Tractor trailers and fuel efficeny.

[Boz Mon]

I have always wondered how semi trucks get any kind of acceptable fuel mileage in town. It seems to me that they would have to redline every gear just in order not to piss off every other motorist on the road. Also, what about merging onto a highway? Can anyone explain this?

 

[CDailey]

I'm sure the diesel engines and the normal 10+ gear transmissions make up for the loss.

 

[Jim Prower]

They carry massive amounts of fuel. Tractor-Trailers don't spend that much time in towns anyway, as they're usually found on the interstate in cruising gear. The emphasis lately, though, in the truck engine industry, has been power and emissions. Caterpillar's gone to sequential twin turbos (think Supra or 959) on their 6-cyl highway engines. I was at their Mapleton, IL factory last night, so I know.

They accellerate rather well, (Cat's coming out with a 600hp engine with GOBS of torque, and they make sizes up to 18L. Not 1.8L, 18L.) as long as the driver knows his gears. Highway on-ramps are made for trucks to accellerate well, too, and you often find guys on the plains doing 70, 80 mph. Hell, even in Missouri's Ozarks.

 

[IMADreamer]

They carry massive amounts of fuel. Tractor-Trailers don't spend that much time in towns anyway, as they're usually found on the interstate in cruising gear. The emphasis lately, though, in the truck engine industry, has been power and emissions. Cat's gone to sequential twin turbos (think Supra or 959) on their 6-cyl highway engines. I was at their Mapleton, IL factory last night, so I know.

They accellerate rather well, (Cat's coming out with a 600hp engine with GOBS of torque, and they make sizes up to 18L. Not 1.8L, 18L.) as long as the driver knows his gears. Highway on-ramps are made for trucks to accellerate well, too, and you often find guys on the plains doing 70, 80 mph. Hell, even in Missouri's Ozarks.

Hell hop on I72 near Springfield sometime, they do about 75-80mph there all the time.

As you said they are putting enormous motors in these things and some of the trucks have 18 speed+ trannys. A good truck driver can get up to the speed limit rather quickly.

 

[Jim Prower]

Hell hop on I72 near Springfield sometime, they do about 75-80mph there all the time.

As you said they are putting enormous motors in these things and some of the trucks have 18 speed+ trannys. A good truck driver can get up to the speed limit rather quickly.

And on I74 and I55 and I39 and US 24....

You're near Springfield? I'm In Washington, near Peoria.

 

[neanderthal]

i rememebr being on I10 coming from phoenix going back to LA and doing 90 behind a semi. that fool was rolling.

 

[KurtisGSXR]

My neighbour works for scania, their Huuuge V8 turbodiesel which pumps out about 550bhp or so gets 16mpg on a cruise pulling 40+ tons.

Not bad really.

 

[Deathclown66]

My neighbour works for scania, their Huuuge V8 turbodiesel which pumps out about 550bhp or so gets 16mpg on a cruise pulling 40+ tons.

Not bad really.

Oddly, the trucks from the warehouse I work at only see about 6 mpg....
and most common big rigs have a gvw (maximum weight) of 40 tons, which includes the rig, trailor, and load - combined, so you certainly have found one amazing neighbour, with an amazing truck.