Can you improve MPG by waxing the truck?

I have seen many cars that looked like that after a severe hail storm!

 

MPG? Not so sure.


BMI?? You betcha!!

 

when i was growing up my best friends dad had a cessna cheroke 6 6 pass single engine air plane that he would pay us a couple of times a year to wax it and right after a waxin it would gain 20 knots in speed

 

This buddy of mine actually does work for a PRIVATE company and they're not getting ANY government money, hence the secrecy. He can't really tell me anything. The company is doing the research and then plans to market the product to auto, and hopefully, truck manufacturers.

The problem with this is that it's slower. The company, however, refuses to take government money because they want all of the profits if they can get it marketed. Government money always comes with strings attached if money (especially significant amounts of it) is to be made later.

He really does claim this is going to be something we see in the future because it's relatively simple. No new technology, just simple aerodynamics without radical changes to body styies. The biggest thing is styling and serviceability of the vehicle it's going on.

Of course, right now, their focus is on economy cars. What would work on them, though, will ultimately work on trucks.

 

I seriously doubt that. I think you were getting your leg pulled. First off, there's no such thing as a Cherokee 6 from Cessna. Piper makes the Cherokee.

Cherokees are great airplanes, but not particularly known for their lightning speed. 20 knots? Do you know how much money you can spend on aftermarket fairings to get five to ten extra knots out of a Cherokee? A lot. In the thousands. I don't know of ANY plane, not even the high priced composite race planes that would gain 20 knots from a simple wax job. 20 knots is HUGE in single engine, propeller driven airplanes.

How do I know how a wax job affects a Cherokee? I used to own a Cherokee before I got into homebuilt planes. And the difference between keeping the plane waxed and letting it go? A couple of knots at best. The biggest advantage was that it helped to keep the bugs "sliding off" the leading edges of the wings, tail surfaces, and fuselage so that it didn't screw up the paint. Oh, and it looked better, too.

Now, my brother claims he gets amazing results from keeping his bass boat waxed and the bottom treated with Pledge. I'd come closer to believing that, as water is responsible for more friction on a boat than air is on the wing of a plane.

 

And the fish will bite MUCH better if they know they will land in a well cared for and good looking boat!

 

I doubt it will make the truck any slicker to air flow but I do know that if you as a driver, feel better, about what you drive and the interior smells good and you are proud of it you will care about it and drive it with more care, and gently. In that way it makes a big difference. Just a thought!

 

simple no it wont improve mpg.

 

It will improve mpg, however the gain will so small that it will not be noticable.

 

Just install thin aluminum or fibre glass panels to cover all of those ribs under the trailer and I'm sure you will gain at least 1mpg if not more.