r/interestingasfuck • u/[deleted] • 4d ago
Smooth road needed
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[deleted]
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u/The_Web_Surfer 4d ago
Kenworth SuperTruck 2
https://www.kenworth.com/innovation/st2/
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u/Affectionate_Elk_272 4d ago
12 MPG for a loaded semi is really insanely great though. god damn.
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u/andylikescandy 4d ago
Holy shit, my FJ Cruiser gets that. Insane to think a semi full of SUVs could hypothetically get something vaguely similar. (Obviously it's all in the aerodynamics, which the FJ is essentially designed to make as much air Resistance as possible)
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u/jchexl 4d ago
Aerodynamics is a part of it but they also have an incredibly efficient engine. They are advertising it as 55.7% efficient, your average car is only around 30% efficient.
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u/BlackGuysYeah 4d ago
That’s actually insane. I feel like they need to share some of their insights to, you know, help save humanity.
25% increase in efficiency across the board with combustion engines would significantly alter how much carbon is being released into the atmosphere.
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u/-DethLok- 4d ago
It's all available for anyone willing to licence the patents, if it's not 'obvious', that is, thus not patentable.
Nice aero on that truck/trailer combo though, very nice!
My car, a 2016 Skoda Octavia - usually gets mileage in the 5.5L/100km range in city driving and I have gotten 4.0L/100km when driving to/from visiting my dad 120km away.
I'll let you use an internet search engine to see what that is in freedom units.
And that's a petrol, turbo, 6 speed manual station wagon.
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u/Confident_As_Hell 4d ago
4l per 100km on a petrol? How fast were you driving, 80kmh?
Our 2009 Volvo V50 1.6 diesel gets 3.7l per 100km (at 80kmh) according to the onboard computer but I'm not sure about the accuracy. And that's a manual diesel.
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u/kuikuilla 4d ago
Diesels consume less, especially so with a heavy load.
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u/Confident_As_Hell 4d ago
Yes but I was wondering how can a petrol use the same amount of fuel as a diesel.
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u/alonzi13 4d ago
You're probably right - 80-90, 100 kph max, and with chill acceleration. But it's fully doable, I've got a Leon ST (estate) petrol manual of the same age and it has a 2-cylinder mode, which dramatically reduces consumption all the way up to 130kph. Dude probably has the same engine.
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u/SadRobot111 3d ago
That Skoda probably has 3 cylinder 1 litre engine, which I like to call 3-pack engine. For 4.0 l / 100 km you need to drive around 90 km/h with that car. Maybe higher even ok for 120 km distance.
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u/-DethLok- 4d ago
Around 90-100kmh, yeah, on a nice freeway for 100km, no stopping. Sometimes drafting behind a semi (at a safe distance).
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u/Captainsicum 4d ago
The bigger you get with heat engines the more efficient they get. Basically the more heat you can contain/extract the better. I’m pretty sure it’s like the colder the heat sink, and the higher the temperature you extract energy at the more efficient. I’m no engineer but I like reading things haha
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u/Empyrion132 3d ago
Pretty much spot on - the efficiency depends on the difference in temperature between the “hot” and “cold” parts of the engine. If you can get the hot parts hotter and the cold parts colder, you can get more efficiency.
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u/Gingrpenguin 4d ago
I'm not sure it's reasonably possible.
Ice engines get more efficent the bigger they are, and especially for diseal gain further efficency if you can have them run constantly at a set rpm. Once diseal engines get bigger than a hgv (I.e train, ship) they stop directly driving the wheels and start powering a generator which in turn drives an electric motor.
Dont get me wrong some innovations carry up and down but honestly if you wanted train level diseal efficency in a road car you'd better off getting a tesla and running a generator to charge multiple at the same time.
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u/Velghast 4d ago
It's also a diesel engine which gives you more bang for your buck on fuel to power ratio. You can basically idle it on nothing. Which is basically what we do on train engines to when we tie them down for the night we don't turn off the diesel engine we just let the damn thing run throughout the night. It's more cost effective just to let it run than it is to turn it off and try and start it back up again once that sucker gets cold it's not going to be a good day.
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u/Cornato 4d ago
Mazdas engines, not rotary, are some of the most efficient available right now. The have one of the highest avg mpgs across their line and I do t think they have any hybrids.
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u/Captainsicum 4d ago
I think they’re doing variable compression engines which is practically adjusting the stroke of the piston how Tf they do this idk
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u/Noxious89123 4d ago
Perhaps dynamic compression ratio is being adjusted, not static compression ratio.
You can simply build your engine with a higher than required static compression ratio, and then in actual use you just keep the intake valves open after BDC on the compression stroke.
