"ecomodding" ideas for my Ford Taurus???
 

I have been on this site a while and haven't posted lately, but it is summer now so I'll have quite a bit of free time. I have a 1997 Ford Taurus and need some ideas for making it aerodynamic.

I would like to make an underbody shield, but I have read that my car is an "underbreather" so I'm afraid that a shield will cause my engine to overheat.

I know I want to do something with my mirrors, but AFAIK there aren't any aftermarket mirrors available that fit my car. I absolutely will NOT survive on the road without mirrors, so removing them is out of the question. Perhaps there is some kind of cone I could attch to it to decrease the front surface area?

I want to do something with the front of the car, but I don't know how to attch it, because I don't want to damage the paint, and I would like ti to be removable. I go SCCA solo races sometimes so It would get wrecked if it was permanent.

I also want to do some kind of wheel skirts or something, but my car is narrow at the bottom so the wheel sticks out a lot, so a flat skirt will not work unless it's just like the top 5 inches. And, how do I make wheel skirts on the front? Is that possible?

I would also like to make some kind of shield to cover the wiper blades, but I'm not sure how something like that would work.

I also want to remove my radio antenna, but I use the radio everyday. Is there a way to run a wire to the sheet metal or something so I can still recieve a signal?

Here is some pics of my car so you can get an idea of what I have to work with:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...OTM/cotm01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...OTM/cotm05.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...OTM/cotm06.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...OTM/cotm03.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/MVC-418S.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...OTM/cotm04.jpg

The mods you mention are all do-able. . Many have done what you have mentioned. Go ahead and copy them, I'm sure they won't mind..:p
I'd recommend cruising around the forum and read everything that catches your eye. MetroMpg!SVOboy!Doax! Give this man some links! Stat!:D

U.C. Davis aero modded a Taurus just like yours . They did an extensive write up on the modifications.
I post the link as soon as I find it.

Good car to start with by the way .

You are already driving the most aerodynamic Ford sedan ever made. (Cd 0.30) The antenna isn't in a bad place, but you could install a switch to control it. I once had a Caddy with a bad auto antenna that worked pretty well even when not extended. You mirrors aren't bad.

OMG! Take off those window visor things!

If you have a water temp gauge I would go ahead and try smoothing over the 3 openings in the front bumper with something like packing tape. Smooth over the front turn signals too. If you are handy you can make a wiper cowling that attaches to the rear of the hood. The problem is snow will pack in them.

Ahhh. Eibach makes lowering springs for your Taurus. 1.4" Lower is better, but it might knock you out of your SCCA class.

Good luck!

Here is the link : http://www.team-fate.net/wordpress/?page_id=16

Yeah, I've heard that too, about it being the most aerodynamic ford sedan. It makes things a little brighter to know that :)

As for the window visors, in an effort to save gas I leave my windows partially down at all times when the car is parked to keep it cool and hardly ever use the A/c... so I need to have those on in case it rains... I figure the cost of more wind resistance is less than the cost of gas my A/C would suck up.

As for lowering my car, I already bottom out on some speed bumps and dirt roads... My car may seem higher than most, but I think it has quite a low ground clearance. So, it can't really be lowered much more.

cool! I actually just saw a pic of that car the other day, but there wasn't anyt information with it.... while that seems like a smart idea.... erm, well, I simply don't have the spare time or money to do that. :(

Did you follow the link ( within the link ) ?

http://www.team-fate.net/technical/1997TechReport.pdf

They even did tuft testing.

The late Eighties Mercury Sable had a .Cd of .28 ... but then ... it's not technically a Ford.

I'd start out with the 100+ hypermiling tips. I'm sure you can get better than 24 mpg with a few alterations to your driving style. I know a coworker who had the same car and routinely got 27ish and he was by far not a conservative driver.

As for mods, I'd probably try to start out with something other than aero since you are doing pretty good in that area already. That being said I'd probably still block off the top slot in the bumper. Anyway, what I am getting at is I would look into a warm air intake for it. Since its automatic you'll be doing more driving with load. So, if the engine can handle a bit warmer air you'll see some benefits there. Have you pumped up your tires yet?

My tires are rated 35 psi, and they are all at 37 right now... should I go higher?

Its really up to you. Try out a higher pressure and see if it works for you. If you feel uncomfortable with it that high bring them back down. Personally, I would bring them up to around 45. My winter tires are rated for 35 max sidewall and I ran them at 45 or 50 (can't remember) all winter long. They still look brand new with very little wear and what wear there is is nice and even.

Cd: I'd never seen that UC Davis aero Taurus before - thanks for posting!

I would have posted it before but I assumed everyone was familiar with the car.

Much to my surprise ( and discouragement ) the car only got down to like .27 .Cd despite a complete redesign of the front end, a full belly pan, camera mirrors ,side skirts, and a partially 'Kammed' tail end.

This was after a ton of work on the car.
As we have seen, .27 is an easy number to achieve. ( I'm thinking of AndrewJ here )

They must have done something wrong somewhere, because I can't imagine that car as having a .27 ish .Cd

Did you happen to read the .pdf ?

One thing that I found interesting was the idea of using a hollow cavity to pull in the wake.

One more thing : The UCDavis team is amazing. Professor Any Frank has been building hybrids for decades.
He is also a really nice guy too. I remember talking to him by phone.
Just imagine - a small group of kids in a mechanical engineering class have been doing for years what the 'big three' have always said can't be done.
I'm proud of what they have accomplished.

By the way, I have a model of your car. If you know someone that does CFD flow testing, it is an easy way to mock up changes to a car design.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3183/...f84bef8d_b.jpg

wow! That's pretty cool! what program is used to view something like that? Is it CAD?

Download Blender 3D for free. ( It's every bit as good as the 'professional' stuff.)

http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/

PM me if you want the file.

