Aerocap version 3

[freebeard]

The rear corners work better than I expected. i guess I was thinking of a '56 Ford pickup bed.

Are you going to tighten up the top half of the gap at the cab?

[t vago]

Today, I will travel about 360 miles with this truck, on business. Prior to leaving, I will top off the tank.

Originally Posted by California98Civic

Those numbers and that picture tell the story well. So if the numbers hold when you get better instrumentation hooked-up you just gave yourself somewhere between a 10% or even 20% increase in FE. That would be pretty amazing.

Yah, I surely hope so. We shall soon see.

Originally Posted by freebeard

The rear corners work better than I expected. i guess I was thinking of a '56 Ford pickup bed.

Are you going to tighten up the top half of the gap at the cab?

Yes, after I come up with the hinge mechanism for the cap itself. I figured that I could live with the slight reduction in efficiency due to the gap. There's already a comparably sized gap between the truck bed and the cab section. *shrugs*

[aerohead]

The 2001 Dakota Quad Cab was reported @:
11.3 mpg (worst)
13.6 mpg (average)
15.5 mpg (best)
in a long-term test by maybe Road and Track,I'd have to look.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*The 1986 2WD Dakota's Road Load was measured @ 19.0 hp @ 50 mph
*The 1989 Shelby Dakota Road Load was measured @ 19.0 hp @ 50 mph
*------------------------------------------------ @ 41.0 hp @ 70 mph
*The 1992 4X4 Dakota's Road Load was measured @ 25.0 hp @ 50 mph

[t vago]

Result's from yesterday's trip -

Distance: 354.6 miles
Time: 5 hrs, 21 minutes
Average Speed: 66.3 MPH
FE: 19.6 MPG

I am going to perform another ~250 mile trip today - this time, I will re-install the performance tune that I had removed a few months ago.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by t vago

Result's from yesterday's trip ...

Any chance for ABA testing? Maybe a coast down test? I'd hate for all the other variables like wind and temp and subtle throttling differences to create the bummer effect for you. The project is so good. A coast down test wouldn't consume a lot of fuel either.

[NeilBlanchard]

Another query: are you going to try tuft testing?

[aerohead]

For all the driving,do we have a baseline mpg for this speed?
We'll need some similar trips with the 'naked' truck to questimate the new performance.
From the old 1963 GM Labs relationship we'd figure about a 5.5% mpg increase per 10% drag reduction in this speed range.

[t vago]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

Any chance for ABA testing? Maybe a coast down test? I'd hate for all the other variables like wind and temp and subtle throttling differences to create the bummer effect for you. The project is so good. A coast down test wouldn't consume a lot of fuel either.

I have to find some relatively flat section of road around here. Luckily, this area does have some decently flat roads (near Amana, IA). Hopefully, I can do a few coastdown runs this upcoming weekend.

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Another query: are you going to try tuft testing?

Yah, at some point, I want to film a tuft test session. I am also interested in what the airflow patterns look like.

Originally Posted by aerohead

For all the driving,do we have a baseline mpg for this speed?
We'll need some similar trips with the 'naked' truck to questimate the new performance.
From the old 1963 GM Labs relationship we'd figure about a 5.5% mpg increase per 10% drag reduction in this speed range.

Unfortunately, no. Since I had the previous aerocap installed, the truck has gathered a good amount of mileage (needs a tuneup), the A/C compressor failed (possible extra parasitic drag), the P/S pump is dying (more possible extra parasitic drag), the EVAP purge switch failed (Check-Engine-Light lit), and my mother-in-law smacked the front left fender of the truck into a telephone pole (front aero changed).

However, this weekend should hopefully give me some good A/B data.

[t vago]

This is a link to a section of road, on which I intend to perform some coastdown tests. It is nice and flat, and not very busy.

Flat coastdown run - Iowa, IA

I will probably go ahead and hook up an MPGuino to the truck, once I find a nearby RadioShack to get the necessary interfacing components. I will then record the MPGuino output using my cellphone, and upload the videos to YouTube. Once done, I will crunch the numbers from reading the videos.

[Ardent]

Originally Posted by t vago

. . . I will then record the MPGuino output using my cellphone, and upload the videos to YouTube. Once done, I will crunch the numbers from reading the videos.

Sounds like a need-based opportunity to add MPGuino functionality!