SentraSE-R

A Google search for "chopped xB" found this post in another foru. $18K to do it right is big bucks.
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1OFFRIDES my install shop has done a full assessment on this topic for the Scionpro Taxi....the answer big bucks! With the custom glass cutting and fab along with about 5,000 for a show finish paint job wholesale costs should be around 12,000 with full retail costs running up to 18,000. The entire car has to be gutted and then a sub support frame welded in place prior to cutting. The front posts have to be leaned back,sectioned and extended. all the door frames have to be cut down and all the tracks and travel adjusted. then there is the question of the rear door ....do you cut the chop from the top for the short glass look or section the bottom of the door leaving the full glass look?. Heres a hint the new 2008 xB looks chopped! The roof line is 4 inches shorter/lower than present along with a nearly 7 inch wider stance. it is pretty sinister looking. Scion has been listening and did the job for you already! I was in Miami at the reveal,spoke to the engineers and receive info on a regular basis from way up the Scion chain. I cant wait to sell these at my dealership! (I am however,forever loyal to the original design.)

SentraSE-R

Well, I said I don't draft, but yesterday I did. I normally avoid Interstate hwys becaise their PSLs are too high, and there's too much traffic. But I had to get from Gallup to Albuquerque, and I-40 was the only way.

I was holding a steady 58 mph (60 indicated) in my 1G xB, and mileage was steady at 45.6 mpg. I dropped in 2 seconds back of a semi who was going 65 mph, and watched as my mileage steadily climbed to 46.9 mpg before I broke away. There's solid statistics to back the theory that drafting works in our boxes.

Super-Stormtrooper07

Not just xB's , but any vehicle that is small enough to fit into a slip-stream of a semi-trailer , then your mpg will only go up from its average highway mpg #

BruceLeeJr

Drafting works period. I race bikes on races 100 km long (about 62.2 miles) and the winner is always the guy that was smart enough to hold back and save their strenght for the last 2 - 300 yards!

The same principle applies to drafting behind another vehicle and the benefit is shown in fuel saving. The bigger the vehicle, the better the benefit.

I once drafted behind a semi for over 150 miles and my unscientific calculated gas mileage was in the high 30's.

You can also do an echelon pattern, which in my opinion is safer and just as effective. Think of geese flying in a v shape pattern. That lead bird is actually doing a lot more work than the rest of the flock.

If the guy in front of you is cooperating, then you'll have good ride.

Jan06xB

The best draft I had was behind a box trailer that was almost as wide as the lane and really close to the ground being towed by a pickup truck. When I say close to the ground I mean the wheels were on the side of the box not underneath it.