115 replies to this topic

[Martinracing98]

You stop between St. Louis and Blackhawk? There’s your problem, get a biigger vehicle with dual tanks!

Fewer stops is good but I’d guess we could rarely if ever save a stop by slowing down a few MPH, a lot of people need the occasional stop to stretch and such anyway. Worth giving some thought while planning a given trip though. On the other hand, sometimes it seems that between regular traffic, tolls and endless construction on the highways in this part of the country there isn’t much full-speed cruising to begin with.

It is worse than that. The reduced speed changes the stop from 2 to 1. A couple of years ago I switched from diesel to gas for reasons not worth discussing. I bring a 30 toyhauler because it works better for family with limited mobility. I bring a golf cart for same reason. So 11,000 lb trailer, 1000 lb golf cart, GMC 3500 with flat bed(heavy),  8.1 liter gas, and 4wd results in about 6.75 mpg when behaving and 6 when not. At 30 gallon tank I do not go far between stops. 

 

On the other hand it sits in garage when not pulling the trailer. Even at $120 in extra gas per race for about 4 times a year the like new truck with 83k miles for about $8k still worked out as the better deal than similar diesel trucks. And it had higher tow rating to boot.  

[Alberto]

On the other hand it sits in garage when not pulling the trailer. Even at $120 in extra gas per race for about 4 times a year the like new truck with 83k miles for about $8k still worked out as the better deal than similar diesel trucks. And it had higher tow rating to boot.  

 

Probably pollutes less than a diesel as well.  I love me some clean, fresh air.

[Steve Scheifler]

Probably pollutes less than a diesel as well. I love me some clean, fresh air.

That depends very much on what flavor of pollutants worry you the most, those directly harmful to people and contributing to bad air days and which among them are most toxic, or those blamed for climate change. Not unlike aerosol propellants and refrigerants, pick your poison but don’t expect an easy answer.

[Ron Alan]

Probably pollutes less than a diesel as well.  I love me some clean, fresh air.

Any idea what the new diesel emissions involve?? Because of this I will be buried in my 7.3! Until then I promise I will keep it off #6 on the dial just for you!

[Alberto]

Steve, correct of course.

Ron, I don't miss the two 7.3 powered tow vehicles I had.  They were great 8 years ago when I started racing.  Nowadays, gas motors producing ~400 lb/ft of torque coupled with a 6 speed auto offer similar towing feel without the stink and MPG is close enough.  For my needs, that is more than sufficient.

The stench of the diesel really got to me after a while.

YMMV

[ECOBRAP]

Second towing video is up now, 360 miles round trip to Thunderhill with a nasty headwind...

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=AB6lvpqMzRQ

[ECOBRAP]

Our race weekend recap is now UP! Round 2 was a tough one, our new motor ran great, but we had cooling and electrical issues in all three races, yikes! That being said, we did still manage to get some great onboard footage of Race 1 and 2. Link below! NASA NorCal G-LOC Brakes

 

[ECOBRAP]

New episode out! Thanks to all three races being in the rain, we got some great footage on this one and took a stab at going from last to first. Using less than 10 gallons for the race weekend!

 

Now that the car is working, we will try and get dyno and emissions testing with/without the cat.

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=9wmSKSol_zA

[ECOBRAP]

Hey everyone, new towing video is up! Towing 4,000lbs, in the rain, through San Francisco again (to avoid that $25-30 toll LOL). Enjoy and let me know what you all think. Curious to get the EPA approved emissions update soon, and see how much it affects the numbers...

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=9pYoMyl6r0w

[Alberto]

Curious to get the EPA approved emissions update soon, and see how much it affects the numbers...

 

 

Looking forward to that

[gerglmuff2]

based on this thread, i kept my speed at ~65mph last weekend while towing and picked up 1.5 mpg. 

good stuff. 

[William Keeling]

based on this thread, i kept my speed at ~65mph last weekend while towing and picked up 1.5 mpg. 

good stuff. 

i do that in the races

[ECOBRAP]

based on this thread, i kept my speed at ~65mph last weekend while towing and picked up 1.5 mpg. 

good stuff. 

 

Great work! From what MPG to what MPG?

[ECOBRAP]

Yes we actually qualified for this event, had an amazing battle for the lead. 50+ cars, great opportunity to prove competitive lifespan of Toyo RR compound, don't need to buy more than 2-3 sets per year. Full weekend recap video coming later with details 

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=PRoq1Lzzs84

[ECOBRAP]

Full weekend recap is up. This episode focused on tires, as we are still using the same set that we started 2019 with! Qualified well, raced well, won our first race of the year, and set fastest lap of the race on 10 heat cycle tires.

 

This right here is why I refuse to run anything but the Toyo RR. In my opinion, a spec class doesn't need the fastest tire available, just one that works well, lasts a long time (from a wear and competition perspective). There is a very good chance that we will only use two sets for the entire year! Less waste, and less $.

 

Hope that other tire manufacturers follow suit, and stop giving us 1-2 hit wonders.

 

Enjoy the episode!

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=f8B3EQnVtvY

[ECOBRAP]

New towing MPG record, with our first trip since the truck has had the RAM/FCA emissions recall.

 

23.5 MPG hand calculated, towing 4000lbs (trailer+car) with at least 3-400lbs of tools/cargo.

 

Video below!

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=ZWPv0GYFuhQ