A friend had a long trip Normandy Paris & slipstreamed on the way back and claimed he saved half a tank of fuel.

On my way home I played around...I have the 4.4 sdv8 ,


On the instantaneous MPG I achieved 60mpg + @ 60mph

In a bit of a hurry so tried again in the U.K. in a controlled 50mph , after two false starts following a polish lorry that wouldn’t stick to the speed limit controlled by average speed cams, & another very erratic driver, I tried again ,

I was getting 40 mpg(?????) with no slipstreams and 58 mpg for sure whilst slipping over about 5 miles

I used the cruise control with the distance set on one bar which is about two seconds.

It’s a question of picking a lorry that’s rattling along steadily, preferably also on cruise....

My normal mpg is around 30 mpg when I hammer along at the French speed limit of 80mph ‘ish

If I can halve my fuel consumption on a long French trip , I might just go for it....or I might just get bored after a while


Anyone else going to play and report findings ??  Filters are in fact so good that in certain circumstances, when the ambient air is already polluted, a diesel car will tend to extract more particles from the air than it emits. Emissions Analytics worked with........etc etc

He who dies with the most toys wins...

I don't much fancy being two seconds behind a lorry on the motorway as I stuff my pride and joy up it's chuff. You drive a TDV8 so fuel couldn't have been a priority when you bought it. the cost and enjoy it.

Two seconds is the recommended safety gap.. and the distance used by Range Rover autopilot... with a foot covering the brake as well, it’s fine.

Not so much the cost as the staggering difference... Filters are in fact so good that in certain circumstances, when the ambient air is already polluted, a diesel car will tend to extract more particles from the air than it emits. Emissions Analytics worked with........etc etc

He who dies with the most toys wins...

When I was younger and used to take our camper van to the South of France regularly, on the way back up the motorway I used to tuck in behind a bus for considerable distances. I don't know about fuel consumption but I do remember being able to maintain good speeds with my foot almost off the accelerator, far more so than I could on my own particularly when there was a significant headwind. Don't know if I would do it now with the amount of traffic these days.

Bill wrote:

. with a foot covering the brake as well, it’s fine.

You're a braver man than me - I can live with 2 seconds & visibility, but I never like sitting directly behind lorries

It does seem like a material difference in economy though

Afraid I wouldn't be able to do it I like to tramp on and it would just be too slow

I often slipstream when towing the tin tent. I find you don't have to be that close for it to be of benefit.

It does make a massive difference! 405 AB exec seats Baltic and Cirrus
93 RR Classic efi

Remember it's easier to get forgiveness than permission!

Gone in order:
4.4 TDV8 SE - gone to a good home
93 Classic hard dash Plymouth Blue
03 L322 Oslo Blue
2000 Disco TD5 ES Epsom Green
98 P38 Rioja Red
89 Classic Cairngorm Brown

Otherwise called 'tailgating'.

Sounds pretty dangerous to me !!!!!!

Bill wrote:

Two seconds is the recommended safety gap.. and the distance used by Range Rover autopilot... with a foot covering the brake as well, it’s fine.

Not so much the cost as the staggering difference...

It’s not slamming into the truck in front that worries me, it’s the truck behind slamming into the back of me that scares the bejeezers out of me, seen too many “scrap heaps” that have resulted from a truck sandwich  David

Please let me know if my comments upset you, I may wish to upset you again.

Slipstreaming and tailgaiting are two different things .

One is a good idea if you are not in a rush to get somewhere in life and the other is a good idea if you are in a rush to get somewhere not in life... I thank you

On paper it sounds like a good saving. What you also need to take into account is that you’ll be travelling at 40mph. You said yourself that you usually do 80, so it’s gonna take loads longer to get there.

I also know that lorries throw up all kinds of stuff off the road like stones, I wouldn’t wanna be behind them in mine.

So if I slipstream in my 5.0L petrol I might get over 20 to the gallon  Geoff

Gyre8 wrote:

Otherwise called 'tailgating'.

I try never to follow anyone for any distances as i like the look of my paintwork and the glass...