Jeep Cherokee Aeromods

[FastPlastic]

Originally Posted by achang1

how strong can velcro get? because im wondering if i can make body panels that attach with velcro.

From what I understand Lowe's has some industrial Velcro that would hold just about anything on. The only trick to it is how well you can attach it to the car (has a tendency to rip paint off if your not careful). It would be a quick way to mount things if you can get it to work.

[FastPlastic]

Watch those tire pressures everyone! I just checked mine and found with the temps dropping and the fact I haven't checked them in a while. They were about 5-10psi low. I'm guessing that's the reason my mods didn't seem like they were making any difference. Big change coasting wise in town as well.

[FastPlastic]

So I found time yesterday and today to throw together the next piece of the giant SUV puzzle. First image is a before shot. it started raining so I just threw it on to do a little testing. I've found in town the Jeep coasts a hell of a lot longer. But over about 40mph it starts to make noise. Plus I looked at it after testing and found it hangs a little lower in the front then the back. So if I manage to get some time tomorrow, I'm going to see about taking it off and tweaking it a bit. I did some creasing tests on a piece of scrap metal so I think I'm going to add some to this for strength. Plus some foam between the panel and anywhere it touches the Jeep.

Initial test at 55mph before adjustment showed slightly higher MPG's. So it looks promising.

[COMP]

cool

[achang1]

nice! how have you been attaching things? have you been bolting them into existing holes?

also, im wondring if youre going to cover up that gap where the oil pan is. from the pictures it seems that you can bolt up a flat piece of sheet metal on the control arms.

[DoctorP82]

Underbody is starting to look great! How much has this project cost so far?

[FastPlastic]

Originally Posted by achang1

nice! how have you been attaching things? have you been bolting them into existing holes?

I designed it to come off quick and easy. It's got two bolts in the front and it hooks in to the holes in the cross brace half way down the jeep.

Originally Posted by achang1

also, im wondring if youre going to cover up that gap where the oil pan is. from the pictures it seems that you can bolt up a flat piece of sheet metal on the control arms.

The way the system is designed the air gets pushed down under the front axle and should come back up and hit the next panel. So I shouldn't need a panel between.

Originally Posted by DoctorP82

Underbody is starting to look great! How much has this project cost so far?

So far this is the most expensive part of the whole project(didn't have any scrap pieces laying around). So this one cost me about $19. Bringing the whole project to just under $30. Which should pay for itself in a matter of no time. Seeing as just going from 19MPG to 25.6MPG is a savings of $0.047 a mile. That's only 642miles to pay it off. Which shouldn't be a problem because I'm headed up to Minn next weekend (444miles round trip) and also in Oct. That's without any improvement from the new panel.

Other improvements

I added creases to the panel.


How did I do it you ask? With my highly expensive creasing too of course!


I also added foam padding any where the panel comes in contact with the jeep. Plus I jammed foam between the panel and cross brace. And to top it all off I added a small lip to the trailing edge of the panel.



Anyone whose worked with a sheet of galvenized steel knows in raw form any vibration causes it to sound like thunder. After I was done with it I could shake the panel with no noise.

[FastPlastic]

An update. This Saturday I went to a wedding in Minneapolis Minnesota round trip was 440miles. I filled up the Jeep just before I left and managed to make it back to the same station with about 1.5gallons to spare. This may not seem like much of an accomplishment to most of you small car owners. But seeing as the EPA rating for my Jeep is only 19MPG(380miles on a single tank) I should of ran out of gas with 60miles to go. So I guess for starters I would like to say thank you to all of you for the input/help you have given me.

Accourding to the scangauge I was pulling 26MPG up and 26.2MPG back. not sure if my scangauge is a little off or the gas pump. Final result at fill up was 24.2MPG's. which is still 5.2mpg above epa.

The new panel seems to be helping. but i noticed it does vibrate on the exhuast pipe. Any one know where i can get some high temp insulation to pad the panel? it also seems to be squeaking a bit so i think I'll have to check that out (Only reason to should use coroplastic).

[achang1]

you can try to look for some spray foam that's also fireproof.

[Tony Raine]

The new panel seems to be helping. but i noticed it does vibrate on the exhuast pipe. Any one know where i can get some high temp insulation to pad the panel?

wrap the exhaust pipe with "header wrap"? (hi-temp insulation tape for exhaust headers)