After looking at the mods they made to the front I wonder if they would have been better served with an air dam on the front. It seems to me that nose is forcing a lot of air under the car, where there remains a fair amount of turbulance.

They directed some air under the nose on purpose since that's where they relocated the radiator.

Cd: that tidbit about the cavity in the tail caught my attention too. Very interesting.

I was at another SCCA event tonight, and confirmed that changing the ride height puts me directly to the modified class, along with cars that have high levels of modification to the engine, wheels, tires, etc. So changing the ride height is a definite no.

They also confirmed that if I alter the interior for weight reduction, I will be automatically bumped up the the modified category as well. I would be able to take my rear seat out because it is easy to put back in for events, but that's about all I can do for weight reduction.

Even exterior mods are questionable... even though it is an autocross course and aerodynamics don't give an advantage, some could argue that ANY aerodynamic modifications are classified as "exterior body mods" and bump me up the the same category as the other two examples above.

:(

So if you alter the height of the vehicle with aftermarket parts it will change the SCCA class. What if the height is changed with OEM parts, or is it simply changing anything? I'm glad to see you are a member or TCCA(taurus car club of america) you can get alot from them. I was a member a long time ago when my taurus still lived. They have since changed server and lost alot of the articles on aerodynamics. Let me get some information on you car; what engine? the duratech or vulcan? Which transmission do you have, axod-e,ax4s,ax4n? Dependent upon which you have I can recomend some things you can do to help longevity. Changing you wheels from the five star to the earlier basket weave or the Sable wheels that are in Sean's rendering will help a little, but may increase braking heat during your events.

I'm not too sure on changing the height with aftermarket vs. OEM arts, but I think that either would move me to a different class. And the roads around here aren't the friendliest to lowered cars, so I'm not too eager on spenidng money to lower my car.

As for the car itself, it is a 1997 Vulcan. Not sure what transmission, but it is an automatic and the shifter is on the column.

The wheels in that rendering are actually Taurus wheels, but from a higher trim level. I had the 5-star but switched to steelies recently. I have been keeping an eye out, hoping to stumble accross a cheap pair of disc-style hubcaps.

You won't have to shell out much to lower you car a short amount and considerably stiffen the ride without bottoming out on the road. If it doesn't move you up because of the oem parts that would be great. Go to shoforum.com and see if they have any stock SHO springs in the for sell section. Get the same year as yours and they will fit. Double check on tcca I think I remember someone saying something about replacing the back with fronts to reduce the saggy butt syndrome but its been years. Just in case you need to install a transmission cooler. You more than likely have the AX4S which has a faulty aluminum part inside that needs to be replaced with steel. Under high stress the aluminum becomes too hot and deforms effectively destroying your transmission. The cooler will lesson the likely hood of it over heating. I would hate to see your car end up like most of the 3rd gen SHO's whose cams have gotten loose and shot a valve into the cylinder.

taurus
 

Jack Telnack did us all a favor with the Taurus/Sable.For mods,go to the phil knox aerodynamics photos album in the archive,go to the first "vehicles" spot,then go to page- 2.You'll find a photo of the aero-modded GM EV-1,as it set the closed-course land speed record at Fort Stockton,Texas.------------------------ The car starts with Cd 0.188 and goes lower with the mods,to hit 183-mph.----------------------- If you use the EV-1 as an example,you can't go wrong.Bone stock,these cars were rated 80-mpg HWY by Dr.Paul MacCready of Aerovironment,developer of the car for GM.----------------P.S.,the car has full bellypan.

motor mount fix
 

Sean, I had a 2004 Taurus SE for a while, and I got high 20s on the highway (even 30 once). I replaced the factory muffler with a Flowmaster Delta 40 and put Royal Purple in the crankcase. As I understand it, if you have the Vulcan engine, you can replace the original rocker arms with some that are slightly longer (1.7 ratio vs factory 1.6), and get some much needed ummph. I also bought a 3 ft length of chain and wrapped it around the front motor mount and subframe, so it could barely move. I bolted the chain ends together. This didn't produce any power, but it does keep the engine from rocking when you hit the throttle. It feels like adding a few hp though. Barely noticeable in the cabin. I am sorry I cannot remember the size, but I think I was able to shove a 1/4" bolt through the links. Take a look at Taurus Car Club of America , the Taurus Car Club of America. They will have some links/DIYs for these.
[edit] found the link... http://taurusclub.com/forum/index.ph...1&#entry416131
This makes me miss my Taurus...

Yeah, I've been on TCCA even longer than here.

Unfortunately I also autocross my car, so the rocker arms are out of the question. I'll ask for a new muffler for christmas though :) Dad had mentioned it a while ago, so I'm sure he'll be on board with the idea.

I've done quite a bit since this thread was last updated. Different front and rear bumpers, different wheels (lightest ever produced OEM Taurus wheels), and both mirrors deleted.

I plan on putting my old bumper back on for winter and butchering it up for aerodynamics :)

Sean T. -

Have you seen this on the net before? :

Going green

They feature a "1996 Joule PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle)" that uses a Ford Taurus as a base. If you can get better pictures of that nose, then maybe you have a project.

I found it by sheer accident here (it's the silver one on the right) :

exhibits :: P1010002.jpg picture by automuseum22 - Photobucket
http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/P1010002.jpg

CarloSW2

That silver car is the UCDavis future car that I mentioned in post # 5 ( Wow ... I posted that two years ago :eek: )

Just look at the extensive reshaping of the entire front end. It's a shame that all that work only shaved three counts off the Cd.

Cd -

Thanks for the correction. I only saw it as the "Joule" car. Very Ford Probey. It's on permanent display in the California Auto Museum in Sacramento, if anyone would like to take pictures for us (hint hint hint).

CarloSW2