The 40MPG Crown Victoria Challenge
 

Hey, I know its a river barge and that it is as areodynamic as a jackfruit...but it was free!

So, I decided to start a thread on the future progress of the aerobarge, and look forward to feed back other than its not possible to get 40mpg.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37487273@N04/5592547004/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37487273@N04/5592547004/

The above image is a render of what im aiming for, however the lowering of the car is not to scale.
I figured a partial wheel covering would help without requiring a fender skirt, or would it be best to continue it down as far as i can? Or else, could it be possible to use wheel flares on either side to combat air resistance?

I haven't been under the car as of yet so im not sure about a full lenght belly pan.

One of the suggestions was to get rid of the spare and jack, but I am uncomfortable with driving on long trips without a spare. I thought about mounting a compact spare, under the car, inbetween the belly pan and the trunk floor....(?) thus increasing trunk space as this car will mainly only be used for long distance trips.

planned changes for the near future are:

1. hot air intake
2. underdrive pulley
3. 3.08 to 2.76 rear end swap
4. frontal belly pan

Flares would increase frontal area, which is bad. Full skirts would be better. What year is the car, what engine is in it?

What fuel mileage does it currently return? What transmission does it have? Sounds like if the mods go well, you could have a very economical yet comfortable road trip vehicle.

I have seen air bag suspensions on these cars. May be pretty easy way to get down low without making it bouncy.

You can get some good improvements from aero work but it is hard to make those ford V-8's efficent.

Have you considered an engine swap?

Maybe even a Cummins 4BT 4cyl diesel engine? These are in alot of delivery trucks and can be picked up with a 5speed from a wrecked truck...I've seen for under $500.

And the trunk in that car has a huge space for a WVO tank.

Perhaps a GM Ecotech XFI motor from a cobalt, or a 3800 series from a brick (those approached the 40mpg area with very carefull attention.)

hey man
i have a 2003 crown vic interceptor, bought it last year in december
when i bought it i was getting 19 mpg combined, now i get 23 combined
driving about 70 % highway 30% city

modifications i did

-swap the steel wheels 58 lb each with aloy 38lb each
- all LED lights, minus the headlights( planing to do HIDs 35W)
- small belly pan, runing from the front bumper to botom of radiator
-close the gaps in the front, some gaps inbetween headlight cover and body are so large you can stick the thumb in there
-upper grill cover( just a piece of tape)
- weight reduction , took out the spare and jack, all interior carpet in the trunk,back speakers,botom of back seat, the cover from under the back window...junk :) .....it all added up to 80 lb, is not much but thats 2% of the weight
-10 watt solar panels,( planing to add 10 w more)
-conada thrusters on back wheels( see the thread "my coanda thrusters" ,

good luck

I think a 40 MPG Crown Vic can be done, but baby you are gonna have to throw the kitchen sink ($$$$) at it.

Gabi has a good start and slamming a vehicle has worked for me. Look to the basjoos-mobile. To get to 40 MPG you will have to be as relentless as basjoos was. Do everything: belly pan, air dam, grille block, radical boat-tail. Maybe some radical narrowing of the aft part of the cabin.

To get to 40 MPG, you will have to be equally ruthless about weight. Lose the spare/jack. Modern tires are far more durable than back in the 60s. I've been driving since LBJ was president and have never had anything but slow leaks. It is far more likely your tires will fail from dry rot. Do like airplanes. Replace the glass windows with plexiglas. Pitch the sound system overboard. Drag racers have ten thousand tricks. Plug into the racing community.

Narrower (say 215 or 195 width) LRR (maybe Goodyear Fuel Max Assurance or Michelin Hydroedge) will help. Be sure to smooth out the wheels.

Gotta lose that gas-pig engine. Gotta lose the slushbox. I have often thought a Cummins 4BT3.9 or M-B OW617 mated to a T-56 would be a very hot setup for MPG. Get the numerically lowest rear axle gears you can find.

40 MPG from a Crown Vic is ENTIRELY DO-ABLE, but don't kid yourself it will be easy or cheap.

I have thought about an engine swap, but this car will be multi-purpose and i would still like tow capabilities for a small trailer or even a car dolly.

Air bag suspension, i thought about it. For towing purposes but as for lowering i hadn't. After market systems do not appear to be to cheap. How hard would it be to retrofit a factory system?

He said it was getting 800(497.096 miles) or so kms per tank @20 gal=24.5 mpg roughly, mind you this was never less than the speed limit...atleast 10km above. As far as i know it is the AOD because it is a 1994 model with the 4.6L and the 3.08 rear. Mileage is high at 200k miles, but other than needing routine maint. its good to go.

The only problem is how much it curves in at the bottom... I was trying to make any changes as factory looking as possible. Would a side skirt(on the rocker) that extends out far enough to have a surface face on par with the face of the wheel do the trick? Instead of just hitting the tire and going wherever...?

+1

You can get significant gains with aero tweaks and driver re-education, but you're talking about a 120% increase (assuming combined mpg of 18), which is HUGE, especially for a car with an automatic. You're looking at some major renovations on that Crown Vic to hit those kind of numbers.

except for the boat tail and the narrowing of the cabin they were on the list of mods to do. It was a toss-up on the plexi windows(more for than against) sound system...on the table. It does need new tires and they are currently riding 215's on stock steelies. I was looking into baby moons as well as pizza pans...!
Again with engine swaps, I'd like to be able to some towing with it(not on a regular basis thought). The cummins is more than buying a used hyundai, not worth it. I have worked with benz om616 and the m115, and with the availability in my area of the om617 that could be a possibility.
Why so exotic of a trans? The merc 190e 5spd has a 0.78 fifth, that should come closer to mating up with the om617 should it not?