Frequently Asked Questions






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    • High-tech fuel economy testing
    • Relies on race car engineering technology and methods used in IndyCar, NASCAR, Formula 1
      • Data acquisition systems and sensors such as fuel flow meters, aerodynamic sensors, high precision GPS, tire and track temperature and many more gather test data
      • Uses analytics to quantify fuel savings, aerodynamic drag, rolling resistance and many more
    • More accurate and reliable than traditional test methods in trucking
    • Accounts for variables such as wind, climate, load, duty cycle, driver behavior and many more
    • Can provide a fleet actual in-service fuel savings values (not only a short test result)

    Units of gal/1000 miles more reliably calculate fuel savings when compared to other units such as miles-per-gallon (MPG) and percent (%). Those units are prone to error from changing variables such as vehicle baseline fuel economy, load, driver behavior, and duty cycle. For example, gal/1000 miles values are not affected by load for an aerodynamic product. Any empty Class-8 unit at 34,000 lbs. will save the same fuel in gal/1000 miles as one loaded to 80,000 lbs. However, when viewed in percent (%) or MPG the values change with load. This causes a carrier to experience varied results in real-world operation and difficulty predicting the financial benefits of the product unless units of gal/1000 miles are used. The same applies to fuel consumption with tires.

    Units of gal/1000 miles are the most reliable units of measurement for aerodynamic fuel savings due to their scientific and mathematical relationship to fuel consumption. Contact MVT Solutions if more information is desired.

    MVT Solutions fuel economy testing utilizes a data acquisition system and sensors specifically for this testing. This style of testing is derived from race car engineering where reliable sensor data is critical to understanding vehicle modifications.

    MVTS testing sensors include:

    • Data acquisition system (records sensor data)
    • Fuel flow meter (accurate to 0.2%)
    • Fuel temperature sensor
    • Tire temperature sensor (infrared, mounted on left-front drive tire)
    • Ground/road temperature sensor (infrared, mounted ahead of left-front drive tire)
    • Wind speed air pressure sensor (truck hood)
    • Wind direction sensor (truck hood)
    • Ambient air temperature sensor (truck hood)
    • Ambient air pressure sensor (truck cab)
    • High precision GPS (latitude, longitude, altitude, time)

    Figure 1: Hood-mounted Aerodynamic Sensors (air speed, wind dir., air temp.)

    Figure 2: Data Acquisition System

    Figure 3: Fuel Flow Meter

    Figure 4: Tire Temp. Sensor

    As our CEO Royal Jones says, fuel economy is important for two green reasons: one, we only have one earth and it is our responsibility to take care of it, and two, green is the color of money. Fuel economy is the easiest and fastest way to increase profits because you decrease operational costs.

    The cost of fuel over a truck’s life is almost three times the purchase cost of the truck. Fleets will spend a lot of time negotiating prices of trucks but do not realize greater savings could be obtained through optimizing their current specs.

    10+ MPG is very achievable with Class 7-8 equipment in everyday use, using products already on the market. That is more than 60% above the industry average of 6 MPG. Most fleets dream of 1% savings. That is easy. What has not been easy is measuring 1% savings, which MVT Solutions has fixed, much to the advantage of our clients. In essence, fuel efficiency can be improved as much as a company is prepared to achieve. MVT (fleet) is our prime example.

    In the past, the trucking industry lacked reliable information on fuel savings, which led to confusion, mixed results, and stymied progress. These practical roadblocks have been discussed and published by many of the leading organizations in the industry.

    A 2013 study with NACFE, CSS and ICCT listed the top two predominant barriers as “1- lack of credible information, 2-uncertainty around the amount of time needed for technologies to pay for themselves in terms of fuel savings (i.e. payback time)”

    2013 SmartWay presentation
    “Market confusion due to lack of understanding and claims.”
    “Translating standardized testing to performance and ROI for a given fleet.”

    National Academies Press, 2010
    Finding 2.5
    “…accurate test procedures are required to reliably determine the potential benefit of technologies that reduce fuel consumption. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to achieve, at the 90 or 95 percent confidence interval, a precision of less than ±2 percent for vehicle fuel consumption measurements with the current SAE test procedures.”

    MVT Solutions has the ability to overcome these previous obstacles. Fleets now have the knowledge to make smart, confident decisions and optimize their profits from fuel efficiency. Improving fuel efficiency NO LONGER has to be challenging if you have the right tools and follow the right steps. In fact, it’s much easier to increase profits from fuel efficiency than by making the fleet larger – the way most fleets have increased profits in the past. Improving fuel efficiency doesn’t require any extra miles, drivers, vehicles, or jobs. It’s just about doing the same job while using less fuel. MVT considers fuel economy testing the best business decision they make, as it has provides the fastest ROI.

    There are many variables that affect fuel economy, including driver behavior, air pressure, wind speed, temperature, rolling resistance, etc. Our testing considers these variables through our high-tech sensors, data collection systems, and engineering analytics.

    Let’s walk through an example of an aerodynamic mud flap test we performed to better explain.

    The graph above shows the baseline run (without the aerodynamic mud flaps installed) and the test run (with the aerodynamic mud flaps installed). As you can see, there is a distinct difference between the two lines (the clear space between them). This is visible due to the test accuracy being very good at +/- 0.3%.

    In comparison, at best in an SAE J1321 fuel economy test the accuracy would be +/-2%. This graphically would mean both lines would range from the very top to the very bottom of the graph (no clear space between them).

