As promised here is an update on my project 70+/10
For those of you not familiar with this project the goal I am trying to obtain is 10 MPG at speeds up to or higher where safe and legal of 70+ MPH. The top speed has been limited to 75 MPH due to the speed rating for my tires.
The spec’s for my Aero X Cascadia can be found right here on the Team Run Smart Web page www.teamrunsmart.com/articles?a=121
So far I found the superior aerodynamics of my Cascadia AeroX combined with the advanced integrated driveline from Detroit/fully aerodynamic trailer has greatly mitigated my loss of fuel mileage cruising at these higher posted speed limits.
An interesting aspect which has come out of the 70+/10 endeavor is how critical it is to have everything working in conjunction with another to try and obtain great fuel mileage at higher speeds. The only major change that has been made to my truck or trailer has been the addition of full-length trailer side skirts covering the trailer axles. This particular project in my quest for superior aerodynamics initially turned out to be a detractor. I was very disappointed with my first run as I recorded my very worst fill up at 8.2 MPG. By making some simple adjustments to the rear mounting of these 17’ long skirts seemed to move things in the right direction. This is an area I am still working on along with the people at Fleet Engineers and shows great promise.
My previous lifetime fuel mileage before starting on my 70+/10 of this truck came in at 10.058. From the start of this project to date my average fuel consumption rate has been 9.606 for a drop of .452 MPG. This does not seem like too much of a fuel mileage drop considering how much time has been saved due to cruising at these higher rates of ground travel. On my normal route from Laredo to Charlotte and back I have been able to shorten the trip by up to 14 hours. The reason for that much of a decrease in the amount of time to travel between Charlotte and Laredo is due to the elimination of an entire ten-hour rest period. While cruising at lower speeds it normally takes two and a quarter days of driving time which is where the additional ten-hour rest period comes into play. I will say there is not much wiggle room left in the HOS to get this trip done in two days as I typically only have an hour to an hour and a half of driving time left.
II am by no means done with this project yet and I will continue to explore and uncover anything that will aid me in reaching my goal of double-digit fuel economy at a higher than then my normal rate of speed. It still amazes me that in the year of 2018 that I am able to average better than 9 mpg while cruising at speeds in excess of 70 MPH as it was not too long ago that these fuel mileage performance numbers were not possible at any speed. I will keep you posted to the findings of this project as it unfolds. Till then wish me luck as I progress forward with this project.