Forum Discussion
- Thermal efficiency and aerodynamics are huge improvements!
My company just bought a new rig but I've heard it only gets 9mpg when one of our machines is on the back. - Is this technology going to be shared with other truck manufacturers since they received 20 million dollars of tax payer money? "The US Department of Energy gave Volvo $20 million to work with and the truck maker matched the funding, and then some.". That is a huge fuel savings the best I ever seen in a Volvo was 8 pulling 38,000# on flat roads.
Don - Personally, I think the mpg results by a semi mfr are flawed as all the tests seem to be done on flat roads. Test them along I-81 thru VI, PA & NY. Hills out west. Headwinds and crosswinds. Then see what they claim.
- I got 2mpg going up Jellico last year . ouch
- Volvo's European HQ is doing the same with a Cabover
Volvo fuel saving Concept( Cabover)
Mercedes is doing the same, do not know if their division Freightliner has a development?
Mercedes fuel saving truck ACZL wrote:
Personally, I think the mpg results by a semi mfr are flawed as all the tests seem to be done on flat roads. Test them along I-81 thru VI, PA & NY. Hills out west. Headwinds and crosswinds. Then see what they claim.
I agree, they are always going to optimize the test results. But, it's still better to get 13 MPG on a level road rather than 7 or 8.
I'm still waiting for a 30 MPG Suburban or Expedition. :)- I also have to wonder how the fairings covering the rear wheels will handle a blowout. Still, if they can come even close to these numbers in real world use, that will be a huge benefit for the trucking industry and drivers.
- Darn, I had a 2006 jeep wrangler, I would have loved to have gotten 13 mpg...was lucky to break double figures, ouch. More efficient to go grocery shopping in the rv!
p220sigman wrote:
I also have to wonder how the fairings covering the rear wheels will handle a blowout. Still, if they can come even close to these numbers in real world use, that will be a huge benefit for the trucking industry and drivers.
X2 - - I have my share of blow outs on big rigs, they take no prisoners ... I can assume that these trucks will REQUIRE the usage of virgin tires, NO CAPS..
Can't imagine the expense to repair or replace those wheel fairings ?p220sigman wrote:
I also have to wonder how the fairings covering the rear wheels will handle a blowout. Still, if they can come even close to these numbers in real world use, that will be a huge benefit for the trucking industry and drivers.
They will probably get shredded. But, that is probably the trade-off you have to accept for reduced fuel consumption.
I've seen Air Tabs advertised for years. The demonstration videos are pretty convincing and the science behind them seems solid. I'm surprised this SuperTruck project didn't try to incorporate something like the Air Tabs in the design to further increase efficiency.
KJ
