Truck Airfoil
Does the cost of installing a airfoil on the cab roof of my truck offset any increase in gas mileage because of the aerodynamics? Does the airfoil effect handling of the truck while hauling a 35 foot ...
Forum Discussion
They work......
My wing was on the truck when I bought it, I took it off and averaged 8.5 mpg so I put it back on and I got 10.2 using 87 octane gas and a Wing adjusted to push the air over the trailer. I will add I calculate my MPG every fill up.
If the wing is at the back of the cab and aligned with the top of the hood and top of the trailer the air will flow over the trailer with little resistance.
For some to say the small advantage isn't worth the cost of the wing, you need to recheck your math. If you get and extra 1/2 mile per Gallon, that means on a 3000 mile trip you save about $50 the cost of a wing is around $300, there for 12000 miles will pay for the wing or approx. after 1 year.
For many years people used to drive a truck with the tailgate down claiming it helped fuel economy, It was later discovered having the gate up made no difference, the design of the vehicle is what counts, Aerodynamically I foresee the area between the cab and the 5ver being streamlined in much the same way as Semi's now streamline the underside of there trailers.
After thought,
$50 buys around 15.8 gals of Gas @ 3.15 per gal at 10.2 mph that's around an extra 160 miles per tank.
$50 buys around 13 gals of Diesel @ 3.85 per gal, as most say they average 10 mpg plus Diesel works out at about 130 to 160 per tank.
So on price per gal it doesn't matter if you use Gas or Diesel you will benefit a lot using a wing..
***prices used for this calculation are averages across Florida including the Keys.
My wing was on the truck when I bought it, I took it off and averaged 8.5 mpg so I put it back on and I got 10.2 using 87 octane gas and a Wing adjusted to push the air over the trailer. I will add I calculate my MPG every fill up.
If the wing is at the back of the cab and aligned with the top of the hood and top of the trailer the air will flow over the trailer with little resistance.
For some to say the small advantage isn't worth the cost of the wing, you need to recheck your math. If you get and extra 1/2 mile per Gallon, that means on a 3000 mile trip you save about $50 the cost of a wing is around $300, there for 12000 miles will pay for the wing or approx. after 1 year.
For many years people used to drive a truck with the tailgate down claiming it helped fuel economy, It was later discovered having the gate up made no difference, the design of the vehicle is what counts, Aerodynamically I foresee the area between the cab and the 5ver being streamlined in much the same way as Semi's now streamline the underside of there trailers.
After thought,
$50 buys around 15.8 gals of Gas @ 3.15 per gal at 10.2 mph that's around an extra 160 miles per tank.
$50 buys around 13 gals of Diesel @ 3.85 per gal, as most say they average 10 mpg plus Diesel works out at about 130 to 160 per tank.
So on price per gal it doesn't matter if you use Gas or Diesel you will benefit a lot using a wing..
***prices used for this calculation are averages across Florida including the Keys.
