Gas mileage!

Same here. Sounds ridiculous.

 

I just gave my truck a 125,000 mile tune up and average 22mpg on the highway and about 19 around town. There is no way to get over the mid 20's unless you drive like a grandpa and hit absolutely no traffic from my experience. I did notice that my new paint job helped with mileage SIGNIFICANTLY. I was getting like 17 on the highway before and now it's just cuts through the air like nothing.

 

...Wut

 

+1

I've heard from sources I trust that they get better mpg by not cleaning vs waxing. Can't imagine how new paint would help?

 

According to Kelley and Holcombe at General Motors Research Laboratories:

"The nature of the boundary layer is such that a critical speed exists below which improvement of a particular body surface smoothness has no effect on reducing surface drag. For the finished portion of an automobile body the surface smoothness is of the order of 0.5 to 1.0 microns or 20 to 40 Mu in. Any improvement will not reduce surface drag,since the grain size of the surface ( 0.02-0.05 mils ) is below the critical diameter for any land vehicle operation."

Bottom line, if you've washed and waxed your car,that's as good as you're going to do. Surface friction is still going to claim 9% drag from you.

 

im getting 19 with my supercharged 3.4l...

 

When your truck suffers from body problems like mine did, like dents, dings, and i mean alot of them, i noticed significant reductions in drag after i got my bodywork and paint job. Lots of big hail and trees that fall out of the sky where i live caused alot of damage over the last 12 years. I probably get 2-3 more mpgs now on the highway vs. before. Just saying, its only a 10-12% difference in mileage, but pretty noticeable on the highway.

 

You should have said after Major Body Work, not paint job. ;-)

 

Well i guess your right, the guy who did the body work filled and sanded over 100 dings/depressions, most of them on the roof. Gotta love our winters. 5200.00 later my truck has some type of durable gloss black paint. It looks brand new with the frame Toyota threw on for me 2 months ago.

 

UPS washes and repaints there jets regularly to cut down dramatically on fuel costs. Keep em slick and lite and you will save money and go the distance.

The spare tire thing,,that is something I would not toss out.

 

That's because they have a laminar boundary layer and not a turbulent one. Unless you are entering into transonic flow and planning on setting some land speed records, this does not apply to you.

 

Wow! I bet you are happy with your truck right now. I just got my truck mostly repainted/repaired from miscellaneous vandalism, only to find even more paint chips later. A lot more.

It seems like I can't win.

Only part that I am overjoyed about is the bumper. Was dingy and eaten by bugs, now it's smooth and shiny! Now I wash the front every week to prevent bugs from eating the paint again.

 

No offense, but this is BS. If you're running 55psi, you are definitely wearing out the centers a LOT faster than the rest of your tire. Unless you're running E rated tires, but with your emphasis on MPGs, I suspect you are on P rated tires.

Oh, and I've driven with my previous set of P rated tires pumped up to 45psi. It was a much harsher ride. I can only imagine 55psi.

What tires are you running?

Again, I seriously doubt your methods. You would never have any detectable difference with wipers on vs. wipers off, especially since the wiper arm is still present, causing "turbulence".

And saving "approximately .3mpg"? There's no way you are measuring so accurately that you can obtain that level of precision. You can leave everything 100% the same on your truck, and you'll still get more than .3mpg fluctuations in your mileage. Weather and atmospheric conditions change. You'll never drive EXACTLY the same way as you did on your previous tank. Heck, you'll never even fill up to exactly the same spot in your gas tank either.

And while I'm at it, let's bring up safety. 30 seconds to put your wiper blades back on? Yeah right. And what happens when you're on the interstate and you get caught in a sudden down pour? You're going to put you, your wife, and everyone else on the road at risk as now you can't see where you're going? Brilliant. And no spare? Sure hope you ALWAYS have cell service, as I know I've certainly gone through places with spotty service.

I understand trying to squeeze out all the MPGs you can, but you're just full of crap. Sorry.

 

No offense.. but you guys are morons for putting 45psi in your tires... If they are stock tires they are DESIGNED to operate between 26(cold) and 35(hot), it's will improve mileage but not so much that it's worth buying 600.00 in new tires after 10,000 miles.

 

I put the max rated pressure in my tires for towing... and forgot to bring the pressure back down when I was finished. I keep mine at 38psi.

 

Max pressure in my tires is 80 psi

 

Because you have E or D rated tires?

 

E

 

Just do what mythbusters did...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKxEkT2H8pI

 

It may be more aerodynamic.. but adding 400+ pounds of clay to your car to do it.. Idk..