tailgate myth
#11
02-08-2006, 01:30 PM
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RE: tailgate myth
Maybe if you had a long bed. The size of the bed and the way the air flows over the truck causes a sort of vortex. Which creates a dead air space causing the air to slide on past the end of the truck. Science my friends science
ORIGINAL: 954x4SLT
I do get better gas milage now that i put on the Toneau cover. but 1 thing I did feel Befoe the Toneau Cover was the way the truck goes down the road with the tailgate up or down. I feel more drag and less throttle response with the gate up. Enough of a difference that when I would be on the interstate I could actually tell without looking if my gate was up or down just by the way I could get up to speed to pass someone. So Yes with that in mind I know I used more gas with the gate up. But like they said get a toneau cover, no more issues.
I do get better gas milage now that i put on the Toneau cover. but 1 thing I did feel Befoe the Toneau Cover was the way the truck goes down the road with the tailgate up or down. I feel more drag and less throttle response with the gate up. Enough of a difference that when I would be on the interstate I could actually tell without looking if my gate was up or down just by the way I could get up to speed to pass someone. So Yes with that in mind I know I used more gas with the gate up. But like they said get a toneau cover, no more issues.
#12
02-08-2006, 01:39 PM
RE: tailgate myth
I'm just stating what I have experienced with my own regular cab, short bed, 5 spd. on long trips like to Mississippi and back it was almost a 1/2 tank difference going down w/out the toneau and when I came back after installing the soft toneau. now I really don't think going north vs. south is a gas changer and I didn't change the way I drove and there was no change in the weight I had. But with the cover the truck felt easier to drive more responsive and I saw a difference in gas milage. Like I said a little more then a 1/2 tank better coming back. Just my .02
#13
02-08-2006, 01:50 PM
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#14
02-08-2006, 04:20 PM
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#16
02-08-2006, 06:14 PM
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RE: tailgate myth
ORIGINAL: WD40
I think there has been enough said on the tailgate. On a long trip I will increase the tire pressure, giving me better fuel eco.
I think there has been enough said on the tailgate. On a long trip I will increase the tire pressure, giving me better fuel eco.
#17
02-09-2006, 12:00 AM
RE: tailgate myth
ORIGINAL: greenmachine
Actually going one direction opposed the the other will effect your gas mileage. I always get better mileage returning from my moms, thats a three hundred mile trip. I normally have a head wind going there and pushes me home. Something to look at.
Actually going one direction opposed the the other will effect your gas mileage. I always get better mileage returning from my moms, thats a three hundred mile trip. I normally have a head wind going there and pushes me home. Something to look at.
yes it can make a big diffrence if you have a head wind like you sed or in my cace i live in the mountans so wen i go to my parrents place i do better going there than coming back because im at a much higher elevation so esentally in going down hill there and up hill comming back
#18
02-10-2006, 11:44 PM
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RE: tailgate myth
Honestly, gate up gate down really shouldn't matter on a fullsize truck. I mean lets get real here. We are talking about a fullsize truck most of them with 4x4 drivetrains and V8 engines. Lets not forget that even the dodge trucks have the aerodynamic effiency of a shoebox. With that said alittle drag from the tailgate wouldn't hurt anything if in fact it does cause drag(yes I saw the mythbusters show also). Like the mythbusters show documented though I highly suspect that the newer trucks are designed in such a way that the tailgate is part of the aerodynamic profile so they can milk all the mileage out the trucks as they can reasonably. Honestly, what's cheaper a steel tailgate or a nylon net? The Mopar engineers, Ford engineers, and GM engineers not to mention a few others are doing it the way they are doing it for a reason aren't they?
#19
02-11-2006, 09:38 AM
#20
02-11-2006, 02:58 PM