Kammback on an Explorer?

[chilimac02]

Would a Kammaback work on an SUV? It seems like a bit of a stretch...

[fud2468]

It seems it should help, based on what the people on here have done with minivans. But to start with, you should have a 2WD rather than 4WD, 2-door rather than the heavier 4-door, and the 4.0, not the 5.0 engine for the best FE.
I don't know which years were the lightest weight.
Ray Mac

[MetroMPG]

Sure it would work.

But don't expect a miraculous change - something on the order of a few percent improvement from a small to moderate extension.

[aerohead]

SUVs pose conflicting challenges for streamlining.While their huge frontal areas and large drag coefficients would benefit the most from streamlining,their relatively straight sides and roofline and full-frontal-area-wake require enormous extension of the body,with curved taper to both roofline and body sides to realize any real benefit.

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A friend has a Toyota Highlander,and we're considering a receiver-hitch,cargo-box-based boat-tail extension,to push his highway mpg from 28,to 32,which will require about 30-inches of additional length,psychologically quite a hurdle!

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I'm pretty confident that a boat-tail is one of the few things that would actually help your Explorer,you'd just have to weigh out the reality of additional length.

[IVTenvy]

Any updates? I have a 2wd KIA Sportage that should be squeezing more than 22 mpg with It's 2.0. I cut the front springs and installed a slanted grill block and my best tank is 25 mpg. My next trick will be an air dam and partial belly pan. I also want to relocate the spare tire and remove the swinging rack. The only way to help my city miles will be to reduce the 2 ton weight as much as feasible and the wheels might be the best place to start.