My Ford Ranger - Project Log

[nathan01xl]

(3.73-3.45)/3.73 x 100 = 7.5%

Will run at 1850 rpm instead of 2000.

[Army Ranger]

After the swap be sure to double check your speedometer/odometer with GPS and road signs. Mine fluctuated a different amount than the calculated numbers. Gotta get accurate information to compare the before and after! I am very interested to see the results, should be noticeable to say the least.

[nathan01xl]

i have my ultra-gauge calibrated pretty well right now, i am just going to adjust 7.5% from where it is. shouldnt be any other variables with a gear change to account for.

[ECONORAM]

Originally Posted by nathan01xl

Some updated photos

Grille block and fog light hole covers were remade using plastic container lids and painted black. Caulked the edges with with black silicone and screwed in the corners of the grille block. Looks much better than before and i just need to smooth it out and paint the rest of the valance to match.

[URL=http://s1152.photobucket.com/user/nate24s24/media/100_2260_zps08648829.jpg.html]

New side skirts were made using some 1x2 boards, cut to fit, and lawn edging attached with a staple gun. Attached using existing bolt holes and christmas tree fasteners. Currently have it running from inside in the front tire to outside of the back tire, but might make it straight if it would work better that way.

I found your side skirt application interesting. I think you are seeing a gain by having them "cover" the face of the rear tires, instead of going straight/parallel with the length of the truck. I also think with the angle out slightly like that it will lower the air pressure under the truck slightly, which may be beneficial as well.
I went a slightly different direction, with straight skirts and angled spats or fairings in front of all 4 tires. I also think you will notice better road stability during crosswinds with the skirts.

When I tried an 80% grill block on my RAM, it cost me a bit of MPG (posted it here somewhere...). Besides, with my under drive crank pulley it makes the Efan run a lot more. I think your wheel spats will serve you well. Good job.

@JUANGEAR, you might want to look at my garage for some RAM aero mods.

[nathan01xl]

Alright, the weather is turning towards the better and I am feeling inspired to mod! That said, I decided against installing the 3.45 rear end because I want to go 3.08 eventually and don't want to put the time and money into doing the swap twice.

I am really wrestling with the idea of sinking some serious time and hopefully not too much money into this truck and making it a 50 mpg machine! First on the list is an aero cap, wheel covers, and a partial belly pan to go with my air dam.

From there I have a pretty extensive list of mods I could do for reasonable-outrageous costs including:
1. 3.08 rear end
2. 195/65r15 LRR Ecopias on Mustang alloys (16 lbs I read)
3. Rear wheel skirts
4. Wiper cowl
5. Grille blocke 2.0
6. Fill/cover gaps and seams
7. Spare tire delete
8. Electric fan
9. Power steering delete
10. WAI
11. New lighter muffler, dumped before axle
12. Side skirts 2.0
13. Shaved emblems, handles, mirrors
14. Tapered bed like the off road guys do

There are probably a few more I could do, but I think a lot of this list is realistic and can pay itself off in a reasonable time frame.

Recently I have been doing some major brainstorming on aero cap designs. My current plan is to use foam board to build it and then fiberglass once the shape is right. I want to include a clear hatch and side windows too. its a pretty ambitious plan so far but I want it to be functional and have good visibility. I would appreciate any advice on working with the foam and fiberglass as that seems to be the intimidating part to me.

[MetroMPG]

Check this thread for much info on working with foam board and fiberglass:

Project Extended Pop-Top Aerodynamic Camper Shell ('99 Tacoma)

[Christopher Jordan]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Check this thread...

Impressive. but the thought of losing a wide-angle mirror visibility and adding to the bed length would not work for my Ranger. After that small Aspire the Ranger feels huge and very hard to jockey around. I thought I would put a camper shell that raises and lowers. I see some on Craigslist that are complete and they cost less than another project. Decided to stay with a plain old camper that does not move. I have enough with putting that velomobile back together! 1 project at a time.

[Oceanic815]

Originally Posted by nathan01xl

MAF cleaner... comes in an aerosol can, available at any auto parts store. haven't put enough miles on to notice a significant different yet. but since the oil change, cleaning the throttle body, IAC, and MAF i do notice the engine running smoother, especially at startup.

This past December we went and bought security Torx and cleaned our MAF sensor with the aerosol MAF cleaner, as well as replaced the IAC on our 3.0 Escape.

Cleaning the MAF allowed the throttle to be a bit more responsive, and the IAC replacement cured an occasional hard start and stalling problem in cold weather.

We have not noticed any MPG gains since doing this, but is good maintenance to do if its never been done.

[nathan01xl]

I finally spent some time yesterday and today working on aero mods, about 3/4th done right now.

I finally mounted my interior convex mirror on the drivers side. Not sure if I will do the same on passenger side before deleting that exterior mirror. I am also using a Broadway convex rear view mirror... it is amazing, highly recommend to everyone http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040DXAWI. used coroplast and tape so far to replace side mirror.




I also updated my front grille block, it now blocks more air and is made of coroplast. Ironically, the corplast is from a "save money on gas" sign which I found in a parking lot.


Finally installed pizza pan wheels covers using zip ties. Will see how it holds this week, but I think they should work fine.


Last thing I am working on is a rear wheel skirt, so far have just a 1/4 length mocked up.


Hoping to see upwards of 40 mpg combined this next tank, and set a new record for trip mpg on my way home from work (above 45.5).

[oil pan 4]

How much do you think the mirror delete is good for?