2006-09-15 10:59:30 · 20 answers · asked by soadfan01 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Commuting
You know I always thought it did but my friend said that they did a special on mythbusters and they said that it doesn't. so I have to believe telivision. After all it did bring us reality.
2006-09-15 11:01:51 · answer #1 · answered by maverick 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No leave the tailgate up or on. The area directly behind the cab experiences lower air pressure and this can be considered a vacuum. That vacuum actually pulls on the truck making it work harder to move forward. With the tailgate down, this "vacuum" area is larger than when it's up. Consequently, your truck works harder and uses more gas. With the tailgate up, the area behind the cab develops a rolling vortex of air that sort of forms a pillow of air. As new air comes over the cab it gets deflected over the tailgate and out the back by this rotating pillow of air. Now the tailgate itself will have a vacuum behind it also but to a much lesser extent.
So, bottom line is, keep the tailgate up.
And yes, The Mythbusters proved it !!!
2006-09-15 11:13:37 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Surprise... driving your pick up with the tailgate up actually provide better gas mileage that if your tailgate is down. The air trapped inside the empty compartment actually produce a cushion like environment so that additional air flow will just slide off and produce less Drag than with the tailgate down.
2006-09-15 11:07:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
saw this on mythbusters.....they actually did a study with brand new same trucks and same conditions. tailgate up got better gas mileage..... it creates an air pocket and helps the air move the moving air over the truck instead of it dragging over the tailgate
2006-09-15 11:09:46 · answer #4 · answered by jcbulldozer 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not very much at all...The area behind the rear window is a lower air pressure so the difference will be so miniscule that you'd notice the difference better if you just took the tailgate off...
2006-09-15 11:03:39 · answer #5 · answered by Chris_Knows 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You bet!!! The tailgate is creating like a wind hold back Use your pickup, with the tailgate down!!!
2006-09-15 11:26:27 · answer #6 · answered by alfonso 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually it is worse down. When up the air forms a bubble in the back which helps air to pass over. Hard to explain, but a physics professor at Yale worked it out for the Ford Co. All the graph etc are online, sorry I never bookmarked it.
2006-09-15 11:05:42 · answer #7 · answered by utahraptor88 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to leave your tailgate up. The edges of the bed will crack unless you install bed stiffeners.
For better mileage install a tonneau cover or a light weight aluminum shell.
M
2006-09-15 13:28:13 · answer #8 · answered by MIKEWAAK 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard about the thing on mythbusters--the trucks are designed to have their tailgates up, so if you put it down, you're actually making mpg worse.
2006-09-15 16:41:36 · answer #9 · answered by Dwight D J 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could imagine the wind resistance would be less, but that is not the case. The displacement of air by the body of the truck is not replaced fast enough to make any difference.
2006-09-15 11:05:48 · answer #10 · answered by brucenjacobs 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I read an article about this......the conclusion was NOPE..it doesn't save on gas.... I also heard that nitrogen in your tires would save 1 to 1 1/2 miles per gallon...airlines and Indy race cars use it..I don't know of any pr oven results... ( hic )
2006-09-15 11:19:30 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