Travelling to and from the Dragons run this weekend, I conducted a 440 mile gas mileage experiment.
From Akron Ohio, to just North of Cincinnati, I cruised on Interstate 71 with my Wing in the raised position going South. On my return trip I kept my wing down over the same section of highway.
Variables?
There were little to no crosswinds.
No head or tailwinds.
Going South air temp averaged in the low 50's.
Going North air temp averaged in the upper 60's.
Air Temp at all 4 fill-ups were within 5 to 10 degrees of each other.
Tank was always filled to the very brim to insure accuracy.
Speeds averaged around 72 mph going South.
Speeds averaged about 75 mph heading North.
About a 240' increase in elevation heading North.
I never coasted, and Cruise control was used constantly.
No Drafting.
Sunoco 94 octane going south, wing up.
Shell 93 octane going north, wing down.
Test performed on a "factory stock" engine with no modifications, original spark plugs, air filters, with 40k miles on it at end of test.
The end result.......(drum roll please)
30.784 mpg with the wing in the "down" position.
28.440 mpg with the wing deployed.
I realize this wasn't a "controlled" test, and I've read where several forum members have posted that they attained higher mpg results the faster they drove. I just thought a difference of 2.34 mpg, was significant enough to mention.
I prefer to believe the increase in MPG is due to the wing being down, and the car is moving thru the air with a little less turbulance.
Oh, and on another leg of the trip home, I was running (with traffic) at speeds of 95 mph (where my audible warning beeper went off) and the car still felt very stable and planted. But I think they programed it to sound off at that speed because any faster, and it would "need" to be deployed to actually do some good.
Remember, this was just a test, do not try this at home. Keep out of reach of children. Your results may vary.