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TEST RESULTS
Page 40
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On seeing both the Dawsonrental trailers at MIRA for the first time, our initial reaction was one of concern, because the FuelSave trailer stood 4.37m high when coupled up against the standard trailer's 4.2m. Since the fuel deflector on our Actros 2544 MegaSpace tractor was also on its full extension, this seemed something of an oversight, not least since it is accepted that the height of a trailer can have a significant effect on fuel efficiency.
However, after a series of 64km/h/80km/h and 85km/h laps around the MIRA track, the FuelSave trailer showed a 3.54% mpg improvement, based on tank-to-tank measurements (2.39% reduction in actual gallons used). What makes this figure interesting is that it was not only achieved against a slightly lower standard height trailer, but also that it sits closely to MIRAS own CFD (computerbased) prediction of a 3.3% saving for such a non-like-for-like comparison test. For the record, had both trailers been 4.37m high (the standard trailer was the same height as the FuelSave), the MIRA CFD prediction is for a 5.4% gain. Although time constraints meant we were unable to repeat the exercise with the same height trailers to validate that prediction, we remain impressed by the FuelSave's mpg performance against a lower height product.