Lowered the Ranger with light weight rims..
 

Before:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...26-08_0841.jpg
after:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...Lowered003.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...-08_1853-1.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...26-08_1852.jpg

New rims weigh 12lbs each:D The tires are not pizza cutters lol.. they are 255/60r15s, I wanted the old school look, and few tires fit 15x8 rims..

I sent the old tuner out to get retuned for economy so that should help alot too..

The next aero mod will be an air damn for the front bumper.. any ideas where to get abs plastic?

looks good man. Try what i did last week, i got a bunch of the plastic license plate inserts from a dealer[well my work] luckily mine were already black so i didn't have to paint them to blend. I just zip tied them into the honeycombs. i'll post a pic tomorrow

Looks good,now just ditch those fender flares!

I don't know what size plastic you are looking for, but I was at Ace Hardware this weekend and they had some pretty heavy duty signs for cheap. I'd say they were at least 3/16" thick plastic, some as large as 18"x24".

Are you correcting the speedo for the smaller tires?


I kinda went thru the same thing with my old S-10. Started stock, then ~1.5 inch lift with 235-75-15 tires on HEAVY steel wheels. Then it got a makeover and dropped 2" lower than stock with stock aluminum wheels and 245-60-15's, and put an airdam back on it. Acceleration at low speeds improved very noticably just from reducing the wheel weight. Mileage went up from 27ish to around 30 mpg. And I quit beating it up trying to off-road it. :)

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member...26_36_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member...6_196_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member...6_194_full.jpg

Worse case scenario, google select products. They are local to me and are electronics suppliers, they sell ABS plastic by the sheet in varying dimensions and will ship if necessary.

www.selectproducts.com

Hope it helps, plus they sell all kinds of other tools that some of you guys may find useful.

Might try it, need pics!


Why does everyone hate on the flares?:p

I took her offroad more when she was stock, but because she is my dd, I didnt want to break her.. I had some 15x8 soft 8 steelies that weighed 28lbs EACH:eek:

I hope I can get 27mpg city, and the tuner will fix the speedo..


Sweet, never knew google did that!:D

Cheap picture frames at walmart work ok. Keeps the original look of the grill if you don't paint it too. I had a broken one I chopped up and mounting on my grill. Don't know how well it holds up if a rock hits it. But so far haven't had any problems with them.

ABS plastic substitute
 

I like how you got the Ranger out of the ionosphere.If you can't find ABS and can't find something off another model pickup to fit the the Ranger,some of us have used black plastic lawn edging.Its a bit flimzy,but can be reinforced at the back side,out of view.Sheet aluminum is also good and with a good self-etching primer,can be painted matching body color.

The flares were fine with the bigger tires and off road look. Now, not so much. :p

I had 15x7 Bart wheels from Summit Racing, made for circle track racing and sucked! Super heavy, I want to remember them as being 33 lbs a piece (1/4" steel centers, my stock wheels came in around 17 lbs each in the all-accurate bathroom scale test). And they were not round. Had a small vibration than no balance would fix, and it was still there after swapping tires. Broke down one wheel and put it on a brake lathe, showed probably 3/16" runout! Was glad to go back to stockers.

i know i can't mention pics, without being asked for them, so here we go
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...grillblock.jpg

looks odd.. how does it do in heat?:turtle:

they are like an 1/8 in thick. takes some force to snap, sometimes they just bend. I would say they will hold up to heat and weather quite well. I've only seen these get brittle after 2-3 years. I'm not done yet, i didn't grab enough zipties from work so there is only one in a bottom hole, the two behind the lights are resting on them. I think i'll leave the passenger side behind the light open for the trans cooler. Still debating on whether or not i should attempt the bottom mess of a hole.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...n/IMG_5291.jpg

Have not done any aero mods yet, plan to make an air damn up front. and maybe something for the bed..

The tires are .4" smaller than stock, so it is 1.4% off, how do I calculate mpg with this?

i say loose the flairs, if you can, find the older style rounded mirrors, like mine, yours look like the 07+. try to cover up the foglight holes, and get some rubber or tall garden edging, and just run it behind the plastic lip on the bottom of your bumper, just a guess of 3-4 inches lower then what it is.
oh, who did you send your tuner to?

The truck came with the flag style mirrors, upgraded to Street Scenes Cal-Vu mirrors which discolored and cracked after 2 years, so I went with oem 07 mirrors, which have to be better than the flag style, but cant compare to the ss ones for areo.. They are staying for now..

Ill get creative with the fog light holes.. Maybe some clear plastic or something..

I want to find some black edging if I can, I was thinking of a lip spoiler like on mustang mach 1s.. but they are pricey..

http://www.bamachips.com/

Tires are at 30 psi, so I am going to put them at their max of 35psi..

