes sometimes i do get lazy and depending on traffic conditions snow rain, i just give the who cares additute and wait for another sunny lucky day.

 

On my way home to VA for thanksgiving, I drafted a tractor trailer pretty closely at 60 mph. He didn't like that very much, I think, and braked a few times to shrug me off or warn me back. He eventually slowed and pulled off the road, and then got back on behind me. Boy, he really didn't want me drafting him, I guess... five minutes later or so, he passed me, but I didn't resume drafting.

This leads me to think that many big rig drivers don't like "little friends" stuck in their rear blind spot. Has anyone here driven an 18-wheeler? Is drafting considered excessively rude?

 

just draft behind fat SUVS they hardly care at all

i giuess the driver was paranoid bout u dying cuz it was his fault.

 

Hi Civic Duty, yes, I have a CDL and occasionally drive a truck. Drafting is annoying for most truck drivers. When you're driving something that big a lot of things are going on in your head and having to worry about someone tailing closely is one more problem.

One thing I do for the truckers that seem to put their mind at ease. When they're passing at night and are a few car lengths past dim you lights to parking then back to low beams. I know most already know that, but for those that don't, you're signally it's OK for them to cut directly in front of you closely. Once they do that I stick until they give me a sign they don't want me there.

 

Wayne, do you have a removable tannau cover for your Ranger? They make ones out of tough flexible fabric that look like they can be quickly rolled up at the cab-end of the truck when you need a fully open bed but offer the aerodynamic benefits when in place. Also, it seems like this would keep lawn debris in the bed nicely when you have a small enough amount in there so as to not need a fully open bed.