[GreenMonster]

Hi all. I just got my Volt and am doing all I can to maximize the MPGe. Very fun game to play.
I've found drafting behind a big rig gained me 5 to 7 mpge. I find the larger boxier trucks give best draft. Anyone else out there hot shot drafters who can you give a newbie some advice and techniques ?

 

[kns]

Hi all. I just got my Volt and am doing all I can to maximize the MPGe. Very fun game to play.
I've found drafting behind a big rig gained me 5 to 7 mpge. I find the larger boxier trucks give best draft. Anyone else out there hot shot drafters who can you give a newbie some advice and techniques ?

Truckers love that. Hope you wear your seatbelt and your air bag system works.

KNS

 

[GreenMonster]

I'm able to get so close behind that I'm not visible in their mirrors so I don't even think they know I'm behind them. I'm like a shadow when they change lanes I can just flow right with them.

 

[RePo]

My uncle was a trucker. He said he would see a side mirror peek out so he'd roll down his window and brake late for slower traffic just to hear the braking tire squeal of the car trying to stop with a .25 second following distance. Those were the days before ABS brakes now that remove some of the excitement.

 

[SSonnentag]

I have found that I can get the same effective mileage drafting along with the speeding CA traffic than I get when going the speed limit, slower than everyone else.

 

[Just_Jon]

I'm able to get so close behind that I'm not visible in their mirrors so I don't even think they know I'm behind them. I'm like a shadow when they change lanes I can just flow right with them.

Kind of a cross between Ricky Bobby and a ninja.

 

[Dutch]

I've found over time that just being behind a Rig will improve my mileage somewhat. I'm not talking about being close enough to call it "drafting" which is dangerous, but sitting just far enough back to be outside the buffeting that is behind the rig. It usually gains me 2-3 miles EV which is enough to get me home on pure electric.

It doesn't work at all behind the trucks with the fins though. I guess that is a testament to the effectiveness of new aerodynamics on the rigs out there.

 

[emartin00]

Drafting is fine, but being so close that you think they can't see you is both unsafe and rude. Drivers like to know what's behind them. Even being a safe distance, you still get some benefit.

 

[Fyodor]

I'm able to get so close behind that I'm not visible in their mirrors so I don't even think they know I'm behind them. I'm like a shadow when they change lanes I can just flow right with them.

Whether they can see you or not, it's still not a smart thing to do. The truck driver can probably feel the effect on his trailer and has to make constant steering corrections.

When I was 17 I drove a 42 hp car long distances on two lane roads and used the draft to pick up speed and pass, NASCAR style, but I never would sit back there. That's one way I managed to get as old as I am.

 

[srmarti]

I'm able to get so close behind that I'm not visible in their mirrors so I don't even think they know I'm behind them. I'm like a shadow when they change lanes I can just flow right with them.

Even better, if the trucker jams on the brakes and you don't react fast enough. Or maybe it throws a tire tread or rock. Many drivers have radios and can tell each other if an a-hole is tailgating them. But heck, if you think it's worth the risk...


The MythBusters show did an episode on drafting. Yea it works, but...

 

[Joe67]

Hi all. I just got my Volt and am doing all I can to maximize the MPGe. Very fun game to play.
I've found drafting behind a big rig gained me 5 to 7 mpge. I find the larger boxier trucks give best draft. Anyone else out there hot shot drafters who can you give a newbie some advice and techniques ?

I call BS. Either you were travelling WAY too close to the trucks or your calculations are way off.

This has been proven to be much more dangerous than it is worth.

 

[Norton]

... Very fun game to play.
I've found drafting behind a big rig gained me ... I find the larger boxier trucks give best draft. ....

.... Or maybe it throws a tire tread or rock....

Ricky Bobby,
You are already driving one of the least expensive cars to fuel.
Have you ever seen one of those big truck tires let go? I saw and heard one explode about a 200' in front of me on the interstate. Big black parts flying everywhere, cars dodging those parts everywhere.....

I find,,,, if you have to pinch it that hard to afford driving a Volt, maybe you should have stayed in the old pickup.
You'd save more drafting in that heap anyway!!!

 

[bro1999]

Hi all. I just got my Volt and am doing all I can to maximize the MPGe. Very fun game to play.
I've found drafting behind a big rig gained me 5 to 7 mpge. I find the larger boxier trucks give best draft. Anyone else out there hot shot drafters who can you give a newbie some advice and techniques ?

You have nothing on this guy:

 

[GreenMonster]

I appreciate the concerns about safety here but actually I feel him more safe when I'm drafting. That is due to me being ultra attentive to the truck in front of me. I am laser focused on the brake lights in front of me and I have the cruise control set at the trucks speed so I can have my foot resting over the brake pedal. Kind of like a preying mantis ready to
strike! I think it really makes me safer to have to pay that much attention.
BTW, Who is Ricky Bobby ?

 

[bro1999]

I'm starting to question whether GreenMonster is for real, or is just some troll.

 

[ClarksonCote]

I call BS. Either you were travelling WAY too close to the trucks or your calculations are way off.

This has been proven to be much more dangerous than it is worth.

Nah, 5-7mpge is definitely doable. A friend of mine used to follow trucks (but far enough back that he wasn't tailgating and they could see him) and he would easily get a 5-10mpg boost in his Hyundai Elantra.

 

[Henry_FL]

I'm starting to question whether GreenMonster is for real, or is just some troll.

I figure troll on the first posting, and it worked

 

[16513]

You are way overthinking the mileage thing. Relax, enjoy the ride and reduce your normal cruising speed 5 mph for an equivalent result. Your windshield will appreciate it, too.

 

[Loboc]

I tried this with my first new car. Young and stupid as they say.

After the trucker hit the brakes (not hard, just to let me know), I swerved and took out 50' of fence, two bushes, and wiped my front bumper clean off the car as I slid on the snow sideways into a tree. Did $3k damage to a $6k new car. (Cars were cheaper in 1976).

Since I actually survived, I don't do that any more.

 

[Fyodor]

I figure troll on the first posting, and it worked

I figured just stupid on the first posting, then he made troll status by doubling down.