Commercially produced aerodynamic pickup bed cap - Page 33 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Frank Lee · 10-07-2010, 11:02 PM

search here for dimples; it's been analyzed to death.

LongRangeR · 10-07-2010, 11:27 PM

Oh and on a side note, I've got a standard 5 speed '97 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab, 2wd, 2.3L OHC Inline 4 cylinder engine with 8 spark plugs (2 per cylinder, wasn't a typo, I don't doubt the knowledge of people here but those who don't know about these engines think I'm messing with them when I say 4 cylinder with 8 plugs). No body mods, has new tires (less than 3,000 miles on them) size 205/75/R14.... Techno-something... on steel rims with beauty rings and a ford lugnut / center cap. They're currently a tad soft, one of my two 02 sensors is failing, my rear bumpers dented down on one side creating more drag most likely and I'm still, unofficially getting an average of over 25 mpg, with bad driving habits (hard acceleration, late shifting, and so on). I've decided it's time to change my ways as well as improve the truck.

On my first post above, you're right, I should have searched here for more on the topic, but I was also questioning their effectiveness on bondo's aerocaps, not just in general.

euromodder · 10-08-2010, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LongRangeR

They coated a ford Taurus in modeling clay, and cut dimples out of the clay making the vehicle resemble a golf ball. Now this clay coating added over 600 lbs to that ford Taurus, and increased its fuel efficiency by over 11 or 12 percent if my memory is correct.

The improvement was over the car already covered with clay - not over the 600 lbs lighter stock car.

Their experiment tested the effect of a dimpled car at speed - no more, no less - but impressive nontheless.

LongRangeR · 10-08-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by euromodder

The improvement was over the car already covered with clay - not over the 600 lbs lighter stock car.

Thank you for clarifying that with the Redundancy Department Of Redundancy.

d0sitmatr · 10-17-2010, 11:33 PM

hello all
new member to ecom and this thread inspired me to join. I actually read almost the entire thing !

anyways, first off, major props to Brett for his innovative idea, that in hindsight almost seems... common sense to anyone with even a lackluster knowledge of drag efficiencies.

also, props to cons, reading his gains has inspired me to get the ball rolling and start working on my 99 XLT v6. my goal is to reach 30mpg and hoping for more than that. being in FL allows me to drive on flat roads all day long, but hampers me in a grill block as it would just make my truck run too hot for my liking.
however, I do have a work around that will allow me to do a partial GB. Im also working on something that will give the entire front end of my ranger more streamlined (both aesthetic and functional) of which I will share with the community as I work on it.

I am planning on building my aerolid/cap out of lightweight aluminum, it will be nothing on the level of Brett's aero lid, which is topnotch production. it will mostly be for more of functional purposes. and Im hoping that down the road, that Brett will be able to provide me with one of his awesome aerolids (with payment, of course)

with the minor modifications Ive done to my truck at this time, Im averaging about 350mpt with 50/50 driving. I havent broken things down yet to see what my mpg are exactly, but I do know that is a decent increase over stock.

anyways, Im looking very forward to working with everyone here at ECM on realizing my dream of 30+mpg !

wkhcskaboy · 11-17-2010, 06:51 PM

this thread also inspired me to join only because i couldnt look at the pictures of brett's ingenious creation. i own a 04 nissan frontier xe short bed, wanting and waiting to build her into an exploration 4x4 this cap is perfect for my needs. im currently nearing the end of my deployment and even though im making more money out here its not nearly enough to ignore the high price of gas when i return state side. i found a similar cap for sale in europe for my truck but 3300 dollars not including the shipping will not be a practical purchase. i wish you luck brett in your endeavors of gas efficient bed caps. and i hope i will be able to purchase one in the near future hopefully in the very near future. thank you for being on top of the game. keep trying to push the bill, the government cant ignore you forever.

bondo · 11-17-2010, 08:17 PM

No, it is you and your fellow soldiers who are an inspiration to me.

I will see my little brother this Saturday for the first time in a year since he was deployed in Iraq. The job you and he do are of pinnacle importance to our country and we are very proud of you all.

The development of the Aerolid started out in my shop in 2007. I built it single handedly, tooling and all. The skills I have been fortunate enough to acquire from working at Ford and other manufacturers of vehicles, allowed me to complete the task.

I appreciate your compliments and I do hope someday the dynamics come together where the Aerolid will finally be put into production. I would like you to contact me when you get stateside at Home - Aerolid
I would like to have a way to contact you when we do produce a lid for the Nissan and I would like to sell you one at cost. This is the least I can do to show my appreciation for your service to our country.

Sincerely,

Brett Herndon (bondo)