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Very long drive today into wind

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by jkash, Feb 20, 2005.

  1. jkash

    jkash Member

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    My wife and I took a very long drive today from LA to Capitola and back. The drive there was great. I averaged close to 52 mpg. On the way home, the wind was blowing pretty hard right at us for all of the 350 or so miles. My mileage dropped to 44 mpg. I had heard that wind could really make a difference, but had never seen it myself before. We took the same drive a few months ago and I got 48 on the way there and 52 on the way back with very little wind.

    The car performed wonderfully, and the navigation really helps us be less stressed out on long drives. My new display worked fine with no problems.

    Nice to see PriusChat back up and running, and I'll add my two cents for the speed of last nights version over the style of tonight.
     
    #1 jkash, Feb 20, 2005
  2. Kyle Pehrson

    Kyle Pehrson Member

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    Wow This is the most Aerodynamic car on the market with a Cd of 0.26
    Can only imagine how much all of the other cars and Trucks gas mileage dropped.
     
    #2 Kyle Pehrson, Feb 21, 2005
  3. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    Unfortunately, you are not a Lexus Master Technician. :)
    The Lexus LS430 achieves 0.25 Cd with air suspension version.

    Regards,
    Ken@Japan
     
    #3 ken1784, Feb 21, 2005
  4. jamarimutt

    jamarimutt New Member

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    Two or three other cars, including a small Audi not sold in the US, have a 0.25 CD.
     
    #4 jamarimutt, Feb 21, 2005
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Insight is another
     
    #5 Tideland Prius, Feb 21, 2005
  6. Kyle Pehrson

    Kyle Pehrson Member

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    I was sure I was going to be corrected on that one. Thanks for the correction Good to know someone is reading my post.
    Thanks for all the support
     
    #6 Kyle Pehrson, Feb 22, 2005
  7. Hatfield

    Hatfield New Member

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    As I recall, Cd is not the full story. I think you have to multiply Cd (coefficient of drag) with frontal area to get the true wind resistance. So, even though the Prius has a low Cd, it does have a large frontal area.

    This is what I recall from reading R&T religiously when I was a kid. I'll have to Google around and see if I can find a decent reference on this.
     
    #7 Hatfield, Feb 25, 2005
  8. KMO

    KMO Senior Member

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    That's exactly right. But the Prius's frontal area isn't that large - I did some calculations, and according to a Cd x area calculation, the Prius has the lowest absolute drag of any car I've owned, even the smaller ones.
     
    #8 KMO, Feb 25, 2005
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