View Single Post
Old 12-18-2010, 03:27 AM   #1 (permalink)
Jim-Bob
Junkyard Engineer
 
Jim-Bob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: New Port Richey, Florida
Posts: 167

Super-Metro! - '92 Geo Metro Base

$250 Pizza Delivery Car - '91 Geo Metro Base
Team Metro
90 day: 43.75 mpg (US)

Fronty the wonder truck - '98 Nissan Frontier XE
Thanks: 7
Thanked 19 Times in 12 Posts
Grille Block for City driven Nissan Frontier?

I use my 1998 Nissan Frontier 4 cyl./5 speed to deliver pizza with. I drive it city cycle in flat, coastal Florida with a top speed of maybe 50 mph for 1 mile stretches. I am curious to see if I will see a noticeable improvement with aerodynamic changes? I already run 45 psi in the tires and use a few hypermiling techniques (when practical) but still struggle to hit 22mpg. I was considering a grille block for the portion of the grille that is in the front bumper and already have the cardboard and duct tape to try it out. Is it likely to make any quantifiable difference in fuel mileage considering the speeds driven or am I just wasting my time? Also, would wheel skirts make a difference? I can't use smooth wheel covers because the truck has alloy wheels ( and besides I need the brake cooling) so I was considering fabricating a set out of sheet metal as a viable alternative. Lowering the truck could also be considered but it can't be too low because of how it will be used. It uses torsion bars up front so lowering it would be a simple matter of turning the jam nuts out up front and adding lowering blocks out back. This application is much different than most hypermiling vehicles will see as the median average speed the truck sees is likely 35-40mph. The truck also will likely be pulled out of delivery service in a month or so once I can finish my Metro enough to go on the road, so I don't really want to spend a lot on this. It's more of a proof of concept than anything. I also don't have a Scangauge yet as my budget is going towards the OBD I Metro project so my only way to quantify it will be by tracking mileage and fuel fill.

__________________
No green technology will ever make a substantive environmental impact until it is economically viable for most people to use it. This must be from a reduction in net cost of the new technology, not an increase in the cost of the old technology through taxation



(Note: the car sees 100% city driving and is EPA rated at 37 mpg city)
  Reply With Quote