Quote:
Originally Posted by 2000mc
of what you mentioned i think dropping the suspension would get you the biggest gains, then i would also be all over doing smooth wheel covers on an s-10, most of thier wheels seem like they would be pretty bad aero wise. then switching to an electric fan, i dont know who at GM decided it would be a good idea to put a regular fan in a truck with a 2.2L.
biggest one i would be against spending money on would be injectors.
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Yes! Ive already got the E Fan and its tested. Its a junkyard fan off a Taurus - a popular S10 Mod. Lowering it is sketchy but probably still going to happen as I visit constructions sites in my line of work. Most are rough and unforgiving, but seems like things havent been as bad lately. I think if I keep it reasonable Ill be ok. My rims look like big fans and I happen to like the moonie look anyway, so Ill probably do that. It will probably be a slight weight increase; Ill have to look into what they weigh vs my current rims.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JRMichler
35 MPG is a very realistic goal for your truck with the loads you carry.
I got good MPG gains from a grille block and an aero topper.
If your undercarriage is as ugly as mine, then I'd expect even larger gains from an air dam combined with a belly pan.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Weather Spotter
Welcome, I think an aero bed cap would do you well. then some belly pans.
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Id like to get an Aero topper evetually but thats something Id want to buy - my fab skills arent so great when it comes to big parts and I dont want the truck to look like crap - I have to be presentable in my line of work.
I agree with the belly pan - its probably one of the things I need most. These truck are nasty underneath as far as aerodynamics go - like all trucks probably are. Im also going to get some black foam and fill in all the gaps in the nose.
I stuck with 35mpg for now because it is, as you said, a reasonable goal. Id like to see 40 but I wont push it too far just yet. I like to set attainable goals and then see where I stand
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gealii
I had an idea about ecomodding an s10 at a point in time but when time came to buy 1 i fell in love with a different vehicle and never came to getting an s10 to start the build on. I had brainstormed the idea and heres a link to everything i came up with. Some of the ideas are expensive mods others are simple cheap mods and all in between.
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S10s arent the best vehicle to start with, but there are worse. The 2.2s dont take to light mods very well when compared to other 4cyls - you just dont get as much bang for your buck out of these as you do many other 4cyls. They do take the high dollar mods better though; turbo, cam, all the big stuff. And a lot of that is probably due to the weight of these trucks - the Ext cabs are fat and have a lot of weight for a light truck.
Looks like you had a good plan all laid out too. I didnt go 5 stages; just three for now. And I kinda combined a bit of everything into each stage...aero, engine, weight control all in phase 1.
I do think you would have done better with an S10 than a Ranger though; the Rangers sit a little higher and dont seem as we designed when it comes to aerodynamics. I did see two old VW diesel trucks for sale here a while back; the guy was claiming 50+ mpg out of them. It was tempting, but they were ugly and rusty and the guy wanted an arm and a leg for them. They also had high miles.
Im mainly doing things that are fairly cheap as Phase 1, then moving on to more expensive/involved things later. I may never even see Phase 3 as thats where the supercharger/turbo comes in, and I might have too many miles on the old girl by the time I get there. We'll see how she holds up with time...Ive got 96,000 miles on her now. Bought her in Feb 2012 with only 84,000 - which is why I want high MPG. 12,000 miles in a mere 5 months is rough.
Pic of my 1st Aeromod
