Airdam made of lawn edging
 

... it's gonna look pretty good! It just goes low enough to cover the lowest part: the front differential. Couldn't have picked a better height for that edging. Quick and easy to make too. I'm thinking of attaching it with spring-steel clips- no drilling, and if push comes to shove, hopefully it would fall off before breaking anything.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...dam003-1-1.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...irdam002-1.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...irdam001-1.jpg

Now to see if the fuel logs detect anything.

P.S. Had to pull the grille block out when towing the other day- she was getting hot.

Little bit of Redneck engineering

Anything reinforcing the lower edge in the middle and corners?

Looks good Frank.
Nothing against the blue swirly plate, but pulling it might create less turbulance.

Very tidy, Frank. You can hardly tell that it's RNE, haha.

fairly sure it's required by law...

That is a very nice example of F series, btw, Frank.

Yes- the shape of the edging itself. It has a tubular x-section on the bottom edge that gives it more than enough rigidity, yet it's quite a light piece. :thumbup:

That is a ram implosion plate, good for 3 mpg! :eek:

Thanks. I put the stickers on myself. You are looking at the one and only vehicle I've ever bought new. I've mostly babied it but it does bear the scars of a working truck. Well, mostly it bears the scars of being in the Rust Belt. :mad: By knowing to wash inside above the rear wheel wells, though, I've been able to keep that common rust area from going bad.

The edging is formable with a heat gun. I even finished the cut edges on each end by forming them to match the stock dam it's attached to.

I believe I remember talking to you about this truck before. You chose the v8 4x4 bc the EPA ratings were so close or were the same, but the v8 had more usable power, right?

Yes. IIRC V8 was actually 1 point higher than I6; with the intended pulling and towing- some of it off-road- I figured I should have 4x4; and compared to a V6 Ranger or other small truck it wasn't much of an mpg hit at all according to the specs AND purchase price was pretty close to the same too. It ended up being used for loads too big for a smaller truck anyway. Of course most of the time a smaller truck would be more suitable because I don't have the huge loads 100% of the time. But it's paid for.

zip tie some foam pipe insulation to the bottom of that street sweeper

call it the racoon (roadkill) slapper

Airdam
 

Frank,it looks O.E.M.! Very few will ever realize that it's not.Sweet!
PS On my way to Pep Boys to scope out ram implosion devices.The chrome muffler bearing finaly rusted,dizzly-pin is bent,and I can't seem to un-clog the phenobulator :thumbup:

Instead of buying all those parts new, buy and retrofit a Chrysler Turbo Encabulator.

Much better product, and some added efficiency as well. :thumbup:

I have wunna those Chrysler thingies hanging in the garage! I should put it on and get 30 mpg! (combined with the ram-implosion plate... and the wipers and antenna delete)

Emulation
 

Lawn edging airdam on a 1998 Honda Civic. I scraped a dip in town today, no sweat.

Dude, great minds think alike - I did the same thing two years ago on my S-10. Picked up 3-mph hwy.

Link:
Chin Spolier - fast/easy/cheap/effective - Pelican Parts Technical BBS
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...20Up/CHIN4.jpg

I did hit a snow drift (spun) this last winter when I went on to a side street and touched the gas coming out of the turn. I was trying to save gas keeping it out of 4WD, not always a smart thing to do. I now have a crack in the plastic chin valance above my home garden chin spoiler (in one corner). I still have to fix it, helps that the truck is all black, I forget it's even cracked.

Hey, I dig it - nice job.

I read through a bit of that thread. Looks like your gains were made at speeds around 70. Did you measure the mpg gains at any lower speeds - like 45 or 50?

No extended no-stop driving at those speeds, so no. City gas mileage still sucks.

Based on the rear Gurney Flap spoiler experiment I did, I'd say anything above 30 mph aerodynamics will come into play.

The main problem I have with city driving with this truck is the 4.3L V6 has so much more torque than the 1.6L Geo Tracker I drove for 20 years that I become a lead foot and start having too much fun. As you can guess, having fun in even a compact truck is an expensive thing fuel wise.

wow this is nice!

no fuzzy dice? Don't make me pull your redneck license!

love the airdam by the way

2WD instead of 4WD doesn't save gas. All the same drivetrain parts are spinning, except it's the road spinning them.

If this were true, why would companies even bother with optional 4WD? Why not just make all their trucks permanent 4X4's?

That is a nice theory, but in real world practice (on my truck) I can tell you that 4WD eats a very noticeable amount more of gas.

Off the top of my head, I lose about 3 mpg in 4WD.

When your are only getting 18 mpg hwy, and 13 mpg city this can add up quickly.

Lets say I average 15 mpg half/half, 12 mpg is way too low for me.

The trucks with part time 4WD usually have a 4WD mode where the front and rear axles are locked together. You should only use it on loose surfaces, not on dry, wet, or icy roads.

Is it because your front and rear axles are locked together and scrubbing during turning?

The 4WD stuff does add weight and usually a taller, dirtier aero profile. And even in 2WD mode there's more drivetrain stuff spinning even if it's only in the transfer case- a larger drivetrain loss.

But it's not just the transfer case. The front axles and driveshaft still spin in 2WD, it's just that the tires are turning them instead of the engine.

People use 4WD in the snow and wet roads all the time, which is why such trucks exist in the marketplace. To say never use it unless on loose surfaces may be correct, but not realistic in my opinion.

I limit my 4WD use as much as possible, two sand tubes over the rear axle helps.

My multiple aerodynamic improvements; front chin spoiler, roof cab wing, and rear spoiler all help to keep her on the road at speed.

Not on my 4WD, or any of the 4WDs I'm familiar with. That is the reason manual, dashboard, or automatic hubs exist you see.

On top of snow it's fine

It's all spinning unless you have manual disconnect hubs... which you might given the age of your truck.

I agree.

I also go for safety first, and that sometimes includes 4WD on wet roads near freezing, which is what a typical Michigan winter is composed of. Slush is the state's real major product.

Don't confuse 4WD with AWD. The road is never supposed to be spinning the unpowered axles regardless. Only time that happens is when the operator forgets to unlock the hubs, or does so on purpose for the short term.

No modern 4WD trucks have manual hubs though AFAIK. My 1999 Cherokee definitely doesn't.

If there is no front hub disconnection equipment the vehicle is AWD and it never has 2WD mode.

And running in 2WD definitely saves gas!

It sure does.

Runnin 4wd is perfectly fine even on dry ground so long as you dont have a locker up front, with the only issue being efficiency and having to stay under a certain MPH. I run around in 4WD all day long when its icy out, thats what its there for! If I hadnt bought the Escort I would be all over the chin spoiler idea, see if it could help my dismal MPG numbers. Now Im only drive it when I need it so Ill leave it be.
Matt