AeroJeep (remote cousin of aerocivic)

[usergone]

Also, I took a blowtorch to the front of my truck, and I was surprised at just how well the plastic shrinks (yes, it does). It is much less flappy in the wind

[winkosmosis]

What electric fan did you replace the mechanical with? Taurus?

I wouldn't block the grill if I were you. My XJ runs really hot even in 85F weather.

[winkosmosis]

BTW it looks like you have aftermarket wheels that stick out. Not good for air resistance. Also will make steering effort even worse without power steering.

[usergone]

I believe that the electric fan was out of a 90's chrysler minivan. Not sure about any more specifics than that.

With the grille block, at first, I had just 2 holes about the same size as the "holes" outlined by fake chrome. I noticed that the fan kept coming on even at high speeds (40-60 mph) so I kept opening it up... It doesn't block a whole lot anymore.

I don't worry about it running hot because of the electric fan. If it gets hot, the fan kicks on, and cools it sufficiently even with a severely blocked grille.


The tires AND rims are not stock, but I don't know about the offset. I would not be surprised if they did in fact stick out farther than stock (pretty sure, actually) but I can manage the NP/S (not power steering) without too much adrenaline thus far.

Rear wheel skirts are something I have brewing in the back of my mind for after the boat tail and when I come back to the side skirts. It would not be too difficult to attach the material because I can (read: am willing) to weld onto my frame.

[winkosmosis]

I'd switch to stock wheels before making skirts, so they don't have to stick out so much.

[usergone]

Today I found my grinder attachments. They were, of all places, in my Sawzall case

So I started putting the whole thing together, and have finished it to the point of only needing to skin it and put on a few more supports (in no particular order)





A bit of black spray paint helps... or not



As far as the non-stock wheels/tires, they don't stick out too terribly much. The truck is actually tapered (if looking from above) and I believe that the axles are the same length, so the front wheels will stick out more no matter what:

[Weather Spotter]

looking good!

[elhigh]

Hey Cheese,

Looking great so far. I'm not going to rag on you like Frank, "why not just get a Prism grumble grumble." It's called ecomodder, not ecoshopper. But that's beside the point.

I looked at your fuel log and noticed you attributed some fuel economy improvement to running on premium. I think premium may actually have held you back.

Your engine is rated to run on regular. I don't know if you have the carb or the (shudder) Renix TBI, but I'm pretty sure in either case the system isn't sophisticated enough to tell what kind of fuel you're running and make the most of that. Since premium is formulated to be less susceptible to detonation - and more reluctant to ignite in general - there's a possibility you've got some unburned fuel going out the pipe. Add to that the fact that premium actually has fewer BTUs per pound of fuel than regular, and you're starting from behind. Save your money at the pump and burn the cheap stuff.

Looking forward to seeing how your project comes out.

[winkosmosis]

Someone on a Jeep forum posted said that his Cherokee's manual said to use high octane for high temperatures and severe use. I think it was an OBD or OBDII model. I haven't heard of anyone else's manual saying that, so it has to be specific to that year. So under specific conditions apparently the old 4.0 does need higher octane.

Since I have overheating problems with my XJ, with intake air temp even reaching 130F, I've been switching between 93 and 87 octane. I think it does run smoother on 93.

[winkosmosis]

Also, apparently in some places the higher octane has less ethanol