I had less than 2 miles on a fresh tank of gas when I pulled onto the Highway (I-95 in VA) and fell in behind an 18 wheeler doing between 70 and 75 mph. I drafted him for thirty miles and was showing 62.2 mpg when he got off at an exit. I slowed down to my normal 60-65 mph but the mileage dropped to 56 by the time I reached where I was going (another 37 miles). I swear it was like he was pulling me down the highway!


P.S. I know drafting is not safe blah blah blah, so no chastising, please.

 

That is why people are so tempted to draft semis on the highway. You get a lot of help from them.

Like you said though, it isn't safe to draft closely behind a semi. There are several types of drafting though, many of them are much safer. Go to http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/gloss...earchoptions=1 to see the other types of drafting.

 

Just curious, how close were you to the semi when you were drafting?

 

Hey, that's just like drafting on a bicycle. When I'm in front going 25mph on a flat road on a calm day, my heartrate is about 175 beats per min. Once I drop back behind someone, heart drops to around 140.

Even more pronounced on a slight downhill where in front, I'm at 170-175 bpm while in back, I might even have to hit the brakes from time to time.

 

It varied, but I tried to keep it around 12 feet. About 1 car length. It was nice and quiet when I was in the pocket, but the car would begin to shake and the noise would pick up if I fell back.

 

I don't think it's so risky neither. The truckers are usually very consistent with their speed. You must stay waked-up but for sure, it will take more distance for the 18wheeler to stop than you, so. For the moment, since I want to keep the car at lease 15 years, that's the painting I am concerned.

Pierre

 

I knew Big Trucks and SUVs were goood for someting!

 

I had a great draft last week. The trucker and I were in harmony. Everytime he wanted to change lanes, I'd move over to block traffic and flash my lights to let him know it was okay to move over. A true symbiotic relationship! He gets easy lane changes, I get good MPG. At the end of my ride I pulled alongside and it was all smiles and waves!

 

You're luky. The relation I have with them is very bad for the moment. I drive +/- 25 miles on a HW going in opposit direction of the town and therefore without a lot of trafic. And, for a reason I don't understand, 4 on 5 truckers wait at the last second to change the lane. Yesterday one was stopped be a car in the left lane, he passed about at 6 inches of my car at 70mph instead of slowdown.



PM

 

Of course it's dangerous. If one of those tires blows out you are in serious trouble. If those retreads come loose they can come through the windshield and kill you. And they kick up rocks and stuff too.

Not to mention you are following too close, and on top of that you can't see what's in front of the truck...they can stop just as fast as a large car. To think they stop slow is a big mistake.

And finally it probably annoys the heck out of the truck driver.