Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek
The thing here is that: If you have to be this precise on the experiments to measure an affect beyond "noise" there must not be that much of an affect at all.
In our experience the mpg difference between bringing a toad along or not gets lost in the "noise". I would suspect that the airtabs would have a smaller affect than an extra two tons or not.
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Great point.
When aerodynamic improvements are significant, well above data collection noise, they are quickly accepted indisputably. One example that comes to mind is drafting of one vehicle behind another. We see it in car racing, but can also feel the difference when riding a bike in a pace line, where aero drag can be reduced by 30%. When pedaling at 70% versus 100%, the perceived difference is unquestionable. I’ve never met a single bike rider that is skeptical about benefits of drafting.
Regarding air tabs, I suggest that a simple test can be set up to measure their effect. If the drag difference is even as high as 10%, it should be measurable by instantaneous fuel consumption.