'03 Tacoma Prerunner

[Christ]

Oh, and yes, in the other thread, I was talking about a shell.

[mobilerik]

Clear Kamm and Giant Spoiler

"Man, that's one big-ass spoiler!"

This sturdy version of the "rear reattachment apparatus" turned out even cheaper to make than the original coroplast prototype. I used a double-layer of 1/8" hardboard, both layers cut from the same $7 panel, glued and screwed together. It's painted for waterproofing. It lasted fine through the rain yesterday. It's bracketed to the half tonneau, and there's some wood braces under the sides that hold it solid. The plexi board at the rear is a quick attempt to encourage the stationary vortex ("the bubble") to force the air over and around. This afternoon I'll add some tufts underneath to see what the air is doing under there.

Visibility unfortunately is decreased from the first prototype in my attempt to allow more surface area on top. It is also sitting a tad higher than I intended, and that is why it may appear that the angle is a little steeper than the roofline. Actually the angle of the "rear Kamm spoiler doohickey" is 10.5 degrees. But I didn't adequately take into account the rise that would be added when I double-layered, and adding the error at the bottom, it's about 1" too high. :doh!:

The "Clear Cab Kamm"

I made this from two sheets of Optix acrylic from Lowes: I think one was 28x32", and the other was 24x36". The sides are attached to the top with screws and joints made from the same plastic. This was my first attempt at acrylic, and I'll say that it's, well... a heck of a lot tougher than coroplast. After a lot of cracking with every jigsaw blade I could find, I found some success with a Dremel router setup. I wasn't patient enough to make a template, so my lines are pretty squiggly. Also bending was basically a blind affair, as I did the bending in the garage out of the rain and went out just to check if I was close. And since I don't know how to bend acrylic with consistency, the fairings are warped a bit, and in a few places are just mismatched and creating a lot of drag. But that's why it's called a "prototype" and that's why I'm happy to stick with the low-res cell phone pix.

Did they work??

Of course they worked! Why wouldn't they? But I can't give any definite evaluation for a number of reasons. Mostly the weather has been too inconsistent to even know what I should be getting right now, and I've been interrupting my commute in different places to Christmas-shop.

So I'll just say this: It definitely accelerates and coasts better. I was able to hit higher numbers at my TPS markers in certain locations. And the ScanGauge told me I hit 30.2 on my morning commute with what I believe is now a fairly close (though still work-in-progress) calibration. I expect the numbers to go up as I solve the height issue and plug the tunnel.

But in the whole context, the next must-do "mod" is to make my tire valves accessible again!!! I just haven't had time, so as it is, I haven't pumped my tires in a month. While I'm at it, I'm going to see if I can make those pizza pans shine.

[FastPlastic]

man you've been busy. looks great

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by akashic

Clear Kamm and Giant Spoiler

"Man, that's one big-ass spoiler!"

This sturdy version of the "rear reattachment apparatus" turned out even cheaper to make than the original coroplast prototype. I used a double-layer of 1/8" hardboard, both layers cut from the same $7 panel, glued and screwed together. It's painted for waterproofing. It lasted fine through the rain yesterday. It's bracketed to the half tonneau, and there's some wood braces under the sides that hold it solid. The plexi board at the rear is a quick attempt to encourage the stationary vortex ("the bubble") and force the air up and over. This afternoon I'll add some tufts underneath to see what the air is doing under there.

Visibility unfortunately is decreased from the first prototype in my attempt to allow more surface area on top. It is also sitting a tad higher than I intended, and that is why it may appear that the angle is a little steeper than the roofline. Actually the angle of the "rear Kamm spoiler doohickey" is 10.5 degrees. But I didn't adequately take into account the rise that would be added when I double-layered, and adding the error at the bottom, it's about 1" too high. :doh!:

The "Clear Cab Kamm"

I made this from two sheets of Optix acrylic from Lowes: I think one was 28x32", and the other was 24x36". The sides are attached to the top with screws and joints made from the same plastic. This was my first attempt at acrylic, and I'll say that it's tough. After a lot of cracking with every jigsaw blade I could find, I found some success with a Dremel router setup. I wasn't patient enough to make a template, so my lines are pretty squiggly. Also bending was basically blind, as I did the bending in the garage out of the rain and went out just to check if I was close. And since I don't know how to bend acrylic with consistency, the fairings are warped a bit, and in a few places are just mismatched and creating a lot of drag. But that's why it's called a "prototype" and that's why I'm happy to stick with the low-res cell phone pix.

