Gaia Has Aired Out Long Enough

[jeff88]

Finally got around to moving forward with the belly pan. Added another piece to the driver side between the rear of the front tire to about 3/4 back to the rear tire. There's still plenty of spots to clean up, but excited to see how this comes along. I'm hoping I can get the mirror image on the passenger side this week/weekend. We'll see how the schedule works out...

From under the engine. You can see the front pan covering the engine bay.


Closer to the front


From side, just behind rear of front tire. I had to cut a significant notch in the front corner of the coroplast for tire clearance.


Side view, towards the back


One of these days I want to get a gopro under there to see what the material is doing with airflow on it at speed. Not sure how stable it is. It might be firm, it might be wobbly and pulsating. No idea at this point.

[freebeard]

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From under the engine. You can see the front pan covering the engine bay.
[I*G]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CW5DeYxw9YbtCwjT_tygxPVsKk2eQqRGPB61meVcHlZnIfpN-5N4S3UqU7G2XAReDbDDTUxDBCOf8GfzXE8yxG2t8Nzo3buy-Lby563621OGlGRCgSjuY_TuoKvUDktoqtXQ0vTTi8qUA-XH0RlCUwZi2s1HKmfV5Se9fPEoRJ1lKlzlw9zKDf4nOJ3k5ZH9 FYHz7CD1FjwDsnd4ucsm49hF-EHhYeDHAvQ3ex9OF4QMqYAlq2XWIOyiJs0Ns4vkmb8t-9P9OdF0fYlxOW9PzujEtIMbQeUTI6Ag_4wSX5Dr68KLyuVmu3_ jImxS8p2SWPAd2lL2yQHlHR0qxOA88WU91X7cg1ddXOeN-5gL8zZ8d6iwMnuINpEWMmkClidHXTLp3WwswKHWPQv_hWOuLHe KRqFkx5-UjEkjxSaZAgHMBNRQCyfzvLOBvsFODjyn-BS4J1lyWcHCd90NHghAuy09XPzzvCIETVUDpM-nc73dSNpYGBli00QMVWQ2_XpxMJ1rUupxRjEhCjKz_dtOVGnN6 RCKNMxEoMI_gMYHw2SS8TPuO3bXpn3i5gq7RRuC0-PS6jpR9OtQLep1Rz8BpLXZ2D0ucL3RdqARZ74T84qKZzOxfO-3Z5jXGcJUqQfo0vGMUtRps0quK3_QgC5nX9dN8oEB-BVMzfdOR7YiqYcIpCb96iUHfzJ7qRs8t-jUn6_MFCIhZMDm-U2HB3n-gi8ERw=w1919-h1440-no?authuser=1[/IMG]

[jeff88]

Originally Posted by freebeard

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Changed link techniques. Hopefully it works this time.

[jeff88]

In an effort to complete this thread by posting in the correct one...

Third piece, passenger side mid section.

Behind front tire:


From the front, inside the wheel:


In front of rear tire:


I had to fabricate my own brackets to attach the outside edges of the board to the underside of the steps. This really stretched my working knowledge as I've never fabricated anything metal before. I used a L bar from the hardware store, drill and tapped, used an angle grinder to cut them to size and and belt/disc sander to clean up the edges (just so there were no sharp burrs). I offset the holes so the bolts don't hit each other when installed.

[jeff88]

Now that I have a significant portion of the belly pan done, I'm going to go back and adjust a few things.

1. Install a full-width front section. I skipped this originally because I didn't see how to attach on the outer edges of the bumper. I think I found a way to do it so I will play with that. I might end up doing a two piece driver half/passenger half so it's easier to work with.
2. The rear edge of the wheel well is still open which allows air to move down the vehicle *above* the pan, defeating the purpose! There's only one spot to attach a piece of something there, so want I am planning is to slit and fold up the chloroplast. This will force the air down and across the bottom of the pan.
3. I need to get a gopro and watch the pan at speed. I have a feeling the pan is reverberating. I will need to figure out a way to install more attachment points. I think I have an idea that will work, I'll use some threaded rod and some accessories to "drop" the attachment point from the frame up high to the pan closer to the ground.
4. Better integration of the front pan, the stock pan under the oil pan, and the two mid-section pans to keep better air attachment across the whole system.
5. I'm not sure how to put a pan further to the rear of the truck. I'm starting to get into the rear end that has the muffler, gas tank, axle, differential, spare tire, etc. We'll see if I can make something work back there.