Driving 55...can't draft a trucker
 

I'm doing 55 on the right most lane of the freeway and I get passed by truckers lol.

How the heck do hypermilers draft when truckers ususally go about 60-65??

If I stay up to them, it's a matter of RPM.. I'm at 2400 RPMs to 2500 RPMs (just about) at 55. If I go 60, it's at 2800 or 2900?

So which is better, the drafting, or the RPMs?

By the way, I normally do 60, this last trip of about 120 miles roundtrip, I tried sticking to 55. Free way was wide open * if not, I would not have tried, don't want to impede flow of traffic more than I have to. And on the way back, I'm sure I avoided an accident too (van with blown tire rear left tire in the middle lane *people already helping and no one hurt).

New Yaris Sedan 5speed if it matters.

Ok, apart from the fact whether or not you should be drafting and how close I can tell you that drafting say at 60 mph gives you better mpg than driving 55 mph. 65mph I'm unsure about, you would probably still be better of drafting but you'd have to get pretty close and apart from being not very safe, I hate not being able to look ahead and can only draft for shorter periods of time myself.

Same problem here. Though sometimes I can find a motor home or gravel truck poking along at 55. Can't say I really "draft" though; it's more like using them as an excuse for why I'm going slow. :D

I experimented briefly with drafting and it just didn't seem to make any difference. Maybe the VW's slippery enough that the benefit is minimal? But with a really boxy vehicle I can imagine getting sucked along at 60 might be better than 55 on your own.

As far as the Yaris is concerned, the hatchback is on my shortlist of business vehicles to consider. I think Yarii might be undiscovered gems of fuel economy in the right hands. :thumbup::)

Rick

"Yarii" ...nice :)

X2

2500 rpm coasting downhill as opposed to 2500 rpm climbing the same hill...which would use more fuel. RPM is a factor but load is more so a factor and is why drafting works.

I've found so far that P&G is superior to drafting, and drafting is superior to driving at a steady speed. YMMV.

I try and incorporate drafting and P&G. i.e, P&G behind a vehicle (preferably large). Aim so that the closest you come is a few car lengths.

If there are 3 lanes and little traffic, I don't mind going 80kph in a 100 zone. If anyone tailgates me, they know how to pass. If there is slow traffic in the left lane, I will go there. If the traffic is fairly solid and going the speed limit, I P&G around that speed. (I figure if I'm slowing down traffic around peak hour, I'm only increasing the likelihood of gridlock and massive increase in fuel wastage).

Which makes me think... probably one of the biggest things the government could do for fuel economy would be to regulate who can start work at standard hours and prevent gridlock.

Get a ScanGauge and try at 55mph, then try drafting at 60mph, then at 65mph, then see whats best for mpg.

I wouldn't considered drafting unless it gives me a 10-15 mpg increase, not less, because its unsafe, even if its faster.

Because I don't mind takin 10min more on a 50 minutes then not making the it in one piece. FE is one thing, but safety is another, and the last one is higher on my priority list.

So stay alive, don't draft.

And a Yaris sedan is a great car, my mom got one last year, now had put around 8000miles on it. Could do a hypermiller, my mom is doing the EPA. I did drive it for couple undreads of miles and I like it, it handles the bumps REAL good and the engine is powerfull enough, and you have a 5 speed so planty of fun and power. A Yaris is simply a Camry reduce, cheaper, that gets better FE (way better, even than the 4 cylinder), and that is safe.

You could put a 200k miles on it easy...

Sitting back at 55mph lets you choose which truck to draft. When you find one that is going a speed that you like, then get on it! Where I am originally from, people very often drive with less than a single car length between cars, while driving at 70mph. Drafting is just common driving practice in Detroit. Sometimes you wonder if the vehicle in the back is actually being towed.

I personally saw a 10-15mpg increase when drafting in my parents' Lexus 400h, with the speed being anywhere from 60-65.