Did they work??

Of course they worked! Why wouldn't they? But I can't give any definite evaluation for a number of reasons. Mostly the weather has been too inconstent to even know what I should be getting right now, and I've been interrupting my commute in different places to Christmas-shop.

So I'll just say this: It definitely accelerates and coasts better. I was able to hit higher numbers at my TPS markers in certain locations. And the ScanGauge told me I hit 30.2 on my morning commute with what I believe is now a fairly close (though still work-in-progress) calibration.

In the whole context, the next must-do "mod" is to make my tire valves accessible again!!! I just haven't had time, so as it is, I haven't pumped my tires in a month. While I'm at it, I'm going to see if I can make those pizza pans shine.

akashic,looks like you've got the atmosphere sounding retreat,and running with it's tail between it's legs.The "look" is dramatic but intuitively "correct".I think it's going to be very interesting to live with.Keep us up to date on your results.Big thumbs up to ya,Phil.

[mobilerik]

Originally Posted by aerohead

akashic,looks like you've got the atmosphere sounding retreat,and running with it's tail between it's legs.The "look" is dramatic but intuitively "correct".I think it's going to be very interesting to live with.Keep us up to date on your results.Big thumbs up to ya,Phil.

Thanks, Phil. Yes, "interesting" is the word. It's quite the anomaly in the parking lot, for sure. I feel like I need to build a normal tonneau now, for those occasions when I don't care to be driving the "bat-truck".

But you've got it all backwards: The troposphere is not buckling in fear -- in fact, it hardly even notices as I slip quietly through... haha

Note that I did not say invisibly through. No longer do I drive an anonymous silver Tacoma, no sirreee...

[lunarhighway]

wow! looks like a Luigi Colani design...

it also looks a bit like a wave... it makes the truck look more dynamic just sitting there... would be nice on a whole black truck with a fancy wave painted on the side, flowing uninterrupted over the wheelskirts and onto the spoiler.

[mobilerik]

On my way to LA for the holidays...




After 70 miles, I hit 34.4mpg on the ScanGauge just before I hit stop-and-go, which continued for much of the remaining 2 hrs. Despite an hour of stop-and-go and some extra city-driving due to a wrong exit, I arrived at my sister's at 31.9mpg.

Is it accurate? I think it's close, within 1mpg in some direction. And very reasonable. I actually was able to glide on a huge portion of the first leg on rather gentle slopes that I should have no business coasting, and even without the pulse -- sometimes I would just glide from 53 to 50! It was incredible. And my flat-road DWL was set at 38mpg. I attribute a lot of this to a smooth section of I-5 between San Diego and Orange County. As soon as I got well into Orange County, it turned into "high friction" highway where I had to aim for 33-35mpg. And on that note, I-5 through LA County is a horrible drive - the road has so much "friction" that I was struggling just to maintain 27mpg, and I frequently had to floor it just to maintain 50mph!

And to think that I haven't pumped my tires in a month. The big improvement from yesterday was 1) several hours spent re-bending the cab fairing to realign some of the draggy parts and make it look a tad less amateurish, and 2) lowering the "spoiler gigante" 1-1/4 inches to make it line up with the cab fairing, with the added benefits that my rear vision is restored, and it looks much less huge and obnoxious. I'll post pix later.

Have a great holiday!

[mobilerik]

Just a quick update to provide closure on the LA trip described above, in which the To-LA portion was marred by stop-and-go traffic and ended at 31.9mpg.

My return trip from my sister's door to my driveway got me 33.3mpg on the ScanGauge. (We'll see tomorrow how close this calibration is.)

[mobilerik]

The latest fill and calibration info is in...


My calibration has improved to just 1.6% above, meaning Wednesday's record high was 33.8mpg. The nice trip numbers balanced out my week of Christmas shopping to match my previous best tank at 30.01.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by akashic

The latest fill and calibration info is in...


My calibration has improved to just 1.6% low, meaning Wednesday's record high was 33.8mpg. The nice trip numbers balanced out my week of Christmas shopping to match my previous best tank at 30.01.

Looks like Santa will keep adding little presents for you each time you visit the gas station from here on out.