[windrider919]

Getting someone to donate would be great but I think we could do it ourselves.

I read here that the mod that has the most effect on a modern vehicle is improving the aerodynamics. Members are trying all kind of modifications, to their driving habits and to their vehicles. So it seems that most of them will do something aerodynamic. But as stated earlier, some aerodynamic changes make things worse. An example is the truck bed. It seems that leaving the tailgate down would help with less drag when in fact, leaving the tailgate up causes an advantageous vortex behind the cab. And even though there might be 100 different vehicles types among members, if we could test the mod before the person invests time, materials and money we could stop (some) mistakes.

As an example in the thread start, I also belong to a reloading forum that just a couple of weeks ago bought our own server. That forum has a few hundred less members than this one and yet when the call went out for donations to gather $4000.00 the goal was reached and surpassed to $4800.00 in two weeks!

If we did something similar the ecomodders could use it to set up both hardware and software. Those who contributed would get computer time. Someone here who has the time and inclination could run it, perhaps for a small run fee to pay for their time. I am sure that if we were trying to run a bunch of models the person would get tired of donating free time fast. I am trying to be creative here, thinking both inside and outside the box. Personally, I am disabled and run a part time business on the side so I have the time but not the knowledge. I could learn. Someone else might have both and be willing. Thats why I am throwing the idea out to all of you. Because with as many members who could benefit it spreads the cost to something we could easily afford.

Forum has about 9k members and lists +-1500 as active.
If even 1000 members contributed $5.00 each we could be up n runin!

Ex: It would be worth spending some money to me to check my mods before I build them. I would shell out $50.00 or maybe even $100 to test because it could and probably would save me that much wasted epoxy if I had to change something later.