Thread: New air dam
View Single Post
Old 12-12-2016, 09:03 PM   #1 (permalink)
JRMichler
Master EcoModder
 
JRMichler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Phillips, WI
Posts: 1,018

Nameless - '06 GMC Canyon
90 day: 37.45 mpg (US)

22 Maverick - '22 Ford Maverick XL
90 day: 43.95 mpg (US)
Thanks: 192
Thanked 467 Times in 287 Posts
New air dam

The factory chin spoiler on my truck had broken into several pieces years ago, and the duct tape holding it together had been replaced several times, so I decided it was time to make a proper air dam.



I wanted something slightly lower than the factory chin spoiler, plus it had to be sturdy enough to smash into a snowbank or plow pile without damage. So I bought some conveyor belting, stainless carriage bolts, silicon bronze nuts and washers, and built an air dam. The bottom row of bolts fasten to angles that bolt to a second piece of conveyor belt intended to add stiffness to the visible piece. I have not yet observed whether the air dam flexes back under wind loads on the highway.

Unfortunately, I cannot properly test it. Any MPG difference from the factory setup will be small, and my driving habits will change since I retired last week.

__________________
06 Canyon: The vacuum gauge plus wheel covers helped increase summer 2015 mileage to 38.5 MPG, while summer 2016 mileage was 38.6 MPG without the wheel covers. Drove 33,021 miles 2016-2018 at 35.00 MPG.

22 Maverick: Summer 2022 burned 62.74 gallons in 3145.1 miles for 50.1 MPG. Winter 2023-2024 - 2416.7 miles, 58.66 gallons for 41 MPG.

Last edited by JRMichler; 12-12-2016 at 09:08 PM..
  Reply With Quote
The Following 11 Users Say Thank You to JRMichler For This Useful Post:
101Volts (02-19-2017), aerohead (12-17-2016), BamZipPow (12-15-2016), Daox (12-14-2016), Ecky (12-14-2016), elhigh (03-14-2017), Gasoline Fumes (12-13-2016), mcrews (12-13-2016), MobilOne (03-14-2017), rumdog (01-03-2017), Xist (12-16-2016)