air dam material???

[steve05ram360]

what is the cheapest/best air dam material to experiment with? Looking to build a secondary air dam to offset some of the losses from the lift (2005 Ram diesel 4x4)

[wmjinman]

A few people on here talk about "lawn edging". I've never tried it myself, but it seems like a reasonable idea if your project will be staying within it's limits.

[Gasoline Fumes]

Conveyor belt is good too. It's very tough. I've dragged mine on the road plenty of times with no damage.

[steve05ram360]

The lawn edging wouldnt be wide enough. Would the conveyor belt be stiff enough??? Havent measured it yet but i think it would need to be about 8-12" wide and about 4' long

What im thinking is a 2 piece setup, 1 piece mounted permanantly and the 2nd piece would bolt to it allowing me to play with height and shape. Wondering what would be strong enough to hold its shape under there

[rafaelsmall94]

Why don't you try a metal rod already. The 2 piece setup/idea is great. On the other hand conveyor belt seems pretty handy in the situation. I guess trying both the methods or even hybridizing them may get the job done.

[WesternStarSCR]

Originally Posted by steve05ram360

The lawn edging wouldnt be wide enough. ... but i think it would need to be about 8-12" wide and about 4' long

Many more people smarter than I (aerohead, etc.), have always said there is a sweet spot in air dam sizing, too much does more harm than good, or is of neutral value.

Great thread here:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post252900

I referenced figure A and B when deciding to just do a dam in front of my tires for now, leaving the center open, and maybe do a belly pan in the spring. YMMV of course, the tough part is, there are some general rules of thumb that get quickly complicated because each vehicle is so different underneath.

I like the double section, hinging idea. I was thinking about hinging even for a single section one, but decided on my spats / airdams in front of tires just for now:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post333461

[Frank Lee]

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ing-17399.html

[kach22i]

You can see the 6" deep lawn edging material I used, a link is in my signature below.

After several Michigan winters it's starting to crack along the top bead. It's been on since March 2009, hope to make to 4-years next spring.

I've mended a tear in it when I spun and hit a snow/ice pile with some 2-part epoxy glue and a lawn edge patch on the back side.

I went over a curb while backing up when I cut my wheels to early, need to repair that now.

The guys on the race track use conveyor belt material for a reason, it can take a beating (but costs and weighs more).

[steve05ram360]

Yeah I saw that thread of yours with the S10. I could probably find a way to make that work by making the brackets extend down lower. I will go have a look. Thanks guys!

[Big Dave]

I use 3/8" ripstop conveyor belting.

My air dam is about 24" wide and is partially supported by a couple of aluminum plates.

Expensive. Hard to work. Nearly indestructible. Impervious to heat, cold, gasoline, road kill, curbs, etc. Had mine on the truck for five years now.

When I have to replace it (who knows when? - it looks A-OK) next time I'll make a paper pattern, pay the shop rate and have it sheared and punched by a pro.

Grade clearance is an issue I'm afraid only a wind tunnel can give you an optimum answer. For a while I had full-width 3" ground clearance. Looked dorky and ground everytime I stopped but gave the best MPG. Now I have 6" grade clearance in front of the tires and 10" between (just covers the steering. Looks better, never grinds and doesn't give as good MPG.