Ideas:
Aero Mods Phase 1:
Air Dam and Tailgate spoiler..
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...dboy/Aero1.jpg

Aero Mods Phase 2:
Side Skirts, Bed/Cab gap filled, Rear Bumper gap filled..
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...dboy/Aero2.jpg

Aero Mods Phase 3:
Everything black with rear wheel skirts..
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...dboy/Aero3.jpg
Black yes, wheel skirts.. eh.. I like my shiney rims..

Hopefully tomorrow Ill buy all the plastic and get modding!

what about a pan that goes from the bottom of the rear bumper under the spare tire and up over the axle? I've been thinking of it, but at the same time thinking about just dropping the spare out anyways.
ohh and your truck looks badass. I'm sure you've posted it over on R-F by now but i haven't been there in a month, so i figured i'd let ya know here

Thanks! Didn't really think of the spare.. sort of useless for me as it uses a different type of lug nut I no longer have.. the new rims use long mag lugs, not stock ones.. I might take it off as it is alot of dead weight.. my exhaust complicates things, but I could use an alloy pan.. Might be better just to block off the front end and sides to keep the wind away from the dirty underbelly..

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...Lowered019.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...07-08_1606.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...07-08_1608.jpg
Made the front air dam from the garden edging material from Lowes..

Got my SCT Tuner back today and hope to see some gains on the next tank, this tank is shot,, had some fun doing some 0-60 mph runs..

looks good man. How'd you attach it ? let us know the results.

Little screws into the valance.. I need to add more as we have had some strong wind lately and I like to over do things:D

trying to figure out how I would attach side skirts.. I can re use the mud flap locations on the front fenders, and the bed bolts on the rear fenders, but I need to make brackets to keep the center section from flapping around without drilling into the truck.. rust = evil.

also need to make a spoiler, fog light hole blocks, grille block, and stop trying to figure out my 0-60 time..

cool.
In the rear wheel well there are plenty of places to use as bracket mounting without drilling. well at least on the EDGE. My wheel well lip has holes every 10 inches with pushpins to hold the factory flares on, so i don't know about yours with that. But there are holes or current bolts in there that you should have

Great job!! Your valence is different than mine but probably similar--by any chance do you have any pics of how you screwed it on? Is it helping your mpgs? The look of your three phases look great. Glad to see others with trucks planning aerodymanic mods.

Wondering if it is better to extend the valence vertically and following the curve of the bumper or to make a kind of skidplatelikething out of plastic that angles down between the valence and the bottom of the cross member. Because the undersides of these trucks are so dirty does it make sense to direct more air around the sides (horizontal valence extension) or is it better to push the air under, using a gentle angle sloping backwards like a skid plate? I'm guessing better to send the air around and away from the cross members and axle and spare tire, etc and I DON"T want to lose the spare tire!

Apart from the vertical valence extension I'm planning to:
1) plug either the lower valence hole
2) plug the gap between the cab and the bed/canopy
3) maybe replace the stock back bumper with PVC pipe (like a fake tube bumper). Should save some weight + drag...

Front skid plate
 

Take a look at these pics i have. The factory metal skid plate is actually shaped really well. Starts off wide, and narrows down to the crossmember under the engine. a decent angle. And offroad... of man is it amazing, it acts as a... skid plate... i guess, like it helps push the mud to the side and around really easy. The FX4 one's[black] are heavy, like 25lbs, but the shiney chrome looking ones that were on some '98+ Offroad packages are only like 10-15lbs. I have that one on now
and links....
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...g/DSC00986.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...r/DSC00862.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...r/DSC00541.jpg

It is just screwed directly into the valance then into the edging material. Ill get pics tomorrow.

I figured I would first try to limit the amount of air that goes under the truck, then try a belly pan, though I am worried about excess heat building up as I live in Texas.

Skid plate thing would be easy to make, I made a metal one but it had bolts that hung too low, a plastic/stock one would be ideal, modded of course and I just let the valance sculpt the edging as it flares out a bit right in front of the tires which has to be good to block the wind from hitting the tire as much.


http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...idPlate004.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...e/IMG_5284.jpg

I am too paranoid to take off my bumper, I was thinking of painting it and adding something to keep it from acting like a parachute.

Get some pics when your done!


Stock skid plate looks ideal, though the bodylift does not help, lol.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...8Polish007.jpg

Here's another pic of the skidplate I made with added "wings" on the side to help close the huge gap between the valance and the tire, you might try it, though I am not sure if it helped any with mpg..

Great job on the one you fabbed. Yeah, that stock one might be easier. I'll look around the junkyards for one as it would bolt right on. But I might just go with the lowered valence as it's also easy to add. Unlike your fords my mazda valence sculpts straight back on the end so if I go that route I'll have to fab a little frame to hold it. As it would go right across the front it might work better than a skidplate anyway as that would push the air right into the rear end and back tire and doesn't do anything for the lower control arms etc. And while it wouldn't be as good offroad, it needs to be strong enough to not break off if it has to drag over something... But if I find a stock skidplate, especially the lighter one, I'll probably just do that instead.