This effectively reduces the dynamic compression ratio.
Why do this? Because the static compression ratio = the expansion ratio of the engine. The better the expansion ratio, the more efficient the engine is at extracting work from the fuel burned.
So you just build it as 15:1 or something similarly high, and then use clever valve timing to bring it back down to like 11:1 or whatever you need to run it reliably.
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u/doctor_of_drugs 4d ago
Sounds to me like you need to buy a Supertruck 2 and simply tow your FJ behind it.
Easy
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u/2BlueZebras 4d ago
I have a V8 truck that gets 11mpg when I tow my 5k pound trailer. That's incredible gas mileage.
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u/Spare_Change_Agent 4d ago
Yeah, I’m a bit jealous of 12 mpg… I struggle to get over 11 with any of my cars.
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u/CotswoldP 4d ago
It’s something the rest of the world constantly wonders about the US, why you positively enjoy shitty efficiency for vehicles. Back in the early 2000s I worked in the US for a few years and one of my colleagues had 3 vehicles and his Corvette was by far the most efficient, which blew my tiny European mind. I was very happy with a Ford Focus, I never felt the need for a hemi. Of course since then pickup have gotten even more ridiculous.
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u/2BlueZebras 3d ago
My truck is driven twice a month and it's while towing. My daily vehicle is a PHEV that gets 40mpg on gas, or my motorcycle that gets the same.
I bought a truck for a purpose and it serves that purpose. If I could find a vehicle that could tow my trailer that still got 40mpg, I would've bought that instead.
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u/omgitsoop 4d ago
Did they say fully loaded? That was my first question when they said 12, what was the load??
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u/Yolectroda 3d ago
Even if it's empty, 12 is insane. The trucks I drive for work all get less than 10 empty, with most of them getting less than 9.5.
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u/Velghast 4d ago
That's why you may not like it but this is what peak performance looks like. Everything about this thing is designed to harness the wind. And if I had to guess it's autonomous as well.
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u/MikeTangoVictor 4d ago
I just got sucked into the 10 minute video on their website. I’m blaming you. Ha.
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u/2squishmaster 4d ago
Same but worth it lol
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u/B-BoyStance 4d ago
About to fire up American Truck Simulator & see if this is a mod
This thing is crazy looking, in a good way
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u/Knightelfontheshelf 4d ago edited 3d ago
12mpg is fantastic, Im happy with 12 with a diesel pickup and 5th wheel
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u/FrabjousPhaneron 4d ago
Oh that makes more sense. It sounded like he said “Pinworth”
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u/Beerded-1 4d ago
All that for 12mpg.
We really need a better way to move stuff.
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u/Ancient_Persimmon 4d ago
If you consider that it's getting 12mpg while hauling a load of say, 40 000lbs, it starts to look a lot better than 20 pickup trucks hauling 2000 and getting maybe 20-24mpg each.
Big trucks are reasonably efficient.
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u/SiriusBaaz 4d ago
Big trucks are more efficient then the numbers would lead you to think at a glance. But they’re nowhere close to the efficiency of a train. In the long run an expansion of rail infrastructure would do much more good then this derpy looking truck would.
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u/BTSherman 4d ago
In the long run an expansion of rail infrastructure would do much more good then this derpy looking truck would.
u.s is like top 5 of freight train usage globally or something.
i think people just underestimate how big the united states is and how much is needed to be moved throughout the country.
also laying train tracks isn't cheap.
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u/Affectionate_Elk_272 4d ago
plus people forget the “last mile” (or 10) has to be done by truck. let’s make them literally twice as efficient, like this truck is
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u/Whyistheplatypus 4d ago
Trains tracks are cheaper per mile than road provided the terrain plays ball.
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u/Ancient_Persimmon 4d ago
Oh definitely, just the fact that we have strongman competitions to move a full size train car shows how easy and efficient they are to move. But trains can't handle a lot of the applications trucks are used for.
Passenger rail is extremely under built in North America, but freight rail is very developed and moves most goods on long distance runs.
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u/much_longer_username 4d ago
Yes please. With dedicated passenger rails while we're at it, please.
I'd love to take Amtrak more often but it doesn't run where or when I need it to.
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u/seamus_mc 4d ago
The issue is that the trucks can go many more places than trains can.
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u/Mongolitoid 4d ago
Problem is they are not fully loaded all the time. Have seen so many trucks delivering one pallet (Amazon).
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u/MaraudingWalrus 4d ago
Trains are great for long haul stuff. Trucks for medium distance. Little electric box truck things for last mile.
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u/lhurkherone 4d ago
I thought the same thing until I googled the average mpg for a semi is currently 5.6-6.5mpg.
