drivenCSZ

iTrader: (2)

what about with a bed cover?...my buddy got one recently and touted that he might see some increased mpg(obviously not much, though). less drag im assuming wouldnt hurt.

roast

iTrader: (2)

another myth is that coasting in neutral saves gas - it does the opposite.

Ztalker

wouldn't it render the truck bed useless with bed cover on?
i always wonder why the honda ridgeline put a storage compartment inside the truck bed, one needs to remove whatever they are hauling in order to access the compartment.

Ztalker

a fresh coat of wax on the finish of the vehicle cheats the wind and therefore saves fuel is also a myth.

Z_Driver

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, I must have gotten at least a 5mpg improvement not kidding:



Yes, I'm kidding ....

But, it looks good and give you a place to throw stuff you don't want prying eyes to see and negates any possible mileage improvement you might have gotten.

Z_Driver

iTrader: (3)

Actually, not. The one I have you can unsnap and roll back for full use in 30 secs. The rear bar is locked in with click ***** so you just pull on it from the rear and it pops out. Also, you can drop the tail gate with it installed. It has a frame that clamps to the rails so you can get full use. Kind of nice that way for when I throw my mountain bike in the bed. It doubles as a tent camper if I need it too with in/out carpeting in there and a battery operated light:



I agree with you on the Ridgeline kind of funny ....

mavtais

iTrader: (12)

Just keep in mind the last note, that the biggest and most significant factor for gas mileage is the modulation of your right foot! Hard accelerations as you approach a red light are a pretty senseless waste of gas. Yet people do that $#!+ all the time!
I drive speed limit, accelerate moderately, and do lots of "off-throttle" driving (leave it in gear and let it roll and slow down) when I approach a red light. This requires lots of fast planning, and looking very far ahead, as well as paying attention to the cross traffic: if they barely started to move and you're approaching a red light, why hold the throttle any longer? Let off, and hopefully you timed it right so that by the time you get there, your light is green.

-Mat
Daily Driven Z mostly during busy traffic @ 22.3 mpg, average speed of 22 mph

P.S. With that note about turning off your motor while waiting, I'll have to weigh that one out. What about oil pressure and the motor wear that comes from restarting?

nzpv03

iTrader: (3)

damn Ive been fooled by the engine idle and ac one this whole time!

JunkStory

+100

I agree with you.

gregtotheb

iTrader: (49)

thanks for the info.

Firehawk

Please people, don't go by what mythbuster determines. They are far from scientific. Also, windows up or down will have an effect on gas milage that many sports cars see. Who here drives the speed limit?

HardTech

Ok the A/C and windows thing is true. Look how the tested it, it was on the highway

I picked a month (July) last year to do a test, on how much mpg I could gain by keeping the a/c off and the windows up during my hour long traffic commute. At the time I had very little highway time (3 mins or so) but if I got on the highway at speeds greater than 55 I would turn on the A/C. I counted no more than 10 times in the month that I turned on the A/C.

I kept plenty of water in my car when doing this. As the inside of my car repeatedly hit over 130 degrees with air coming through vents only after getting past all the things in the hood avg'ed about 110.

Thankfully my SUV is white and tented as this could have been much worse. For the month I avg about 26 mpg. I was shocked that the avg came up about 9 mpg due to no A/C.

Now that I have a highway stretch I turn it on all the time and it doesn’t affect the mpg. But if you’re in town, the A/C will affect your avg mpg. The people that discount this myth need to try it in speeds less than 45 mph in stop and go. I had 32 stops in a 16 mile stretch on the highway. So I would get up to speed and stop, up to speed and stop, over and over again. (TX 121 1+ year ago).

As for the windows down, I have noticed at speeds greater than 55 it seems to affect my SUV. Taking it down about 1mpg... Not enough for me to worry :P


I do lose about 1 pound a day during this test I was doing. Granted it was all water weight but still