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Old 08-25-2014, 12:52 PM   #1 (permalink)
ksguy
EcoModding Lurker
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Lawrence, KS
Posts: 4

blue zr2 - '02 Chevrolet S10 ZR2
90 day: 17.4 mpg (US)
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Thanked 3 Times in 1 Post
S10 Zr2 project thread

Hey all -
I got started aeromodding my S10 this weekend. I'm adding an aero cap and underbody pan.

Starting vehicle is an 02 S10 pickup, Zr2 off road package, manual transmission. My total round trip commute is around 60 miles per day - 50 highway, and 10 city. I'm averaging around 17.3 mpg now (depending on A/C usage). Highest tank is 17.9 w/o A/C. I'm hoping for at least 20 with these mods.

I'm starting with the cap. My design will be fairly simple - I'm using 5mm plywood and a boat building method called stitch and glue. There are no complex frames to build - I'm putting in place basic framework that will be a starting point for the initial panel - the remainder of the panels will be placed by bending, tracing to the first panel, cutting, then "stitching" to the first panel. The 5mm ply should be flexible enough to handle the compound curves. In the end, structural stiffness will come from the joints and the use of biaxial fiberglass tape. The remaining surface of the panels will be covered in fiberglass cloth.

I have fiberglass and epoxy on hand as leftovers from a boat project, so my materials budget for this build is around $50 - about 6 to 8 weeks worth of savings I'd expect with a 15% mpg gain.

I started by building a frame around the bed of the truck made of 1x8 pine on the sides and a 1x6 ripped in half for the front and back. I created an overlapping joint at the corners, held together by epoxy putty. Once it cured, I fastened it to the truck using turnbuckles connected to the tie-down points in the bed.

The vertical frames at the front will be used as the starting point of the main arched panel. I'll temporarily fasten the leading edge of the top panel to the top of those, then flex it down in the desired curve to meet the edge of the rear frame.

Here's pics of this weekend's progress.

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The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to ksguy For This Useful Post:
aerohead (08-25-2014), Joris (08-25-2014), MetroMPG (08-25-2014)