affordable Aero mods for LARGE SUV

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

I would agree. Didn't the EV1 have tapered sides too?

But as with anything, "does it look cool?" is the most important argument.

I really, really, really hope that Aptera takes off. Right now, the future seems to be an SUV invasion apocalypse.

yes, GM provided a plan-view photograph of Impact/EV1 # 15 in their wind tunnel.
careful examination of this image indicates that the body plan-taper initiates at about 12-inches ( 305mm ) downstream of the side mirrors, forming an uninterrupted geometric contour, of reducing cross-section for the rest of the body length. Cd 0.197 was the official Cd according to GM.
Cd 0.137, with the 'Yellow Ferret', 1-meter, aluminum boat-tail, at Fort Stockton, Texas, Firestone Proving Grounds, 1993.
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AeroStealth attended the big BEV car show in San Diego, California this summer, and said that the Aptera display was so swamped that he couldn't ever get close to it, the whole weekend.

[hayden55]

I mean he has a point. Just law of dynamics whoever is heavier will always be the one who will probably come out better. A 4 star crash rated Tahoe will whoop a 5 star crash rated priuses ass. I would hate to see what a hummer EV would do to a prius at over 3x the curb weight.
Pointless safety aside, you're averaging 25mpg driving how fast? 85-90mph in the prius average speed is maybe 31-34mpg.
I will say I bumped the FE on my Sequoia up with a sheet of coroplast going from the front bumper to just behind the driver door for about $35. 4x8 sheet and some holes and a slight trim around the wheels. Averaging about 20mpg on my commute consisting of 25-65mph roads 14 miles to work. At least ever since it got cold, it may have been higher two weeks ago.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by hayden55

I mean he has a point. Just law of dynamics whoever is heavier will always be the one who will probably come out better. A 4 star crash rated Tahoe will whoop a 5 star crash rated priuses ass. I would hate to see what a hummer EV would do to a prius at over 3x the curb weight.
Pointless safety aside, you're averaging 25mpg driving how fast? 85-90mph in the prius average speed is maybe 31-34mpg.
I will say I bumped the FE on my Sequoia up with a sheet of coroplast going from the front bumper to just behind the driver door for about $35. 4x8 sheet and some holes and a slight trim around the wheels. Averaging about 20mpg on my commute consisting of 25-65mph roads 14 miles to work. At least ever since it got cold, it may have been higher two weeks ago.

"Will always... probably?" That's always probably right!

If the collision is head-on or a side impact (T-bone) then yes, the Tahoe is always probably going to be better off.

If the accident is a single vehicle or a bunch of vehicle traveling in the same direction, then I'd say the Tahoe is at a disadvantage due to a higher probability of rollover, unless we're talking about a car pileup, in which case the safest car is the one that isn't in front of any 18-wheelers.

Anywho, I do notice that my fuel mileage drops a lot in my Toyota Avalon hybrid from going above 65mph. For this reason I try not to go over 65mph. I have done 80mph and I seemed to get around 35mpg instead of 40mpg.

[aerohead]

A perfect example of the velocity-cubed power law eating your wallet or debit card.

[Isaac Zachary]

Another reason to doubt the safety of large SUV's.

We're now at the 10th person who has been ran over by an SUV or pickup in the neighborhood since I moved here in 2011. 5 of them died from the accident. People keep running over other people, including their own kids.

Doing some research it was a lot safer to be a pedestrian back in 2009. Your chances of being ran over as a pedestrian back then was 1.3 in 100,000. Now it's up to 2.2 (at least it was in 2021, if the trend has continued it is now higher.) https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality...il/pedestrians

The reason why more people are getting ran over is that SUV's and pickups have become more popular. Statistically you are 80% more likely to run over someone walking along the road in a Pickup, and 61% more likely in an SUV, than in a car. https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/suv...-while-turning

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

How to get better fuel mileage in a:

• Full size SUV
• that needs to go 85mph to 90mph
• on a 90 mile per day route
• with fuel costs at $6.39 per gallon.

. . .

I checked Wiki, is this:

In 2008, a two mode hybrid was offered with two trim levels, HY1 or HY2. A 332 hp (248 kW) 6.0L Vortec 6000 with a pair of 80-hp, 184 ft.-lb. torque electric motors was offered. It had a 0.36 to 0.34 drag coefficient from upgraded body panels and a 12V/300V battery system. The hybrid models also included 300V Electric AC, 42V power steering, and LED taillights (only an option from 2008 to 2013).

I also found an interesting description in Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Hybrid_Cooperation

It uses 2 or 3 planetary gearsets in an automatic transmission: one on the internal combustion engine (ICE) side (input split) paired with a second (output split), forming the compound split, and possibly one third additional planetary gearset to multiply the number of fixed gear ratios (up to 4).

Is this the "2WD" version?

Limiting to just "aerodynamic" modifications risks "polishing the musket balls." I prefer tuning the whole vehicle. Regardless, can you share front, side, underbody, and top photos?

• front - evaluate cooling air inlet and air flow
• side - the wheels and wheel covers
• underbody - how draggy that side looks
• top - looking for drag sources

It helps if you have tools needed for any tuning:

• What vehicle instrumentation do you have and are willing to use?
• Do you have a video camera to investigate air flow?

What is your improvement expectation, when we can stop?

Redundant but I prefer to tune the whole system, not limited to just aerodynamics. Aerodynamic tuning can not overcome other low hanging fruit.

If you decide to do whole vehicle tuning, it may make more sense to start a fresh thread under "Hybrid" for a hybrid Tahoe.

Bob Wilson

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by bwilson4web

I checked Wiki, is this:[INDENT][I]In 2008, a two mode hybrid was offered with two trim levels,

It looks like @Tahoe_Hybrid drives 90 miles a day and buys a new Tahoe every year. @Tahoe_Hybrid has (or had) a 2020, a 2021, a 2022 and a 2023 Tahoe, according to the stats section.

Of course, if that's the case, either ecommoding would need to be done every year to a new Tahoe, or we need to figure out a mod that can be interchanged between Tahoe years. Maybe a detachable boat tail.