Truck's still dead so I continue crunching numbers.
*The 2,949 miles at maximum 75-mph netted an average 31.894 mpg,a 36.844% fuel economy improvement over baseline.
*Using 6.33% delta-mpg/10% delta CdA (extrapolated from Kelly & Holcombe's SAE Paper)this 36.844% difference suggests a 58.268% reduction in CdA,retaining only 41.732% of the original drag,or 0.41732 X 0.44= Cd 0.1836.
*Since these values were basically generated at 'altitude',with air density at only 0.00193 slugs per cubic foot,the drag coefficient can be down-graded to Cd 0.208 for 'standard air.'
*With the belly pan missing,and airdam mitigating some of the belly's performance,I might estimate a 0.025 benefit if restored.
*With the full-coverage ventilated wheel covers restored I might expect 0.018 (Pontiac's value).
*Completing the driver's side front wheel skirt may provide 0.0088.
*Together,these mods could drop the Cd from 0.208,to Cd 0.155.
*This is with attached flow down to the 9.743 sq-ft transom of the present 30-inch boat tail.
*From Hoerner's reporting of the fuselage truncation vs drag coefficient,by adding the new 18-inch 'stinger' boat tail extension,which reduces the body wake and base pressure area down to 6.02 sq-ft; the T-100 should have a shot at Cd 0.13.
*Comprehensive wheel/tire fairing integration could push the Cd even lower.
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If things work out I'll have these mods ready for North Carolina,late August/early September,and if I can just get it to Moorseville I'll get some hard numbers.
It's been an interesting project,it would be nice to complete it.
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A closing thought:
I located a CAR and DRIVER TEST RESULTS for a 1989 Peugeot 405 Mi16.It is the fastest car in my records which shares the same horsepower as the T-100 (150 bhp)
*Cd 0.28
*Af 21.5 sq-ft (1.998 m-sq)
*CdA 6.02 sq-ft (0.5594 m-sq)
*2,691 pounds curb weight
*0.76:1 5th-gear
*4.43:1 axle ratio
*Michelin MXV 195/60 VR-14 tires @ 32/32 psi
*131 mph,6,600rpm
*29 mpg at 75 mph
I would not be able to match the frontal area or light weight of the Peugeot with the T-100,but I could attack the Cd.And even compensating for the thin air on the trip,the streamlined T-100 gets better fuel economy than the smaller,lighter car,mountain passes and all.(This was the premise of Don Sherman's 'Crisis-Fighter Pinto' project of 1974)
Conversely,if the Peugeot were to receive the body off the 1993 HONDA Dream-2 it's 150 horsepower would be able to push it to 171 mph according to Hucho's Figure 3.11'Influence of aerodynamic drag on top speed.'
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From the Salt Flats:
*Jeff Mcvey's normally-aspirated Maxda 3 dropped from 130 mph,to 113 mph.I'm blaming the damp salt for the 13% loss.
*Sarah Curtis' Mini Cooper fell from 139 mph,to barely over 130 mph and her car is turbocharged and electronically-limited to 139 mph.And she only made 130 mph after packing the inter-cooler with ice.(a trick which can get the inlet temps down to 58-degrees F and almost a 6% increase in charge-density.Her 6.4% velocity loss I also attribute to the damp salt.
The normally-aspirated T-100 'gained' over it's sea-level and on-pavement top speed of 96 mph.And this is in consideration of the fact that a 'stock' Cd 0.44 T-100 might have seen only 83 mph due to the salt conditions.That would make a 26% velocity improvement without actually achieving terminal velocity.And with a 300-pound weight liability!
So it looks like all the body modifications helped both mpg and speed potential,which Hucho reports will always favorably impact mpg.
The trip was worth the trouble.Now it's time to see what the wind tunnel says.
