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hat_man · 03-12-2012, 03:10 PM

Hello everyone,

I think I am going to jump in with both feet and try and build an aero cap for my little Ranger. I have a plan for materials but am wondering about the shape.

Trying to get the most out of this little gem of a truck has become a hobby now. I love telling people I am getting between 28-30MPG with only a few little mods. I am having to replace the bed after a slight mishap (got rear ended) and am going to use the old bed (it's still pretty close to its original box shape) as a template. Any final tweaking would be done on the new bed to get a good fit.

I hope these pics will explain my thoughts. These are not pics of MY truck but ones found on the web. Mine is a shortbed stepside though, but currently has the damaged bed removed. Which would be better? I am pretty sure they are all possible, just trial and error. The dimensions (line lengths) are only approximate. It's more to show the concept of the angles.

The other 2 things I am looking at doing is flipping the rear axle and getting some drop springs for the front. This would lower the rear about 4" and the front about 2". It rides 2" high in the rear now so this would level it out and lower it at the same time. And possibly swapping the stock 3:73 gears with 3:45's. I spend 80% of my drive on the highway at 55-58mph for 120 miles round trip to work. It wouldn't be very good in town and would require changing the speedometer gear on the tailshaft and the odometer gear behind the guage cluster, but I think the MPG's would be worth the extra effort.

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

03-12-2012, 03:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
hat_man Master EcoModder Join Date: May 2010 Location: Illinois Posts: 475 Oh Deer - '03 Ford Ranger XL 90 day: 33.97 mpg (US) Thanks: 55 Thanked 91 Times in 72 Posts	Advice on aero-cap shape Hello everyone, I think I am going to jump in with both feet and try and build an aero cap for my little Ranger. I have a plan for materials but am wondering about the shape. Trying to get the most out of this little gem of a truck has become a hobby now. I love telling people I am getting between 28-30MPG with only a few little mods. I am having to replace the bed after a slight mishap (got rear ended) and am going to use the old bed (it's still pretty close to its original box shape) as a template. Any final tweaking would be done on the new bed to get a good fit. I hope these pics will explain my thoughts. These are not pics of MY truck but ones found on the web. Mine is a shortbed stepside though, but currently has the damaged bed removed. Which would be better? I am pretty sure they are all possible, just trial and error. The dimensions (line lengths) are only approximate. It's more to show the concept of the angles. The other 2 things I am looking at doing is flipping the rear axle and getting some drop springs for the front. This would lower the rear about 4" and the front about 2". It rides 2" high in the rear now so this would level it out and lower it at the same time. And possibly swapping the stock 3:73 gears with 3:45's. I spend 80% of my drive on the highway at 55-58mph for 120 miles round trip to work. It wouldn't be very good in town and would require changing the speedometer gear on the tailshaft and the odometer gear behind the guage cluster, but I think the MPG's would be worth the extra effort. Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Attached Thumbnails