S-10 Front Bumper

[graver555]

Hi there, this is my first time posting on this sight.

I bought a 98 s10 2.2l extended cab with 283k on it (not original engine). It didnt come with bumper or a tailgate, and it only leaks a little oil, but its ok its onto the exhaust so I dont leave stains

Current mods so far: rear bumper, maintenance, a glasspack where the cat is supposed to be ahead of a factory bumper soon to be removed. Also not a mod but the rear speed sensor is off so it reads around 7 mph slow so I can set it to 55 and feel like I am hypermiling AND get there quickly

Planned mods: front bumper/airdam, bed cover, tailgate, electric fan conversion.

This summer I plan on making one out of 3 inch square tube sort of like the attached one.

Except without the wrap around on the corners.

I do alot of highway driving so I want to build something that would take a deer hit or something like that, and I want to look cool so thats why I want a heavy duty bumper. I would go with a tube style bull bar but I dont have a bender.

But since I drive alot of highway miles, I want it to be somewhat aero.
Any way to modify this design so it isnt an airbrake like the rear bumper I fabbed?

Dont judge I had to do something to make it legal to drive, and I got the 2x8 free from the construction site across the parking lot.

I was thinking a big air dam that is easy to remove as I live in indiana and in the winter we can get alot of snow. Or I head conveyor belts work well, would that flex enough in the snow to not bother or would I just need to take it off?

Oh and I think I am getting around 23 or 24 mpg but I am not sure as the speed sensor also makes the trip gauge off by I THINK 10percent.

[graver555]

I think my main question is, since I am custom fabbing a bumper anyway, is there a way to make it strong and cheap with the tubing like I want, but not drag down mileage on a vehicle that dosnt have alot to start with.

Front or rear bumper ideas welcome.

[Sporty Modder]

The problem with tubing is the shape...
Round is not optimal, a airfoil shape would have less drag, but nothing is better.
To answer your question, in my experience a small amount of tubing should only impact economy minimally yetnone is better.

[Big Dave]

I did not remove my air dam at all during the recent brutal winter in Indiana.

I notably bulldozed some snow as my air dam sits 7 inches above grade at the sides and 10 inches above grade on the centerline.

My air dam is 3/8 inch ripstop conveyor belt. It is expensive and a real bear to fabricate, but it is utterly impervious to road debris of any kind.

It is so difficult to fabricate that when I make another air dam, I'll make a paper or cardboard pattern and pay the shop rate for an industrial supply house to shear, trim, and punch holes in the stuff. Once installed you can forget about it.

7"/10" above grade clears most parking curbs OK.

My air dam is effective. It improved my F350's fuel economy by 1 MPG.

[kach22i]

Somewhere in the forum is a full sized Dodge Ram pick-up truck with a huge front air dam.

He said it lowered his mpg, but that may have been because he went too low and increased his frontal area.

The reason I bring it up is the dam went above bumper height, and could be close to the look you can achieve sans bumper.

I just upgraded to a conveyor belt chin spoiler on my S10 pick-up truck, check out the links in my signature below.

Idea;
Flat metal arced where the top of the bumper should be, then drape down with material and have a few angled kickers to help keep form at speed?

Examples: for inspiration
http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=65069



http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ods-19265.html


http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...p-11807-7.html


Here is what I did to brace a thicker but more expensive conveyor belt material.

Chin Spolier - fast/easy/cheap/effective - Page 2 - Pelican Parts Technical BBS


The photo above is of the backside, original lawn edging remains intact (along with vinyl cove base lip/splitter). The photo below shows the exterior.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-t...fective-2.html


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-t...fective-2.html

Originally Posted by Big Dave

7"/10" above grade clears most parking curbs OK.

My truck as seen above is 7-inches clear, and I try not to pull up all the way to parking curbs.

It's high enough for a Michigan winter, even with record snowfall.

7-inches is good on my S-10 4x4, but perhaps because the previous owner raised it 1-1/2" (closer to 2-inches), a stock 4x4 S-10 could go to 5-6", and a 2WD about 4-inches.

Trick is to check under the truck for the lowest thing (rear differential and front A-arms) and make that the bottom lip of the chin spoiler height.

[graver555]

I like the red truck, but I'm not thinking quite that low. And as bad as round is I'm prob doing it of square due to my lack experience.

So it won't help but shouldn't hurt much, and an airdamn about 7 inches above the ground, made of conveyor belt while durable is difficult to make.

About right?

Would a rubber horse mat work? Or would it tear/be more expensive.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by graver555

I like the red truck, but I'm not thinking quite that low. And as bad as round is I'm prob doing it of square due to my lack experience.

So it won't help but shouldn't hurt much, and an airdamn about 7 inches above the ground, made of conveyor belt while durable is difficult to make.

About right?

Would a rubber horse mat work? Or would it tear/be more expensive.

The "red truck" is Big Dave, that posted immediately above Kachi22... That's an early picture, and he later trimmed it.

[graver555]

Originally Posted by darcane

The "red truck" is Big Dave, that posted immediately above Kachi22... That's an early picture, and he later trimmed it.

Oh I see now, I am on my phone ATM so I did not notice.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by graver555

And as bad as round is I'm prob doing it of square due to my lack experience.

If the round you are talking about is the metal frame, then flat stock or rectangular stock is much preferred for bending into an arc/arch and attaching a flexible material to it.

Click on my chin spoiler link to see how I braced the lower section of belt.

We need to see photos of your truck/project before even guessing about what you should be doing.

Nothing against you, but there is a sorted forum history of unintended misdirection stemming from a lack of communication........and a picture is worth a thousand words.

rubber horse mat

Please post a photo of an actual example of what you have in mind. In the Google search I did it looks something like a rubber floor mat which would require an excessive amount of back framing. The foam rubber types I would not trust for long either, not rigid enough.

[graver555]

Originally Posted by kach22i

Please post a photo of an actual example of what you have in mind. In the Google search I did it looks something like a rubber floor mat which would require an excessive amount of back framing. The foam rubber types I would not trust for long either, not rigid enough.

Yea I did mean the rubber floor mat type, but now that I think again it would be rather floppy. I was just htinking about that since they are easy to find in my area.

I will go through the links now that I am at home and on a laptop. I hope to be buying steel in around a month so I have plenty of time for research.