Do Lightbar's cut down on your mileage per gallon

ericsze · Post by **ericsze** » Thu Apr 03, 2003 7:45 pm

Due to the nature of a lightbar, even a minilight bar, do you feel that the mounting of one reduces the gas mileage on your vehicle?

Robert HT220 · Post by **Robert HT220** » Thu Apr 03, 2003 7:57 pm

Yep, they do. It also depends on which type. Say you are going to mount a Twinsonic(hypotheically speaking

) lightbar on your vehicle. Well, that "box" shape will cut it down more than an Aerodynic or similar in appearance lightbar. If they are low profile and "aerodynamically" designed, you won't loose much MPG.

Robert

mavericknet · Post by **mavericknet** » Thu Apr 03, 2003 8:47 pm

That's a good question, but I don't tend to think about it because the giant ladder rack I have benind the lightbar probably does more damage that the lightbar.... If you're that worried about it, try mounting some deck lights inside your windshield just under the headliner.

Flametamer · Post by **Flametamer** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:03 am

Yes they will. They will also cut down on the top speed (police cars) by at least 15 mph.

DT

jim · Post by **jim** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:38 am

15 MPH??? Nope.

As per Michigan State Police trials (the benchmark of police car testing) in '96, the MX7000 only cut the top speed of the LT-1 Caprice by 6 MPH. It is OEM limited to 144 MPH top speed and they WILL do it. WIth an MX7000, they will only push 138 MPH, as aero forces overcome available torque to achieve the top speed.
The Intrepid wasn't affected at all with a Vista bar, but showed a loss with an Edge.

As for fuel mileage, they do affect it, but.....

you would have to calculate this over several hundred miles and at a good speed (60+) since the losses are small.
At lower speeds, there isn't much drag. The drag is a square function of vehicle speed. At low speeds, there isn't much, but you will will have a more drastic effect as the vehicle speeds.

In other words, it might cost a few bucks per month in fuel if you run at highway speeds most of the time.

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 7:26 am

And if you are that concerned about "ONLY" being able to go 138mph as opposed to 144, you need your head examined. That speed on anything but a closed track just seems kinda, oh I don't know... risky?

hfitzgerald · Post by **hfitzgerald** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 8:39 am

The Jetstreams are nice (not the Jetsonic) if you're looking for a full size lightbar that's easy on your gas milage. MSP has it even easier with the single gumbal rotor. By the way, they're in the process of switching all the dual light gumbals to the quad lights.

Wind resistance and measured drag is a big factor if you have a division that spends a lot of time on the highways (like MSP). Compare a gumbal rotor (almost negligable wind resistance) to a Streethawk (loose 2 to 5 mpg, depending on vehicle), then multiply that by few hundred vehicles, a few million miles, and then watch how much of your annual budget dissapears in buying more gas. It makes a difference in the long run.

Regular waxing of your vehilce and polising your lightbar can save you money in the long run. I would estimate that my Pontiac improves by about 3 mpg or more after being completely washed and waxed. If you'd like to decrease your wind resitance by another 14%, remove your outside rear-view mirros and swap in a camera vision system. -but it's kind of hard to justify the $50,000 to $100,000 cost for the system over the gas that you'd be saving. (but it's cool as all getout!)

JAYMZ · Post by **JAYMZ** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 10:01 am

Anytime you add something to the exterior of a vehicle you are changing the path of wind resistance and drag on a vehicle. Some things change that more than others.... A small grill light on thwe bumper won't have as much impact as say an Aerodynic lightbar....

So it becomes a crapshoot... Even the slightest changes effect gas mileage and top speeds. TO be honest.... anyone that willing drives ANYTHING over 90 mph is either crazy...or stupid....

I would be more concerned with gas mileage with gass prices the way they are.

jim · Post by **jim** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 12:51 pm

90 MPH.....I guess that I'm crazy AND stupid!

Owner:
Porsche 928S4 with Vortech supercharger.

(no- there's no lightbar on it!)

Glen W Christen · Post by **Glen W Christen** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 2:07 pm

Our local SO is using the E911 LED bars. Unofficial reports are that they save 2 MPG and give an extra 10 MPH on Crown Vics. Also have Intrepids and they make the 140 MPH that they are designed for (HORRORS). These bars are only about 1 1/2 inch thick except for the alley/take-down pods on the ends. Very nice bar in many respects, especially the absolute max draw of only 8!!! amps.

apco25 · Post by **apco25** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:33 pm

I like clean roof marked vehicles. Done properly a clean roof unit can have just as much light or more than one running a lightbar.

Vehicles just look better that way.

The new style strobe/LED bars do look good though.

Fire service is still in love with the AeroDynic

JAYMZ · Post by **JAYMZ** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 7:24 pm

jim wrote:90 MPH.....I guess that I'm crazy AND stupid!

Owner:
Porsche 928S4 with Vortech supercharger.

(no- there's no lightbar on it!)

Well I would be lieing if I said I have never tested the capabilities of my car, 110 on 81 north between Cortland and Syracuse.... Scary.

But anyone who makes a habit of that.... is just asking to become a bug splatter.

