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Danronian posted;
?Just the height of that bumper is almost as high as my civic...?
Big Dave sez:
You must have one low-down civic. The top of the bumper is 24? above grade. It looks taller because I slammed the truck 4? to reduce aero drag a couple years ago.
Itjstagame asked:
?What'd you make the airdam out of??
Big Dave sez:
24? by 5/8? conveyor belt. Very, very durable stuff.
Itjstagame asked:
?Did you consider making it taller and blocking the grill a bit??
Big Dave sez:
Nope. One thing at a time. I have taken the OEM grille off and am fabricating a reduced-intake area grille to replace it. Mark 1 version will be a simple blocked grille. Mark 2 will have a damper assembly so the thing can open up at low speed (<15 MPH) or if the engine gets hot).
Itjstagame asked:
?How much of an improvement did you see with the fast back??
Big Dave sez:
3.0 MPG over an open bed.
1.5 MPG over a flat tonneau.
Lovemysan posted:
?Hey, your the guy who was in diesel power.?
Big Dave sez:
That?s me.
Sludgy posted:
?The closest thing I've found is a cap called "Top Gun" made by a company called "Snugtop" It has a rounded rear, and should improve mileage quite a bit.?
Big Dave sez:
It?s better than a square back but not much. A square back makes your pickup a vrtual van ? the ultimate aero brick.
Sludgy asked:
?Is your F350 a 7.3 or is it a 6.0? The 6.0s suck generally, and suck fuel specifically.......?
Big Dave says:
It is a 7.3. Last of the forged conn rods.
The 6.0 gets a bad rap because of the EGR. If it were mine, I?d clean the EGR valve and disable it closed.
Sludgy posted:
?I'd buy reasonably priced pre-engineered fatback tops, air dams, wheel spats, mirrors and the like. But the just don't make them. It's a conspiracy, I tell you.?
Big Dave says:
My next big project should interest you. I gotta get some bucks together because this involves stuff I can?t do.
I?m gonna buy a junkyard Super Duty bed. Mine is in too good shape to cut up.
The plan:
1. Remove tail gate
2. Move the tailgate posts in to being 49? apart (just outboard the inside of the wheel wells) and shorten them to 12? high (they are currently 24? above the load deck)
3. Narrow and shorten the tail gate to 49? wide by 12? high.
4. Taper the bed, starting about even with the rear axle down to this narrowed and shortened tailgate. Essentially tapering the bed both 12? vertically and 30? horizontally.
5. Make a permanent top. For the first foot behind the cab, staying flush. The second foot tapers down about 3? and has pockets for faired-in rear view cameras and a brake light. From there it angles down at a 6:12 pitch to a point about 6? behind the tailgate. The final part of the bed is covered by a tambor door tonneau (truck guys will recognize ReTrax or Pace Edwards) set at the 6:12 pitch instead of flat.
6. Fair in the rear part of the frame and blend it into a roll pan.
7. Modify the narrow/lowered tail gate to make a Kamm truncation.
8. Put the tail lights into the Kamm truncation.
What will this do? First and foremost, reduce the wake area from 80?x28? to 50?x16? ? a 65% reduction. This should improve coefficient of drag greatly.
I can still carry a 4x8 as well as I do today ? the classic pickup mission. I will also retain my trailer hitch.
Lose the ?elephant ears? side view mirrors in favor of CCTV and interior-mounted mirrors.
I will have immediate but secure access to the bed.
What will it look like? Google up ?Cobra Daytona coupe.? Look at the picture of the 1964 Cobra Daytona coupe and imagine the tail end of it grafted onto a pickup truck. The Daytona coupe was a very low-drag design that allowed 289 cobras to beat Ferraris down the Mulsanne straight at LeMans.
Throw in an improved air dam, side skirts, wheel skirts, and grille blocking and this may be the lowest coefficient of drag on any pickup truck.
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2000 Ford F-350 Super Cab Pickup
4x2, 6 speed manual
Regeared to 3.08:1
4 inch suspension slam
Aero mods: "Fastback" fairing and rugged air dam and side skirts
Stock MPG: 19
Summer MPG: 27.0
Winter MPG: 24
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