Could I trouble you to show me where you got that wind tunnel test data from?

In my experiment I changed no variables, and I got a substantial increase in MPG.

As I mentioned earlier, I fly strike fighters, and our maintenence crew spends alot of time keeping our jets freshly painted, washed, and waxed. I'm pretty sure the Navy/Marines wouldn't spend alot of money on something that only kept the aircraft "looking good".

 

Until you go forced induction you never need any type of ignition other than stock. The pcm tune is a good idea however.

 

ive seen before and after dynos with a msd 6al gaining 5rwhp and creating a better spark than the stock unit. I think it would help some.

 

I'll get back to you on the sources. I know where they are, but it might take a little while to find the exact data. It is from people who have wind tunnel tested for Bonneville Salt Flat Land Speed Racing.

I read what you said about your flying. Thanks for being in the armed forces. But, at what speeds do you fly? Compare those speeds to the speeds that you have tested your car.

Maybe more importantly, How much do the planes you fly cost? Plus the cost of your life? If something isn't perfect and things go bad, what does it take to replace a strike fighter, train a new pilot, and pay off his family? If a lane is dirty, the it is more difficult to find problems with it. It is more of a pain to maintain.

We are talking complete different situations when comparing your car to your strike fighters.

 

The ignition might not be "necessary", but after I added the MSD 6A/Blaster coil, I gained a measured, consistent 2mpg gain in highway gas mileage.

 

OK, I found something to back me up. My source is the March 2007 issue of Hot Rod Magazine. The article is called WIND CAMP where the Editor-In-Cheif at the time, David Freiburger, took his "HRM Spl." 2nd Gen Camaro Land Speed Racer to do some wind tunnel testing at the A2 Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, NC.

Gary Eaker is quoted on page 115 saying "Sorry, waxing is worth 0.000 percent improvement." According to page 113 Eaker is "a former seniod proect engineer from GM's Advanced Aero Group and was laster the aerodynamicist for Kendrick Motorsports. He helped develp NASCAR roof flaps, Top Fuel body side deflectors, and the EV-1, with the lowest-ever production-car coefficient of drag (Cd) of 0.19."

Also from page 115, "Contrary to what you may read on your favorite message board, well-waxed, smooth-paint is no more aerodynamic than the worst spray-car, flat black priver job you can imagine."

But of course this all is limited to cars, not strike fighters that are capable of exceeding Mach 2.5.

 

Thanks for the article man. I'll rerun that particular test. I do my !weight test again with a dirty car and see if I get mileage in the ballpark of 31.5ish.

 

Interesting comment... what is bad about 2.73's with an M6? I've been thinking of doing an A4 to M6 conversion and I have 2.73's. What's wrong with that?

 

you'll probably get worse mileage

 

you will be down shifting from 6th to 5th alot i bet. 6th gear will have zero power and will prolly be just above idle at highway speeds.

 

Install a vacuum gauge (or watch MAP on a scanner). If you keep the vacuum at its highest (MAP low) at all times, you should get the best gas mileage. Vacuum is an indication of engine load. This would also tell you the effect of different speeds on engine load, helping you figure out the optimum speed for mileage.

 

thats a pretty smart idea.

so higher vacuum means better mileage? or what is it?

 

not really, until i get a set of gears i am stuck with 2.73's and it isn't bad at all. Not a lot of downshifting from 5th to 6th, if the car is below 75 = 5th if it is at or above 6th, not too difficult

 

I've wanted to do that for a while, but I can't find one I like! I had a neat gauge on my old v6 camaro. It was a vacuum gauge that had markings on it to show best mileage. From 15"-17" it had a band that said idle, from like 10"-15" was a green band that said best mileage, and so on, all the way to zero.

It was only $18, but I can't find one like it anywhere anymore. I can only find blank faced vac gauges, or vac/boost gauges.

 

Higher vacuum means less load. You will use less fuel when the load is low.