The "Brick" gets a new air dam

[JasonG]

Well, my supervisor noticed the chin spoiler was missing from the van I drive.
He said we should look into getting a new one as it may be hurting my FE.
I suggested i could make one a bit bigger and it would help even more.
He said lets try it and see it it helps, maybe we can do more !

So I found some 8" ribbed vinyl siding facia at Lowes that looked good. It is L shaped giving a nice mounting flange.

The intent was to use the smooth inside to look better and be smoother.

When it was held up with the smooth side out it looked funny due to the mounting flange. So my excellent assistant and spouse, suggested we turn it around.
We attached it to the underneath of the existing bumper, making it totally reversible if the boss says NO.


The installed chin spoiler

From the front

And painted to look less obvious

[kach22i]

I looked at using those kinds of materials, was interested in having a splitter more than a mounting flange.

I cannot see your photos, they look like little squares.

[JasonG]

Well, first impression is it sounds different going down the road.
Filling up the gtank now, let's see what happens !

[JasonG]

On the ride to the shop this morning, Torque showed a steady state MPG of 20-21.
Typically I see 18-19 on the hwy.

Patience Jason, 3 tank average..........

[ChazInMT]

Nice Pictures..., I look forward to seeing your results because I have a similar pick up I may wanna try this on.

[JasonG]

This is actually on the companies 2003 Express Van. 190K miles and still going strong.

If this works, I hope either a partial Kamm or side skirts like on 18 wheelers is next.

The 94 pickup doesn't get driven at stable speeds/loads/on roads enough to get modded much.
A higher thermostat and grill block are about it.

As a build note, I used self drilling sheetrock screws. Took the wife and I less then 20 min.
Version "B" would probably get lath screws. If the sheetrock screws work loose, I'll change them out.
I started with the van on the ground, but the screw gun was about an inch too long. Out came the ramps.
I'll try to get a better pic of the notch cuts when its not so bright as to wash the photo out.

[JasonG]

The problem with the pics has been the reflectivity of the white vinyl. Sunlight or flash didn't matter.
Turned the flash off and grabbed a flashlight



4 cuts were all on each side. It flexed perfectly elsewhere.


Here are the sheetrock screws :


A single $14 piece did it and left around 4-5 ft scrap.

Side note:
It scraped the ramps coming off of them. Paint it after you back off of the ramps. I scratched the paint ever so slightly. The Krylon Fusion hadn't fully cured and bonded to the vinyl.

[BeatUpRanger]

Looks good. Can't wait to hear about the final mpg results.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by JasonG

The problem with the pics has been the reflectivity of the white vinyl. Sunlight or flash didn't matter.
Turned the flash off and grabbed a flashlight



4 cuts were all on each side. It flexed perfectly elsewhere.


Here are the sheetrock screws :


A single $14 piece did it and left around 4-5 ft scrap.

Side note:
It scraped the ramps coming off of them. Paint it after you back off of the ramps. I scratched the paint ever so slightly. The Krylon Fusion hadn't fully cured and bonded to the vinyl.

Does it help to heat that stuff with a heat gun or hair dryer, to bend or form it around a curve?

[slowmover]

I think that looks very nice.

What's the ground clearance? A year or more ago I used a tape on a dozen trucks in a parking lot and found nothing lower than 7" clearance on stock air dams. Mine is at 10" and I 'd be leery of less than 7".