on 4/25/2008 8:13 PM Paul said the following:
> willshak wrote:
>> The beginning of this month I bought a soft tonneau cover for my 97
>> Nissan PU, 2.4 l, 4 cyl FI, 62,500 miles. He's a good old boy and
>> looks almost as good as when he was new. I buy him a present every
>> once in a while. Last time it was a cat-back dual exhaust, and the
>> time before that, a keyless entry system.
>> When I installed the cover, I had about 3/4ths of a tank of gas left.
>> Since driving it with the cover on, it seemed that my trip odometer
>> was getting a higher reading compared to my gas gauge than before. I
>> usually traveled 50 miles between the 1/4 markings on the gas gauge,
>> winding up with about 190 miles with about an 1/8th tank of gas left
>> when I refill it. I got to 212 miles with about an 1/8th tank left.
>> When I filled the tank yesterday and made the MPG calculations from
>> my last fill up, it seems that I was getting 18.34 MPG. I rarely put
>> more than 11-12 gallons in the 15-7/8 gallon tank. This time, it was
>> 11.595 gallons.
>> Before the cover was installed, I was averaging around 16.5 MPG. The
>> last time I filled up before the cover, I got 16.62 MPG. I haven't
>> changed my driving habits despite the rising gas prices, or made any
>> long trips, so it may be aerodynamics.
>> The next time I fill up, the MPG will be calculated with having the
>> cover on for the entire period between fill ups, so we'll see what
>> develops.
>> Watch the mpg drop and burst my balloon! :-)
>
> Some mpg savings is to be expected.
> You have eliminated the rolling low pressure drag zone in the bed and
> created a boundary layer.
> The worst thing you can do is drive with the tailgate down, or off, or
> with one of those air gate things.
> However, to accurately determine the mpg, you will have to fill up the
> tank.
> "About" 1/8 tank is not good enough. Your gas gauge is not linear,
> either.
>
I 'fill up' when the gauge gets 'down' to about 1/8th of a tank, not
just put 1/8ths of gas in the tank.
--
Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
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