Someone wrote that he'd watched the cylinder head temp on an AC van and saw a drop in temps when drafting. Extrapolating to a water-pumper Van, it should drop also. If indeed you are using 30% less power to maintain your speed while in the draft...Cooling should not be a problem..If you can grind up a very steep pass with a fully loaded van at 25mph without overheating, loafing along at 1/2 throttle in The Draft probably won't cause any overheating. I don't know this for sure because I rarely draft a semi...I prefer to pass them and not deal with all the buffeting I feel when I am in their draft...I used to follow one for miles when I drove a splitty bus...because that would take me to a higher speed than I could manage alone.. The 3-second rule? Following at a safe distance? You ever drive a freeway in So. Cal? Crap, those folks rip along at 85+ within a few feet of the car ahead..If you leave even close to one car length some one will try to squeeze into that hole ahead of you. All the while, talking or texting, putting on makeup, drinking a Latte, or driving a huge over loaded truck with 6 more lanes of traffic going the same speed...Makes drafting a semi out on the highways seem like a child's pre-nap relaxation game..If you dare drive at a mere 70mph...they give you "The Stink-Eye" as they speed past... Don Hanson On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 1:17 PM, Marc Perdue <mcperdue@gmail.com> wrote: > Given that drafting is dangerous, given that Mike S. probably wasn't > implying drafting, the question remains, does drafting affect the > cooling system significantly on a water-cooled vehicle? Additional > question, assuming you are not drafting but following at a safe > distance (3 second rule), would you be outside of the lower pressure > zone behind the truck in front of you? Just curious... > > Marc > > > |
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