Towing MPG

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

The semi driver should want you back there, drafting increases the efficiency of all vehicles involved especially on a semi. Aerodynamic drag comes equally from the front and the back. They make efforts to improve the front and nothing is done to the rear. Even a VW bug tucked in back there will do as much as one of those "trailer tails". If you put 10 semis in a close line every single one, front to back will see an improvement in economy. One day I hope these computer aids will allow that to be done safely on a mass scale. It will also help with congestion.

Maybe we should make tow bars for our vehicles that would hook to the pintle on the last trailer. Then there would be no risk of rear-ending the semi but think of the fuel YOU'd save. Now if we could only design one that would hook up and release without the Semi Driver knowing about it

[babock]

SeaFoam is a mixture of Naptha, Pale oil and Isoprpyl alcohol. How these ingredients can possibly improve your mileage is doubtful.

Amazing how the placebo effect works so well!

[Jmkjr72]

Originally Posted by babock

SeaFoam is a mixture of Naptha, Pale oil and Isoprpyl alcohol. How these ingredients can possibly improve your mileage is doubtful.

Amazing how the placebo effect works so well!

Clean injectors make a better spray pattern increase mpg and performance
That is with running it in your fuel
Now running it through the intake manifold helps clean carbon build up in the engine

[aceinspp]

Best bet slow down. I run 62 and can average 8.5mpg towing 9000# tt. On a good day now wind the V noses will help. Kick it up to 70 and it goes to 7mpg in a heart beat. As for drafting semi I stopped years ago due to most not maintaining proper tires on trailers. Had a couple near misses of flying alligator tread. And when you pass one with bad tires you can hear the tire that is about to let go. Later RJD

[NMWildcat]

'Drafting' semis is called TAILGATING! I don't know of anybody who enjoys that. I can tell when a larger vehicle gets too close behind me as the feel of my trailer changes, and I don't like it. So I do the same as irritated semi drivers, pull over a bit and fling gravel, or slow down and make them pass me. Drafters beware

[Dave Lyon]

Originally Posted by Bobaloo

I've found that keeping it under 60 mph yields me the best mileage. I average 11 here in Va, less when I'm in the mountains or on rt 81.

And properly inflated tires - both truck and trailer.

[babock]

Originally Posted by Jmkjr72

Clean injectors make a better spray pattern increase mpg and performance
That is with running it in your fuel
Now running it through the intake manifold helps clean carbon build up in the engine

It also contains oil which will eventually ruin your O2 sensors and give you worse MPG.

If you actually have dirty injectors, use a product that actually has an ingredient that will clean injectors such as PEA(Polyetheramine).

[Semperfi24]

You can only decrease speed just so much before you are stopped, lol. I'll take 9 mpg at 62mph over 14mpg at 30mph. The people on the highway behind me will also be more pleasant when passing me...

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by babock

SeaFoam is a mixture of Naptha, Pale oil and Isoprpyl alcohol. How these ingredients can possibly improve your mileage is doubtful.

Amazing how the placebo effect works so well!

Not sure about increasing mileage. I never tried it for that. But it damn for sure works on transmissions. Well enough that I won't doubt their claims for the fuel additive, even if they made with with ground up orphans.

tim

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Semperfi24

You can only decrease speed just so much before you are stopped, lol. I'll take 9 mpg at 62mph over 14mpg at 30mph. The people on the highway behind me will also be more pleasant when passing me...

Most people around here only get unpleasant when you're doing 30 mph in any lane but the far right one. Of course if you're on a two lane road, most states require you to pull over and let accumulated traffic behind you pass. In my state the max you can hold up is five vehicles. If you are going 60 and they want to go 75, no matter. Troopers will pull you over and cite you for "impeding traffic".

As for the 30 mph, there are reasonable speed reductions and there are ridiculous. It only takes a reasonable reduction to yield some pretty noticeable gains.

Any old-timers remember the days we used vacuum gauges to help get better fuel mileage when driving? Didn't take long to learn how much vacuum to maintain in order to keep the fuel consumption reasonable.

[iceclimber]

Fuel additives are successful at one thing, moving money from your wallet to someone else's.

I get 16-18 with my diesel and found a YUGE difference in simply going slower.

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Most people around here only get unpleasant when you're doing 30 mph in any lane but the far right one. Of course if you're on a two lane road, most states require you to pull over and let accumulated traffic behind you pass. In my state the max you can hold up is five vehicles. If you are going 60 and they want to go 75, no matter. Troopers will pull you over and cite you for "impeding traffic".

As for the 30 mph, there are reasonable speed reductions and there are ridiculous. .