Otherwise. I agree with Apco25... Slick roof CVs all strobed out are sweet looking cars.... I think they are better than anything with a lightbar.

firemanbatt · Post by **firemanbatt** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 7:35 pm

Not our fire service! We are stuck on strobes! Edge 9000's all around! Especially when the SO is going clean top and donating all the old lightbars.

The takedowns even come in handy when you turn the bars around backwards and use the take downs to light up the hose beds!

mavericknet · Post by **mavericknet** » Fri Apr 04, 2003 11:30 pm

My ambulance service has code 3 (mx7000 and XL) on most of it's fleet, we have a two old crown vics with streethawks on them. They do the job, the only thing I can say I saw bad about the E-911 bar was the snow. A neigboring department got one, and when ice would build up on the bar it wouldn't come off. There's very little heat being created by LED clusters, so little reason for ice or snow to melt. Granted the takedown halogens did a decent job of cleaning themselves off.

jim · Post by **jim** » Sat Apr 05, 2003 10:29 am

Edge 9000s? That's 20 years out of date!
Try the Tomar 930N-4805 series if you want a real strobe bar. We just sat a new Edge Ultra series and a 930N on top of each other and turned them both on just to settle an ever going local arguement. The Whelen guys ended up whining like puppies away from the litter for the first night and left with their tails between their legs.

As for the claim of 2 MPG...Um....I would really have to disagree with that unless that particular car spends about 3/4 of it's life at 120 MPH. The average hiway or patrol car driving around at 60 MPH maximum isn't going to see an economy difference unless calculated over hundreds or thousands of miles- it takes this much driving to even get a measurable amount.

As for a slickvic, yep....the Crown Vic slicktop is quite impressive with a proper strobe system. Our local PD K9 unit has 24 strobes all over it and it's more visible than most marked units.

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Sat Apr 05, 2003 11:28 am

jim wrote:The average hiway or patrol car driving around at 60 MPH maximum isn't going to see an economy difference unless calculated over hundreds or thousands of miles- it takes this much driving to even get a measurable amount.

Our local PD K9 unit has 24 strobes all over it and it's more visible than most marked units.

Well the way our board is here... the cars might get that milage before they are given the funding to buy new ones..... They use.. cough... ack.... Vector Bars. I wonder how much those massive things cut down?

24? Sheesh, does that melt the snow in the road? I mean, I can see it being like a nuclear blast wave of heat like 15 feet in front of the car.

KitN1MCC · Post by **KitN1MCC** » Sat Apr 05, 2003 5:11 pm

Well i know the LFL liberity. on my truck causes very little drg it is mount up hight on the back rack, and i know it does something with the air pattern

jim · Post by **jim** » Sun Apr 06, 2003 10:08 am

Vector bars... sorry to hear that! How did Federal enngineers come up with this idea? "Hey Jack, pass me the doober! Check this out guys. Lets take 7 Fireballs and mount them on a frame that looks like a Stealth fighter. Hey man, gimme my reefer back! Good idea. Let's go try it. Go grab me an CAT-5 cable from those old Commodore Amigas in the back room then we'll get started."

For your sake, I hope they aren't the Visions. Great idea guys- use a cheapo CAT-5 cable that corrodes and loses contact unless your car is in Yuma Arizona where is rarely rains. Nothing like going to activate the lightbar and the "eff-you" error lights come on. I always liked the .000001" thick potting of the PCB under the non-weatherproofed cover. The 1/4" spades were a good idea too, Federal. They went for a month or so before burning up. I always wondered why they never even placed a rubber gasket around the service cover on these bars. What about jump starting a dead cruiser and having to reprogram a control head (which you didn't know how it was set up in the first place).

For the cost of this bar, one can have have 2 MX7000s that actually will live for five years.

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Mon Apr 07, 2003 8:25 pm

I almost swerved off the road the day I saw one of our cars with that stupid thing on the roof. Within a week, the ALL had them. I am convinced something "funny" went down out here to get those and wasn't a matter of someone winning a bid or actually liking them. It is so out of place, too. This is CT. They are the only PD in the entire state without Edge bars.

Post by **alex** » Tue Apr 08, 2003 5:38 am

The one good thing the vector has going for it is the fact that it does have excellent intersection coverage, and if you park your car correctly, anything that comes in from the air has almost an arrow that points them in the right direction.

They are ugly as **** but they seem to do their job well.

I'd love one of those new fancy B-Link Whelen bars for my truck, but I'm going to keep the lighting hidden.

Just waiting for my ISP to get here, and then I can go forth and get some hideaways.

-Alex

007 · Post by **007** » Tue Apr 08, 2003 9:23 am

Our 2001-2003 Vics with the JetStrobe: 133-135 MPH

New 2003 Vic with the 911 bar: 137 MPH

97 Cleantop, no pushbar: 130 MPH (Not bad, considering the lack of horsepower in '97)

The milepost signs on the I look like fence posts

Do Lightbar's cut down on your mileage per gallon

Do Lightbar's cut down on your mileage per gallon

Hmm

Aerodynamic lightbars and the ultimate effect on gas milage.

Light bars