Effect of Air Dam

[Big Dave]

Well, I finally got my air dam testing done. Six fill-ups over 2200 miles. Three with air dam vs three without air dam.

Without air dam: 26.34 MPG
With air dam: 27.00 MPG

That equates to $1.72 less per fillup at local prices.

[theholycow]

Is this the air dam that you are talking about?

I've been wondering how well it would help a full size pickup. Thanks.

[dosco]

Originally Posted by theholycow

Is this the air dam that you are talking about?
I've been wondering how well it would help a full size pickup. Thanks.

Jeebus. That's extreme.

[Atclarkson]

Makes it look like a big rig. I kinda dig it.

[COMP]

Originally Posted by dosco

Jeebus. That's extreme.

i agree

[lunarhighway]

congrats on the bold mod! glad to see it's paying off to, one advantage of high fuel prices is there's real money to be made by looking a little odd on the road.
it would be interesting to see what the effect of a dam half the height, or better wich is only a little higher in the center than at the sides.

all that air will now have to be pushed over and around the truck, wich will take energy to, and which will cause more pressure at the front.
maybe allowing some air under the truck will cause less overall drag.
if you have to choose between a long paved road and a short uneven path, sometimes takeing the uneven path will take less effort.. especially if the paved road is crowded...if you know what i mean.

no doubt your setup works well though, just wondering if it couldn't be even better.

[Big Dave]

Big results require bold measures. Ask basjoos.

I'm looking for someone to fab me a decent bumper to make this a little less esthetically jarring.

My truck does not lend itself to a belly pan, but being slammed it required very little extra frontal height, so I am giving a little frontal area to keep the air flow out of the underbody area. All those Sprint Cup guys have access to wind tunnels and use this principle (plus a belly pan).

Next step is side skirts to further have the underbody working in still air.

[theholycow]

Why wouldn't it work well with a belly pan? All you need is a lighter version of the offroading skid plate that must be common for your truck.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I was thinking of just extending the factory air dam on my truck by bolting on a piece of black corrugated plastic. I'm thinking it won't be too noticeable, and should be relatively cheap and easy to fabricate & install.

-Jay

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Big results require bold measures. Ask basjoos.

I'm looking for someone to fab me a decent bumper to make this a little less esthetically jarring.

My truck does not lend itself to a belly pan, but being slammed it required very little extra frontal height, so I am giving a little frontal area to keep the air flow out of the underbody area. All those Sprint Cup guys have access to wind tunnels and use this principle (plus a belly pan).

Next step is side skirts to further have the underbody working in still air.

[slurp812]

Originally Posted by dosco

Jeebus. That's extreme.

I was think the same, but with a different word!