Does Wax Really Help MPG???

[Jon Mopar]

For a motorhome traveling at hwy speeds (which are obviously less than mach I haha), wax honestly can't help. After all, the part that cuts through the wind primarily is the front....the sides have little bearing on it, with the exception of awnings and other protrusions. If your unit is like mine, about 50% of that front is windshield, 20% grill/bumper/headlights, and 30% a flat hood at almost a 90% angle. So where is there room for improvement? can waxing your hood play that big a role on mpg??


I believe the truth is that when air skates over a surface, there's a teeny tiny gap between the air and the surface itself, so waxing it wouldn't make a difference. Heck, you could cover it in two-sided tape, it's not really going to slow the air down because it's sticky. Shape is what matters the most.

[Craig_R]

Originally Posted by bldrbob

You have to wax in strait lines front to back. Circular buffing will cause swirls in the air and make little tornados.But if you can line up those tornados they will cause a vacuum to pull you forward.

This may have been said tongue-in-cheek but the reality is:

Aerodynamic Fuel Economy Savers for Road Vehicles

[Dunner]

Just ask any UPS driver.....

That's kinda hard to do. They're usually back in their truck before I can get to the door.

[Kathryn]

Originally Posted by Craig_R

This may have been said tongue-in-cheek but the reality is:

Aerodynamic Fuel Economy Savers for Road Vehicles

I'm pretty sure that's not what bldrbob was referring to, but it is IMPRESSIVE reading! Might be worth a try!

Kathryn

[Theberrys]

Here is the poop on UPS right turns.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=3005890&page=1http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=3005890&page=1

UPS trucks drove 2.5 billion miles last year, but the company says its package flow technology combined with right-turn routes saved 28,541,472 million miles, and three million gallons of fuel.

Dick

[Dunner]

I was going to post those tabs or something like them, but I couldn't think of their name.

[Craig_R]

Originally Posted by Dunner

I was going to post those tabs or something like them, but I couldn't think of their name.

I've read quite a bit of the discussion on Air-Tabs and they do work, but for them to be cost effective in terms of fuel savings you have to run a lot of miles. The biggest benefit they will lend to an RV is the stability they provide when you are being passed by or are passing other high profile vehicles. The tabs break up the moving masses of air into little vortexes thereby decreasing the air pressure between the vehicles or something to that effect. In any event you don't wind up getting blown off the highway.

[milasman]

No.

[Arch Hoagland]

Am I closer to the moon if I step up on a ladder rung?

Yes, absolutely.

Does waxing a rig give better gas mileage?

Yes, absolutely.

[milasman]

Clean vs. Dirty, maybe 1% better mpg. Clean vs. Waxed, negligible. Wasn't this on Mythbusters? You are better off getting rid of the radio antenna.

[milasman]

If the distance from earth to the moon is a non-waxed vehicle and the distance from earth to the moon on a rung of a ladder is a waxed vehicle, yes you will get better mpg. Probably have to drive a million miles to pay for the wax.

[Dunner]

Craig, I heard about the vortex type thingies on a Dodge Ram truck mailing list about 5-10 years ago. It was good reading, but no one ever tried them. The Cheap Handling Fix is free and probably does more than a bunch of them things... on a F53.

[Craig_R]

Originally Posted by Dunner

Craig, I heard about the vortex type thingies on a Dodge Ram truck mailing list about 5-10 years ago. It was good reading, but no one ever tried them. The Cheap Handling Fix is free and probably does more than a bunch of them things... on a F53.

I would tend to agree, but for some folks going out and spending a few hundred bucks on something like Air-Tabs is like taking sugar pills and believing it's real medicine. If it boosts their confidence behind the wheel and they feel better about themselves as drivers, who are we to argue.

They have become very popular among expeditors like the FedEx Custom Critical, Tri-State Express, Panther One crowd. But then those guys run a lot of miles.

[gatorb8]

this has been a fun read!