New Lower air dam for 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[EcoVan]

Now that the 2017 Chevy full size van is done, I installed a deeper air dam on our 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Air dam off the 2015 Ford 4wd pick ups has the exact same front curve as the Jeep, but about 2 inches deeper. I had to rework it some.... heated the mounting flange and bent it out and trimmed it so it had mounting tongues that matched the stock jeep mounting slots. The center mounted into the stock slot with 4 of the the factory quick release clips. The wings I had to trim to size and mount them below the bumper with just used a single through bolt on each end.
Testing maybe this week... with a longer trip the week after.

Stock air dam and new

[kach22i]

You do some very clean and professional looking work.

[EcoVan]

We expect we will be needing to replace this jeep in a couple years and I want to be able to swap the parts on to a Southern California replacement Jeep that I hope to rebuild.

[kach22i]

I gotta ask, with gas prices so high, have you considered other less gas thirsty vehicles?

I do miss not having a pickup truck, luckily my neighbor has allowed me to tag along on several Home Depot runs with his trailer.

I got about $250 worth of 2x lumber on the top of the old Porsche 911 targa (used blankets to protect), but 4x8 sheets of plywood were not going to be tied down with bailing wire so easily.

[EcoVan]

My 1998 Escort gets around 30 highway ( I just upgraded the injectors, so it may be better now), with my previous 93 Escort was approaching 50 highway My 2017 Chevy Full Size van gets around 30 to 35 highway and around 20 to 21 in the city when carrying 2500 lbs at minimum(service truck) This is the vehicle that gets the most driving.

The Jeep is a 3.7 v-6 that is now getting around 24 highway and 16 to 17 city. The only things done to the Jeep so far is a properly flowing exhaust and closing up all the gaps around the radiator in the front grill.
The v-6 Jeeps have some real potential for getting pretty good gas mileage. The engine only spins around 2100 RPM on the highway and the trans stays locked up in overdrive down to around 32 MPH. Its got enough torque to pull the Jeep up hills at 32 mph at only 1200 rpm. The Jeep is still pretty hefty at 4350lbs (4wd), but is about 350 lbs lighter than the smallest v-8 model and 800 lbs lighter than the current SRT (which is about 200 lbs heavier than the previous SRT).

StrongJeff, a big contributer to the high performance 3.7 v-6 thread on the Jeep forums , is running between 26 and 32 highway with his 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee 2wd with no aero mods but just about any engine performance mod outside of internal changes.

Also, properly maintained, these v-6's last forever. We are at 220,000 miles and is doesn't burn a drop of oil. I understand you really have to make sure the cooling is in good shape. I did a new water pump, bigger 4.7 v-8 radiator (cheaper than the v-6 rad) and a full cooling system flush a couple years ago.

With the air dam and front belly pan and a couple more engine upgrades ( improved intake is next), I could be looking at 30 highway.

[ECO-AKJ]

Originally Posted by EcoVan

Now that the 2017 Chevy full size van is done, I installed a deeper air dam on our 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Air dam off the 2015 Ford 4wd pick ups has the exact same front curve as the Jeep, but about 2 inches deeper. I had to rework it some.... heated the mounting flange and bent it out and trimmed it so it had mounting tongues that matched the stock jeep mounting slots. The center mounted into the stock slot with 4 of the the factory quick release clips. The wings I had to trim to size and mount them below the bumper with just used a single through bolt on each end.
Testing maybe this week... with a longer trip the week after.

Stock air dam and new

I ran one of these on a 2005 Ford Focus Sedan, I was able to get 31MPG at 85MPH on road trips, but when I puttered to work, I would constantly get 38-40 MPG @ 52MPH, the car was an automatic and rated 29MPG highway.

[EcoVan]

And I seem to be getting at least a solid 25mpg and hitting 26 for extended stretches, probably due to some light tail winds.
So far the gains have been:

Closing off the air leaks around the radiator: around .3 mpg
New O2 sensors: about 2.5 mpg highway and definite improvement in city
Lower air dam ( about 2 inches): About 1 to 1.5 mpg highway.

Next up front bellypan and may some tire spats.