    What does this clear difference between the lines mean? This is the savings of 1.01 gal/1000 miles.

    What does that mean financially? We measured a 1.01 gal/1000 miles savings with an accuracy of +/-0.30. Due to the accuracy being less than the result we can confidently conclude this product saves fuel (ranging from 1.01 +/- 0.30) with a maximum fuel savings of 1.31 gal/1000 miles and a minimum of 0.71 gal/1000 miles.

    Why is this important? By being able to make that conclusion, the fleet can make a business decision to immediately implement this technology and now save $325,000 annually (for the MVT fleet).

    By comparison, with the SAE J1321 test, the measured savings would have been less than the accuracy (1.01 +/- 2.00). This means we would not have been able to confidently conclude if this product saves fuel and no decision would have been made, which would result in no annual savings.

    SAE J1321 and MVT Solutions testing methods are both real-vehicle testing done with a compare and test vehicle. Beyond that they are completely different.

    Some main difference are:

    • SAE J1321 uses a weather station to determine the range in which they can test, whereas MVT Solutions measures variables and accounts for those analytically.
    • SAE J1321 uses basic technology: a bathroom scale, removable fuel tank, and minimal data collection. MVT Solutions has its vehicles equipped with high-tech sensors measuring countless variables. One unique thing, MVT Solutions measures actual fuel consumption through a diesel fuel flow meter instead of measuring weight and converting that to fuel used.

    The summary table below show some more differences.

    Fuel economy has traditionally been known not to be a “real-world” estimate. MVT Solutions understands testing and real-world results are directly related by science. We measure all the variables affecting fuel economy and therefore can predict savings for fleets based on their unique variables. Our test results are also “normalized” to the United States average climate conditions.

    For greater accuracy, we can provide fleets a report, available upon request, that shows what each test result would be in their operations. If you are interested in finding out what your savings would be, reach out to us here. We will contact you to gather some information and provide a savings report. It's that easy. We understand the goal of testing is being able to make decisions and we want to help you and your fleet through that process with numbers you can trust through high-tech proprietary analytics.

    The easiest way to put it: it’s cheaper to have one than not to. Internally, fleets do not have the tools, experience, resources, or spare time to focus on fuel efficiency. It is very costly for fleets and wastes time while creating confusion. Our fuel efficiency consulting experts fix that. We find more savings, while also saving fleet personnel time and reducing frustration and complexity. Why fight over saving a penny when you could save a dollar hassle-free?

    Every test is unique, so we encourage you to contact us directly.

    Typically, an MVTS Certified test is $24,000. One full day of R&D testing (around 8 tests) is typically $48,000. On-site testing for fleets is $18,000, which includes two tests, and $9,000 for additional tests.

    Our fees vary by requirements, which we always optimize with organization and planning. Fleets typically see an extremely rapid payback of only 3-5 days from our testing. This is because our fees are very reasonable and find a lot in fuel savings.

    MVT Solutions is a subsidiary of MVT. It was an independent testing company that partnered with MVT after 100 tests in just a year to offer its services to even more fleets and technology providers.

    MVT Solutions testing is an independent 3rd party testing organization. We do not receive payment or commission for any sale of products we test.

    Test results are owned by the client, meaning the technology provider or fleet that paid for the test(s).

    The MVT fleet only sees Certified results that are made public. Other than Certified results, MVT can only see R&D results if a customer specifically requests they be shared.

    We can conduct testing on a test track or public highways. Most of our track testing is conducted in Texas. Highway testing is typically for on-site tests with fleets and occurs near their terminal. MVTS testing is very diverse and can be done almost anywhere. Note, all MVTS Certified tests are performed on a test track for consistency.

    1500 tractors, 6000 trailers

    • Trailer skirts
    • Trailer boat tails
    • FlowBelow tractor aerodynamics
    • 6×2 drive axles
    • Wide Based Single tires (early adopter)
    • Racing adopted fuel economy test method
    • And many more…

    MVT Solutions is a company that sets out to help improve fuel economy in the trucking industry through both suppliers and carriers. We bridge the gap between the two. We Certify products to provide a free resource for fleets and a sales tool for technology providers. We offer consulting because of our unique combination of high-tech fuel economy testing and industry-leading fleet experience. We can help both fleets and suppliers avoid costly mistakes.

    Typically, a supplier wants to sell a product to a fleet, so they will pay for the fuel economy testing to prove their product works. If a fleet wants to optimize products/specs they currently have, they normally pay for testing themselves.

    We take care of everything to make fuel economy approachable. MVT has spent $400,000 on fuel economy testing and saved fleets $4 million. Fleets consider it the best ROI business decision they have made.

    Fuel economy testing is ONLY a waste of money when you are unable to make a confident decision based on the results. Confident decisions are made through accurate and reliable testing.

    We are more than a testing company; we actually have fleet experience. We can help you from the concept phase to product sales. We have experience knowing what works and what doesn’t.

    0.5 gal/1000 miles means an annual savings of $238,350 for MVT. Fleets are definitely interested in less than 2% savings, as long as you can prove it.

    We can and do test anything that may impact fuel efficiency. This includes any product or vehicle spec being considered. MVT Solutions testing typically includes aerodynamics, tires, lubricants, additives, drivetrain, engine, add-on systems for engines, electrical or auxiliary components…the list is truly endless. Emissions testing is also available upon request. Contact us to discuss your specific needs.