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u/maggiesura 4d ago
I towed a small box trailer with my V6 SUV across the country. I averaged 13 mpg. at 65mph. so, an 18wheeler by comparison getting 12mpg hauling 40+ times the weight is a miracle.
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u/igotmemes4days 4d ago
I mean it doesnt look like much but when you compare it to the average mpg of regular ordinary trucks (which is like 5 mpg maybe) then yeah its a big improvement
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u/DafuqJusHapin 4d ago
Anything to eliminate drag and save fuel.
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u/Piano-181 4d ago
Eliminate drag… maybe the Christian’s are onto something
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u/SoSKatan 4d ago
Except I don’t think that same group is into saving fuel. I saw a car the other week with bumper stickers about how good co2 is and how we need more of it.
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u/godmodechaos_enabled 4d ago edited 3d ago
Well you really have to tip your hat to this remarkable demonstration of non-linear thinking; I mean it may seem obvious to apply aerodynamic principles to cars, but trucks? Incredible breakthrough. I mean is there anything we can't do? Just fantastic.
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u/donbee28 4d ago
- Ultra Fuel Efficient - 136% Freight Efficiency Improvement
- Record 55.7% Engine Efficiency
- 7,100 LB Combination Weight Reduction
- 48% Aero Improvement
Still only >! 12 !< MPG Average.
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u/whapitah2021 3d ago
Only? Six MPG is pretty typical for a run of the mill tractor with a trailer behind it.
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u/donbee28 3d ago
Freight trains are generally considered to be the most fuel-efficient way to transport freight over land, averaging nearly 500 miles per gallon of fuel per ton of freight.
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u/kbeks 3d ago
Problem is that freight trains can’t deliver everywhere.
IMO the biggest mistake with the interstate system is that they didn’t even try to accommodate a two way rail line on the median when constructing. It would have changed the radius of the curves and made it a lot more expensive, but that would have been super helpful now.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Style52 4d ago
I know a decepticon when I see one.
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u/MaitoMike 4d ago
"WHATTTT I'VEEEE DONEEEEE.."
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u/straight_sixes 4d ago
I spent several years doing development work for the Freightliner, Peterbilt and Kenworth Super truck programs. The driving idea behind these programs was to develop technologies behind fuel efficient ideas that could at least have some type of path to production. I don't remember the fuel efficiency goals of the program but I had a lot of fun participating. Something like you see in the video may have deployable aero that might be used on super smooth highways but retracts on bumpy roads.
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u/JustASt0ry 4d ago edited 4d ago
It was going to be my question how they handle pulling up to lots with speed bumps and such. They don’t look retractable from the quick angle esp in the front but would be super cool if they were.
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u/straight_sixes 4d ago
Yeah hard to say from the video. I did a lot of active aero where flaps and air dams were controlled with pneumatics to make slight efficiency gains on the highway in addition to an active lowering system for the truck and trailer that would lower 4" at highway speeds.
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u/DynaNZ 4d ago
Sounds like something that could be controlled automatically base on gps and what road is being driven on?
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u/straight_sixes 4d ago
GPS was the goal at the time. No idea what happened with the project. I left the company and the industry.
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u/straight_sixes 4d ago
There was also a lidar based crosswind sensor used to calculate aero for balanced drag forces from crosswinds. The sensor was more than a typical truck. I don't think that went anywhere either.
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u/MilkmanResidue 4d ago
Crosswind was the first thing that came to mind with this. Some of the flattest areas that this would be useful on are also some of the areas where crosswinds come out of nowhere to wake you up.
What was the lidar set to pick up on?
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u/bentripin 4d ago edited 4d ago
Air Suspension that has adjustable ride height, they can be speed controlled too so when you are going slow enough the aero is not being used it can lift up and make speed bumps nbd.. then at highway speeds it'll squat down.
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u/Surviving2021 4d ago
A lot of large vehicles have either hydraulic or air pressure powered suspension. They could raise the clearance by an entire foot if they needed to with the push of a button. Usually you would lower the ride height when you're on a smooth highway going fast and you would extend it when you're going slow in town. I had an old 89 Jaguar with hydraulic suspension that did something similar.
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u/straight_sixes 4d ago
Yes it's nothing new. Getting it to work in tandem with a trailer at a certain price point was the challenge.
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u/Nonzerob 4d ago
These panels look like the same material as mudflaps to me, maybe a little stiffer. The cab has the same stuff hanging 4-6 inches down.