Yeah I'm a little nervous about taking the back bumper off too especially with the way people park their cars by feel around here, and might just do something to plug the scoop effect on the sides too.

I'll post pics as I go, but right now I'm in the process of moving (great time to have a truck!) so it'll take me a few weeks to get to it all.

i look at that and want to stream-line the I-beams to :D

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...dboy/AeroX.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...boy/AeroXX.jpg
^very extreme ideas..

but ideas..

I forgot to get pics of the valance.. might have to wait till my day off..

wondering for the short term before you put on the rear cover, if you or anyone else in these forums has done the covered cab vs. no cab vs. tailgate up vs. tailgate down vs. no tailgate. vs. mesh tailgate thing.

I remember they tested it on Mythbusters at 55mph on the highway and mesh tailgate was the winner (full cab was too much weight, tailgate up or mesh/web tailgate was winner apparently made a big smooth air bubble in the back of the truck). No idea if anyone has better results or a clearer test for it in here. I'm assuming your back cover will be super lightweight and aerodynamic but while your testing and modding may be something to think about that seems very quick and easy.

Upside down tailgate?
 

Yeah that is a surprising result from tailgate up, but supposedly the bubble of air works... I haven't tested, I need my canopy. But it does rake down a little on the back end. It didn't seem to affect my mpgs even though it weighs at least 50 lbs.

Hey, since the tailgate up works because it makes an air bubble, I wonder if one did the same in reverse--put an air dam under the back bumper like an upsidedown tailgate, and then make a dam around the sides and and under the front like one big flat edged box--I wonder if it would trap air into a bubble like the mythbusters test. Of course it would be harder to test with styrofoam or ping pong balls! But it would be a heck of a lot easier than trying to put some kind of pan under the entire truck.

Neat aerodynamic ideas there FX2.3, but by the time you have a different nose and different tail you might as well just buy a prius! But I'd love to have a canopy like that! It would be really neat to have some tent material under the section that angles back and when one tilts it up, voila, a westfalia ranger all ready for camping!

I have no idea..:turtle:

I use a powerwasher to see where the water goes.. cheap way to see aero and it gets the truck clean..

I am thinking of just saving the money for another project or just save it to save it. I will still do the side skirts as I have enough material, but I am to tired of spending money. Never thought I would say that, guess Im just worn out. Worked 26 hours in the last 3 days:(

Saving money is always good. Get some rest and I'll bet you get jazzed on the mods again--especially if that rest is in the form of a road trip at over $4 a gallon! It adds up to some money savings too, but over the long haul. There are other reasons of course -- air quality, global warming -- but even more, what could be more fun than a weekend crawling around under your truck? LOL

My next pay check should be about $500 with about 70 hours, so maybe I'll fix up an old motorcycle and make it electric:D

Sleep would be nice but Im addicted to craiglist.. lol

Already did a road trip last week to a casino with some friends.. had fun and turned $5 into $30 doing penny, dime, and dollar machines..

for some odd reason I like being under my truck just looking how everything works together.. thanks for the pick me up with the pickup:p

thats where i take my nap in the lot at work, people will look in but no one looks under the truck

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...ndCover006.jpg
Painted the rear bumper and bought a bed cover,,

Looks great! The white bumper really looks great. I wanted a white truck but they didn't have one in stock so I took a black mostly because the bumpers and grille and everything already match and don't need painting. But the dumbest thing is the undercoat is white so if I get a scratch it sticks out like a sore thumb! Who ever heard of OEM white undercoat?

Let us know if the cap helps fuel economy. I don't particualrly trust that mythbusters air bubble thing.

Did you ever figure out what gains you got from the air dam?

I just installed a salvaged Bronco II rear swaybar :thumbup: and replaced the knobby tires with 215/75/15 Michelin Radial X.

I'm somewhere between your two photochops above (8' aerocap, wheel skirts), thanks to a few hours with some plywood and cardboard. Initial testing shows 2mpg gained, give or take. Need more testing! My best tank is the same as your average!

Not sure about gains, the cover and air dam would really be effective at higher speeds. Im doing mostly city driving to and from work, about 40mph max. I will find out this fall when school starts or if I buy a scangauge..

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...y/IMG_5344.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...y/IMG_5343.jpg

Pics!

what engine do you have?

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-4x4-3304.html

It's a 4.0L, auto, 4x4.

Nice job on the lawn edge valance. Looks great! But your stock valance is different than mine--it already angles back. Mine goes straight back so would need to do something different. But I'm thinking maybe the lower valance off of a 90-94 explorer could be modded to screw onto the bottom of my stock valance if I built some kind of reinforcing to help hold it up... Maybe in a few weeks...

I'd love to see some pics too nwbabybronco!

What are the make and model of your rims? I can't find a 12lb wheel for my S10 anywhere.

Thanks

Carl