I just got the new overdrive Mag in the mail! In there on page 5 they are talking about the new road in TX, They say if you do 10MPH under the speed limit you get 1 MPG better! Is that true?
It has been a commonly used ratio that for every MPH slower you go you will save 0.1 MPG when travelling at highway speeds. The challenge is that your fuel economy is always very dependant on what you haul and how and where you drive. It is a good place to start though.
Yes why most trks only do 62-65 saves fuel compared to 70-75. But depends how u drive shift low rpms don't keep foot into it
a full 1/10 of a gallon for every mile slower, eh? i've driven a w900 and a t600. in utah the w900 gets 5.7 with open throttle. in cali it gets 5.6 the t600 gets 5.3 in both states. and is goverened at 65. flatbed loads always grossing close to 80k. that's 20 miles different in speed between the 2 states. but neither truck gets 2 miles better per gallon. the t600 is also more aerodynamic then the w900 but gets 1/4 mile worse per gallon. slower doesn't save fuel. but it defenitly causes loss in revenue. 55 vs. 75. that's equates to roughly 1000 miles LESS driven per week.
My prostar gets better MPG at 65 than at 60 for the way its geared. Just because you drive slower doesn't always mean you get better MPG. Ethan
And even if it does, it doesn't always equal more money. Got to figure MPG, to fuel price, then to MPH. Sometimes the more miles you get, and better pay for a load will get you more money, even though you are burning more fuel. You really need to break down what you can make in an hour at 55MPH 60, 65, 70 & 75 if you drive that fast. The figure MPG at those speeds as well and figure how much fuel you'll burn at each speed. You'd be surprised at how much more fuel you'd need to burn to lose money. Don't forget to add in fuel sur-charge.
That .01 better fuel mileage per mile slower is a very very rough generalization. In flatbed, the size, shape, and weight of load play far more importance than speed. A 10,000 lb load can pull like a drag chute. And 48,000 lb steel loads can be a little relatively aerodynamic hump on the trailer that pulls real nice. And driving 62 I have had several loads I just couldnt get there till a day later or after the weekend. If I could have driven the speed limit, I'd have got it there and got reloaded a day sooner. I know I have lost more in revenue driving slow than I ever gained in fuel mileage driving slow.
I am not a physicist or an engineer, but it seems to me that if speed was the main determining factor in mpg we would get better mileage in the city than on the highway and it is the other way around. Seems logical that it takes less fuel to maintain speed than to get to speed so I just try to get to my top speed and keep her there. That speed of course is determined by speed limits, road conditions, governor setting etc. bit I get there and try to stay there. Maybe I am wrong but it works for me... I get around 7mpg on average pulling a reefer with a T2000
I fill up everyday. Sometimes my little run only takes 67 gallon at the end of the day and sometimes it takes as much as 84. This last hurricane system created a lot of wind and that put a lot of extra fuel in my tank at the end of the day. Extra weight plays a big factor also. Small motors and slow trucks require a heavy foot. Bigger motors with a lighter foot actually do much better based on my personal experience. Giving your self a little help from a downhill grade just before an uphill grade instead of just leaving the cruise on helps also. This is also my opinion. Don't believe speed has much to do with it unless you spend all day on flat ground with a tail wind, even then I doubt it would make much difference because speed helps your millage in some situations
