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Originally Posted by NovaResource
Then you've been hanging around pussies, not hot rodders. Trailer queens aren't hot rods, they are nothing but automotive sculptures. Real Hot Rodders drive their cars and drive them hard because they enjoy the speed.
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I agree. Even people driving economy cars drive hard enough that drums aren't the best choice. It's quite common.
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The benefits of drums over discs for fuel economy is too minimal to even measure but the benefits of discs over drums for safety is immeasurable.
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What are the supposed benefits again? I find it hard to believe that the difference would be measurable. Anyway, the safety IS far more important. Then there's the cost of the conversion...it will never pay for itself.
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See, that's my problem with most hardcore hypermilers. You are willing to do things that are unsafe just to get slightly better mileage. Tailgating trucks, taking turns at too high of a speed, turning off your engine while cruising etc.
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Here on GasSavers.org, most of us advise against doing things that are illegal or that drivers find dangerous.
Most of us advise against tailgating trucks; not only is it dangerous (visibility, flying tire fragments, etc) and rude, but it's also ineffective. A safe 3 second following distance (far more than most other road users practice) has been found to be most effective for some people, though some report success as close as 1.5 seconds -- but any closer and FE goes down, not up. There's a link about drafting in my sig.
Taking turns at high speeds, well, I don't know how many other hypermilers do it, but I started doing that back when I took pride in being able to waste gas like no other. When talking about it, I try to express the importance of knowing your limits and leaving some wiggle room. The car's handling is NOT the only limit; much more important is visibility. If you can't see perfectly around the turn, you don't know what's there. These days, trying to save gas, I take my turns slower because I'm usually not trying to accelerate balls-to-the-wall through them.
Engine-off cruising is not as bad as it seems on first impression. I recommend against doing it anywhere that there's other traffic (vehicular, pedestrian, or wild animals), anywhere that it's illegal (and I started a thread to collect such laws, it's not as clear as you might think), or for anyone who is not comfortable with it. Steering works fine and brakes do not stop working just because the engine is off -- and in the time it takes to use up all your brake boost (2 heavy applications or 4-6 medium for my car), you can dump the clutch and have the engine running again (not to mention extra engine braking). Then there's discussions of the mechanical effects on the car, etc.
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Would you remove the airbags and seatbelts to make your car lighter in an effort to increased fuel economy?
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More people would remove airbags for hot rodding than would do so for hypermiling. They don't weigh much, and most cars don't get a FE benefit from the usual weight loss efforts (another link in my sig).
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I'm all for saving fuel but not at the cost of safety. Not just my safety but the safety of the other drivers on the road.
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That attitude is in line with most GasSavers.org users. Saving gas pales in comparison to saving lives.
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