Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ames.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!hao!ames!eugene From: eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya) Newsgroups: net.rec.ski Subject: Re: ski tips, up or down? Message-ID: <860@ames.UUCP> Date: Sat, 9-Mar-85 17:44:36 EST Article-I.D.: ames.860 Posted: Sat Mar 9 17:44:36 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 12-Mar-85 08:12:40 EST References: <518@intelca.UUCP> <3230@utah-cs.UUCP> <154@columbia.UUCP> Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA Lines: 27 Before breaking bones, i pondered this long lasting philosphical question. Rather than ponder long, i decided to try and experiment. My car is a 78 VW diesel rabbit which normally get around 50 mpg. new: the engine is rated at 48 horsepower, so air resistance has a major effect on mileage since it has so little power. most of my driving was normally highway since i usually biked to work. i have an overhead roof rack my question was whether it was worth taking the rack off while not carrying skis. i found that driving with a rack with one person resulted in 10% less mileage than without a rack over the same distance. i tried to make conditions as equal as possible: driving while there was minimal wind, and so forth. i conclude that the resistance of the rack has a greater effect on mileage than skis. putting a car on a wind tunnel might not have the same measurements compared to driving the car. any such experiment must take these factors into account. perhaps we all should get together and publish a paper on this subject in SKIki magazine? --eugene miya NASA Ames Research Center {hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,vortex}!ames!aurora!eugene emiya@ames-vmsb.ARPA p.s. i don't use a rack if two or fewer are going in my car as was the case on my last ski trip.