belly pan on the Dodge diesel

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by skyking

so now I'm down to .60 eh?

I've deleted my comment about the Me-109.It's a cinch that I'm attempting to vibrate way above my assigned frequency whenever I get into aeronautical stuff.
Anyway,I rehashed the numbers:
At sea-level,the 1,200-hp engine,working through a variable-pitch prop of 0.78 efficiency delivers 920-lbs of thrust,plus 140-lbs from the exhaust,for a total 1060-lbs.
At terminal velocity,drag equals thrust.
At sea-level the plane will max out at 292 mph.
The frontal projected area of the entire plane is about 31.112 sq-ft.
Setting F= 1060-lbs,and using standard density,solving for the frontal-area based drag coefficient yields Cd 0.156 (1984 Ford Probe-IV ).
While the 0.60 Dodge is a bit higher,it looks like it is possible to match the Cd of the Messerschmitt.Of course,it will no longer ;look' like a 'Dodge' but it will have the low Cd.
The piece de resistance would be matching a 1935 Douglas DC-3,at Cd 0.12!

[darcane]

Wow, you did good. Interested in see what sort of results you see.

[skyking]

Originally Posted by aerohead

Sounds nasty 'til you consider that a Messerschmitt Me-109 "G" has a higher Cd.

I was just joshing ya, the only source I can find is 0.44 for my truck. I think it is more like .46 with the bed lower like I have it.

[Sven7]

Nice work. Do you have any photos of the truck on the ground with that- ie, does it show at all?

[skyking]

Here are the money shots, down on the suspension at a normal ride height.


I put the pan inside the arms of the A-frames themselves.



The edge of the plastic shows here, and especially where I could not get a screw in there because of the lift arms. I plan on using an aluminum carpet edge to clamp the plastic to the aluminum running board, with countersunk screws. I will paint the final edges with a rubberized undercoat.


The rear axle is in line or above the pan, except for the spring clamp bolts and shock mounts. I really did not want to squeeze the air. It starts out at ~10.5" ground clearance up front, maybe 10" under the crossmember, then tapers up to about 13" at the axle. I could lower the front section to match, but it would be effectively lower than the lowest front suspension component if I did. The crossmember is only about 25" wide in the low area.


It is down about 5" below the original bumper, but that will all get covered by the new bumper/spoiler. I ran with this much radiator cover over the pass the other day, and no fan.

[baldlobo]

would your box/what you tow allow you to put a flip kit on it(move the axle to the other side of the spring).

[slowmover]

One heckuva change. We can "forget" both how long and how deep is the undercarriage of a full-sized pickup truck in comparison to the short and shallow area of bellypan coverage on an eco-commuter.

Thus I doubt it would pass muster by the Border Patrol at their checkpoints . . an irony of efficiency.

.

[skyking]

Originally Posted by baldlobo

would your box/what you tow allow you to put a flip kit on it(move the axle to the other side of the spring).

that would be impossible. The axle is only a few inches from the frame when loaded down now.

[skyking]

Originally Posted by slowmover

One heckuva change. We can "forget" both how long and how deep is the undercarriage of a full-sized pickup truck in comparison to the short and shallow area of bellypan coverage on an eco-commuter.

Thus I doubt it would pass muster by the Border Patrol at their checkpoints . . an irony of efficiency.

.

They've never been shy about taking things apart

[Big Dave]

Looks excellent SkyKing. I can't see much scope for improvement, but i'm sure the road will find something.

Wanna do a Ford?