Hope that's not true if its a 55 mph speed limit. If so they are encouraging folks to speed. Trouble now days the day of enforcing speed limits is a sham. Later RJD

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by aceinspp

Hope that's not true if its a 55 mph speed limit. If so they are encouraging folks to speed. Trouble now days the day of enforcing speed limits is a sham. Later RJD

In this State it's all about "Impeding Traffic Flow". The Legislature just passed a law that specifically requires people to stay out of the left lane on the freeway except for passing slower traffic. If you are driving the speed limit and others are backed up behind you YOU WILL GET A TICKET. Oh yeah, nearly forgot. People towing trailers are often prohibited in the left lane------- period. This is supposed to prevent semi's from trying to pass each other on long steep hils at 20 mph or less.

Makes me wonder why we have speed LIMIT signs anymore. Locally the troopers won't stop anyone until they exceed 9 mph over posted highway speeds. Only place they enforce speed to the letter of the law is in school zones. More and more speed cameras and they are set for the exact speed. 21 mph can get you a ticket in the mail.

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

In this State it's all about "Impeding Traffic Flow". The Legislature just passed a law that specifically requires people to stay out of the left lane on the freeway except for passing slower traffic. If you are driving the speed limit and others are backed up behind you YOU WILL GET A TICKET. Oh yeah, nearly forgot. People towing trailers are often prohibited in the left lane------- period. This is supposed to prevent semi's from trying to pass each other on long steep hils at 20 mph or less.

Makes me wonder why we have speed LIMIT signs anymore. Locally the troopers won't stop anyone until they exceed 9 mph over posted highway speeds. Only place they enforce speed to the letter of the law is in school zones. More and more speed cameras and they are set for the exact speed. 21 mph can get you a ticket in the mail.

On 4 lane or interstate that I can understand as yes there are folks that just drive in the left lane all day. Your original post was not clear.
Using cameras has become a farce also and around here they are shying away from them for speed but use them for red light violators. Later RJD

[Semperfi24]

Didnt intend to spark real conversation. I live in the great state of Maryland where we dont have "slow poke" laws. I call those people that drive side by side, at the exact same speed, for miles and miles the "Maryland Roadblock".

I was mainly playing on cowracers joke about 11 things to increase fuel mileage by 10%. As in, reducing speed does work, but only to a point, and then its just useless and you stop gaining...

Same reason I laugh about auto insurance. I grew up in MA, and in that state, the insurance rates are the insurance rates. Whether you have state farm, progressive, etc, your rate is exactly the same. Its all based on gender, age, driving record, and they have a formula to determine your rate, and they all use the same formula, so changing insurance company doesnt save you any money. So when I left MA, I didnt understand the "change to our insurance and save 10%" commercials. So it got me thinking, if I change from progressive to all state to state farm, back to progressive, back to state farm, then to GEICO, etc, eventually they will be paying me, right? Hahaha

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Semperfi24

So it got me thinking, if I change from progressive to all state to state farm, back to progressive, back to state farm, then to GEICO, etc, eventually they will be paying me, right? Hahaha

This line of thought reminded me of a prank supposedly played on a guy's neighbor back when the first "high mpg" cars first showed up. People who owned them tended to brag a lot about their mileage.

The story goes that a neighbor would siphon a gallon of gas from his bragging neighbor's car every night for a couple weeks. When the guy started whining how his car suddenly was getting terrible mileage, the neighbor then just replaced the gas he'd siphoned off. Totally messed with the "economy car" owner's mind but it stopped the bragging

[mopwr4me2003]

You are towing. Most of us are happy getting 8-12 MPG. Advise is to make sure all tires are inflated to proper PSI, make sure you are using the correct oil, and you have clean air filter. Keep in mind the more things you use in the TV like A/C, charging of phones and other devices, DVD player, basically anything that draws power will also have an effect on MPG. You can try a K&N filter for a little better breathing for the TV but not sure how that will affect the mileage.

Tim

[babock]

With fuel injected engines, dirty air filters have ZERO affect on mileage since the fuel injection meters fuel on the amount of air drawn in.

BTW, K&N filters are the worst thing you can put on a vehicle since they let in way more dirt than a normal paper filter and oil on the filter can foul MAF sensors.

[BandJCarm]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

This line of thought reminded me of a prank supposedly played on a guy's neighbor back when the first "high mpg" cars first showed up. People who owned them tended to brag a lot about their mileage.

The story goes that a neighbor would siphon a gallon of gas from his bragging neighbor's car every night for a couple weeks. When the guy started whining how his car suddenly was getting terrible mileage, the neighbor then just replaced the gas he'd siphoned off. Totally messed with the "economy car" owner's mind but it stopped the bragging

Um.......um.........do you know me, by chance?

LOL

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by babock

With fuel injected engines, dirty air filters have ZERO affect on mileage since the fuel injection meters fuel on the amount of air drawn in.

BTW, K&N filters are the worst thing you can put on a vehicle since they let in way more dirt than a normal paper filter and oil on the filter can foul MAF sensors.

Zowie. Pretty bold statements. Would love to see some real proof