Date:         Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:23:49 -0700
Reply-To:     Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Drafting (was Re: Engine to auto-tranny match and the Indy 500
In-Reply-To:  <18955342.17640.1251319408160.JavaMail.mcneely4@127.0.0.1>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

How many list members live close to long 6% grades?

My experience includes the Cajon grade (I-215 out of San Bernardino to
Victorville), the Castaic grade (I-5) from the San Fernando valley, the
Sherman Grade (Hwy 395 between Bishop and Mammoth), all in California and
all driven in 90F to 100F weather. Those grades cannot be climbed in a
Vanagon without stopping to cool off, and there are limited or no places
to pull over cool off, and even if there was, the traffic going uphill is
usually going so fast and is so dense that pulling back out onto the
highway is risky biz. So I do pull behind a semi, about 100 feet back, and
drive at his speed. The temp gauge settles back down to normal and driving
becomes a lot less complicated.

That's what I do, I am not endorsing this behavior nor recommending it to
anyone. The last thing I need right now is to receive a phone call from
some newly-widowed woman's lawyer.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
Bend, OR
KG6RCR



On 8/26/2009 1:43 PM Dave Mcneely wrote:

> Well, I suspect (but don't know, nor without some investigation would I
> be able to calculate) that at 45 mph (the speed referenced), there would
> be little to gain by drafting, and little lost in the way of cooling
> efficiency.  If one is on a hill steep enough and long enough to require
> dropping the speed to 45 mph (I've had to go lower on occasion), the
> stock vanagon is likely to get hot, anyway, with or without a semi
> running interference.  How many list members are able to climb a 6%
> grade for several miles without resting to cool off?
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 3:17 PM , Marc Perdue 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
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 3:50 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
>>> On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 1:59 PM , Greg Potts wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Marc,
>>>>
>>>> The benefit of "drafting" is the reduction in relative wind speed
>>>> lessens the load on the engine.
>>>>
>>> Surely the poster who said he just settled in behind a semi on hills
>>> wasn't talking about the practice of "drafting" (following very closely
>>> behind another vehicle so as to avoid air resistance). Â Of course,
>>> because the vehicle ahead might make unexpected maneuvers, this is
>>> extremely dangerous. Â I think the poster simply meant that he follows
>>> behind the semi at whatever the semi is running and at a prudent
>>> distance.
>>>
>