New member, old hand

[kitcar]

edit- What about a wood frame with a button up tarp? That'd weight maybe 30lbs and be cheaper'n dirt.

The Truck already has a cover on it.Weighs about 20 pounds with the frame - a LeBra.

I'll get the video done tonight.

Max

[jwxr7]

Welcome max!

Don't forget Michigan is the land of orange barrels. Stop, go, watch the idiots fly by to the end of the lane. Move in front of them with the semi's to block them. They're learning. Slowly. Even the highway can be stop and go.

I hear you . Met some new orange barrels this morning on I94.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Originally Posted by kitcar

The Truck already has a cover on it.Weighs about 20 pounds with the frame - a LeBra.

In order to really help aero, it has to connect to the top of the cab and slope down at a 15 degree maximum angle. Like this.

[kitcar]

Originally Posted by omgwtfbyobbq

In order to really help aero, it has to connect to the top of the cab and slope down at a 15 degree maximum angle. Like this.

This place rocks. Finally somewhere to go to talk about the crap I hang off my truck. Got a good portion of video last night - should have it tonight. It's up to 10 minutes already.

I re-did the rest of the front air dam this afternoon (took it off for the winter) which "pokes" out and covers the front tires. Also finished the side skirts up under the wheel well - goes all the way to the suspension. As soon as I'm done here (and grabbing a beer) I'm going to cut some plexi for the lower grill. I'm not holding my breath tho - the grill inserts added to the engine heat in stop and go traffic last summer and I had to run the electrics to keep it cool. But I'm hoping blocking the lower grill won't make too much difference.

My thought, looking at the cab is that at the rear of it there is a radius which probably pulls the airflow down. What I'm going to try is putting a 1/2 inch tall (about 1/4 inch exposed to the air stream) plexi piece across with a 6 inch gap in the center (where the cyclops is). Just got to move it up a teeny tiny bit.

Max

[kitcar]

Originally Posted by Bill in Houston

Looking forward to photos and video. Welcome to the site.

Here's a partial video. A finished product usually takes 3 weeks or so and would be about 20 minutes long. This one is quick and dirty (6 minutes, 73 megs) and isn't for public release but feel free to share it with your friends. Enjoy. I've been doing this aero crap for a few years now and with the pump prices going up, up, up I guess it's time to get this stuff into the public eye. The final version will be a full episode of This Old Shack on Associated Content where all the episodes appear.

I'm also thinking that I might want to collect photos of other vehicles and a short story about each one for the full episode, so if you have one PM me so we can get you your 15 minutes of fame.

This video shows the front air dam, side skirt construction, some details about the grill inserts and the new grill blockers. The full show will also have the cone air filter, lubrication choices, high pressure redirection and mileage details from stock to current (19.5 to start to 22.5 without these mods). I have to split my time between this and attempting to revive a AGM deep cycle for the battery bank for the next episode. Being a media mogul is hard work. AND I'm getting ready to shoot the upcoming solar panel episode.

Now I have to decide if I want to take the gasoline to drive on the highway to test this setup. I need more beer to make the decision.

Link:

This Old Shack: gas mileage edition

[Hockey4mnhs]

we need more videos. my friends truck has instintanious mileage do u have the same? i think from seeing that you have jumped into it that quickly that you should beable to hit your goal.

[kitcar]

The overhead on the Dakota has the following:

Temp / compass
Total miles driven
avg. mileage
instant mileage
total engine run time since last reset
distance to empty

Have you ever noticed the conspiracy to make that makes every single traffic light red as you approach it?

[MetroMPG]

Food for thought, kitcar. Similar truck.

[zpiloto]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Food for thought, kitcar. Similar truck.

Nice job and good find. What's that on the brake lights? Nice moon covers. Wonder if he attacked the bottom with an undertray. Is that pic linked to any website with more pics?

[kitcar]

Have I mentioned how much I like this site? Finally people to talk to about this stuff.

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Food for thought, kitcar. Similar truck.

Now THAT'S a big 10-4. I'd need a big 'ol sheet of Lexan for that tho. Could do it. I could put Christmas tree lights in it. Even better, a plasma with episodes of "This Old Shack" playing on it. Educate and confound, I always say.

I mounted the cab spoilers this afternoon while I was replacing the serpentine belt - I love serpentine belts. You young guys don't remember the days when you had 4 and 5 belts on a vehicle.

I'll have a little video of the spoilers shortly with instructions about how to form Lexan and plexiglas to the shape you want.

30 mpg, here I come!