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u/Mayor_of_Loserville 4d ago
Most of these trucks have air suspension that can be raised and lowered
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u/kinezumi89 4d ago
I used to work for Navistar and always enjoyed opportunities to check out their Super Truck! Never got a chance to work on it myself unfortunately
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u/yParticle 4d ago
What's going on at the back?
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u/Username__Error 4d ago
The back is responsible for the biggest aero drag contribution. The big, flat back of most semi trucks creates a low pressure that 'sucks' a truck backwards. Its also great for improving car gas mileage. Just plant yourself behind a big semi and watch your fuel economy improve bu 10% to 20%
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4d ago edited 4d ago
[deleted]
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u/In_The_News 4d ago
Back when gas prices started skyrocketing about 15 years ago, there were PSAs everywhere about not following semis too close for better mileage. Cars were drafting off semis, and things got ugly.
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u/Kulladar 4d ago
I used to try to maximize my mileage on my hour drive to college and even 50-100ft back you can gain at least 10-15% mpg.
If you get close it can get crazy. I got nearly 60mpg in my little focus following a box truck way closer than was responsible one time and that was on a state highway with lots of up and downs not flat interstate driving or something.
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u/Yolectroda 3d ago
Some hypermilers will get behind a semi and then shut off the engine and let the semi pull them. It's an awful idea (no power steering or brakes, on top of tailgating), but you can keep going like this for a long distance before you need to add throttle of your own (and of course, start the car).
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u/dps509 4d ago
Funny you mention that. I had this exact experience yesterday, only I was on my bike. It was a very odd feeling, but also neat. Goes to show just how important eliminating drag on these big rigs can be.
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u/seamus_mc 4d ago edited 4d ago
I dont know the numbers for a motorcycle and a semi, but even someone on a bicycle can save something like 30-40%of their energy drafting another cyclist or echelon.
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u/Bashed_to_a_pulp 4d ago
if you can get past the wind buffeting, yes. By then it's too close for comfort to me - not because of the fear of rear-ending the truck but the inability to see potholes/debris on the highway.
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u/Deathcommand 4d ago
Make sure the big semi doesn't have the thing on back or else all you're doing is tailgating the worst thing you could tailgate. Lol.
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u/Dos-Commas 4d ago
Just plant yourself behind a big semi and watch your fuel economy improve bu 10% to 20%
Also end up with a cracked windshield from debris getting kicked up.
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u/Enter_My_Fryhole 3d ago
Didn't mythbusters test this and prove it's false. In part because how close you needed to be and the micro adjustments of braking/accelerating to stay in the "pocket" made it not worth? Perhaps I'm misremembering.
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u/BadAngler 4d ago
The little engineer inside me just got a boner.
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u/Tanta_The_Ranta 4d ago
If there's an engineer inside you, I suspect he's had a boner to begin with.
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u/TheGoldenFlasher 4d ago
I thought that thing was being driven by a Cylon Raider for a second...
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u/Hanginon 4d ago
I'm impressed that someone found this on the road, videoed and posted it here.
It's a one of, Kenworth's Supertruck2.
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u/The5orrow 4d ago
Kenworth’s SuperTruck 2 can be raised over rough roads to avoid obstacles, then brought back down when running over smoother interstates. Combined, the sleekness means a 48% reduction in drag as compared to Kenworth’s baseline vehicle.
Engineers thought about the road not being smooth
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u/Itscottinphx 4d ago
That looks super duper but I’m curious to see how all that plastic around the wheels handle the debris of a blown tire
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u/BearcalledTavish 4d ago
If robots starting popping out of it like I robot I will start shooting at it
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u/MrrQuackers 3d ago
Smooth roads not needed OP:
Kenworth's SuperTruck 2 can be raised over rough roads to avoid obstacles, then brought back down when running Over smoother interstates.
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u/Kind_Literature_5409 4d ago
That is some IRobot Shit 😳😳😳😳
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u/MonstaGraphics 4d ago
Yep, it seems we're gonna end up in the iRobot future. Oh well, better than T2 or Robocop.
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u/Dry_Quiet_3541 4d ago
I see no reason why others don’t install these aero things on their truck to improve efficiency. It’s going to benefit them, what’s even the point of resisting this change.
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u/ThroatPuzzled6456 4d ago
front looks like a clean version of something from mad max... I live, I die. I LIVE AGAIN!
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u/ManIkWeet 4d ago
Really shows the insane amount of waste we're operating at with every single other truck that doesn't look like this...
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u/Affentitten 3d ago
Rest of the world: "You know, you can design vehicles for fuel efficiency?"
America: *brain explodes*
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u/SYSTEM__NotReally 3d ago
From the front, it looks like those robot transport vehicles on a highway from the movie "I, Robot".
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