start of areo modding.

[taco]

well i am gonna try to start to aroe mod my truck. baby steps
front upper grill block off
what do u use i want to attach from the inside and be invisible from the out side.
my truck hovers at 182-184 on my scangauge i think i am gonna tempory. tape off the back of the gril and run a tank to see if there is a jump in tempature or mpg.
from the back my grill has two big openings (not really big) with the thin bar in the middle of the openings and one small on on the bottom.
the larger gap is about 2 inches tall and the other is about an inch.
i was thinking some sort of molded plastic.

any ideas?




after that i dont know what to do?
cant really do and under tray/

[Daox]

If you want it to be an aero mod you should really do something to the outside of the grill. Blocking the inside will provide warm up benefits, but not much a ton in the way of aerodynamics. I think a nice piece of black coroplast would look great on it.

Good luck.

[mikeb535]

I just made a front grille block out of 1/8" plastic that is used on computer tables. I attached with velcro strips in strategic points around the grille. Looks good and you can still see the black grille thru it. I'll post my next tankful to see if it has helped mpg.

[Xringer]

Here is the grill block I'm testing now.
Nose job for 1999 Honda CRV

I've reduced the total air intake by about 80% without any overheating.
I used some black duct tape to test out the grill block idea,
and it's still on there, working fine (not looking too bad).

The upper intake is completely blocked and much smoother.
The lower input has been reduced to the area just under the plate.

If your bottom intake is pretty well lined up with the radiator, I would
try just using it, with the upper taped over.

[elhigh]

Being a 4x4 you can't really do the full bellypan, but there's lots of stuff down there you could still cover over - the big space between the frame rails and the bottom of the body panels, for instance. You could also move the spare to the bed, cover it with a sleek tonneau like Aerohead's and do a full pan to cover where the spare was.

Add skirts to the back wheels, too. Pouch them out to fit around the tires if you have to, but it's worth the effort IMHO.

[i_am_socket]

Getting nearly 30 in that beast is an accomplishment in itself

I second testing the grill block with tape before hand. Prototyping different layouts is easier that way before going more permanent. Any opening in the front that doesn't lead directly to the rad should be smoothed over. Start taping over from the top and work your way down. If the temps get too high remove from the bottom and work your way up.

I hope you fold back those side view wings before getting on any highways...

Side skirts might work, if you drop the truck and get smaller tires; but that's beyond the baby steps along with the belly pan. But if you can get material cheap, get a set of lifting blocks to get under it safely which would make it easier.

[taco]

so inside wont help much......damn, well i taped the top part off with some wide msha tape. ran out or would of dont rest.

maybe i can make a piece out of abs to cover the grill. since the openin part is recessed a little i could make it form it.

there is only 6 inces or so from the rails to the body. i wil look at it.

every opening leads to rad.

tires are 30x 9.5 r15 stock is 225/75 r 15 (28.5 x9r 15)
bridgestone dueler a/t revo's not the best hypermiling tire i dont think but i could be wrong.

to lower my truck would require coilovers and new leaf springs.
my top speed is 55-60 under power and 65-70 coasting down hill...

[taco]

i taped off all three open piece of my grill, and on my trip to work today i netted 31 mpg might be a fluke but that is about 2 mpg better then the day before.

so this might help fingers crossed
the temp never went over 184 except during some eocing

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

You could also tape over the recesses near the ends of the bumper.

What air pressure are you using in the tires?

[taco]

those are the stock signals....i have covers over them so there is a very little lip.

40 psi on
and the only open area in the grill open is the space behind the toyota symbol.