Nissan NV 2500 Hightop V6 aero modding

[Coroner]

Hello everyone,

I'm starting this thread to place my notes and updates for the aero and other mods I'm doing on my 2012 NV 2500 HD SV V6 Cargo Van (Hurse).

It was nicknamed by those that I do business with regularly in the Detroit area. They also nicked me the Coroner.

The truck:
2012 Nissan NV 2500 HD SV trim with a 4.0L V6 and a Highroof.
Cd = .369 according Edmunds (The high roof has a lower Cd than the mid roof) it must be the air sticks better to the high roof longer. That would be my guess anyway.
Chips: JDM-ProM setup for this vehicle - currently not in use until after this mod.
Tires: Firestone 245/70/17 E light truck tires currently front at 60 psi/rears at 72psi. I will update all the tires to 72 psi and establish a baseline.
Operation style:
Highway cruise speed at 60 MPH 90% of the time, unless I need to alter for traffic, etc. When in the hills of the south, I sometimes change to Manumatic to stay in a higher gear longer and defeat the over reaction of the cruise controlled downshifting. The NV allows you to do that.

I'm hoping to upload before and after pics. I'll use my phone for that. Hopefully the detail will be good enough.

Mark

[Coroner]

Ok, so far I have purchased the flashing and other items like screws and washers for this little mod. A general cost is about $20. 2, 10'x 9.5" pieces of AL flashing, 150 self tapping .75" Phillips head screws, 150 washers. I probably won't need that many, but I figure these items will get used up in other mods as well. Since you buy them in the box, that's the cost, unless you can get them out of the bins.

I also bought a new corded drill at $39, but that too, was needed regardless of this mod. So, I won't include it in the cost of this mod.

It's rainy and freezing cold out side...

I'll post later when I get to work on this.
Mark

[Coroner]

Even with the flashing purchased I haven't had the op to get the mod going, it's just too cold and windy for work in the driveway. I did get the before photos taken.

I will post once I get started though.

[Coroner]

I didn't have time to get the side skirts going, but I did have time to buy a 5/8" black rubber hose to stuff in between the bumper and the fender/front grill gap. $12.99 for 10' at local hardware store. Stuffing it in between the bumper and fender - priceless.

I don't have a starting baseline other than seeing if there is or seems to be a difference with these darned headwinds. I know it's only a 5/8" gap, but it goes all the way around the front and it would seem to let a lot of air through to smash against the innards, so I plugged it up in a temporary manner. Outlined in yellow on the pics.

If it is something I'm going to keep...I have aluminum tape that can be rolled on flat so it will actually look chrome, or maybe it will stay black, the jury is still out on that detail

Pic's attached,
Mark

[Coroner]

I just ran a decent load from Bryan to Detroit, back to Bryan to Webster, NY, over to Niagara Falls (To the Falls Park), then back to Bryan.

1160 miles all together with fuel averages running between 17.5 all the way upto 21.7 mpg. The winds were 10-15 as a tail side wind on the way there, and 5-15 head and side wind on the way back. Overall mpg totals came in at 20.35 for the trip. 300lbs of cargo and the wife. Most miles were driven at a speed of 58-60 mph using the cruise control.
I did jump up to 72 mph for about 80 miles on the way back using the turn pike.

Since, I run trips like this all the time, minus the wife, I can ESTIMATE the improved mileage at .5 mpg due to the bumper/fender gap being sealed. The biggest thing I noticed seemed to be the handling slightly improved when the big rig's pulled in front (Not as much shake and bake, as I refer to it). This trip I didn't get to used the coasting downhills as much because there were not as many hills steep enough to let the truck roll and keep up with traffic safely. I did coast on the ramps and where ever I thought I could, but not as much as I would have liked.

I like the gap improvement and will continue to monitor this as I improve it's securement to the truck. Every now and then, due to the bumps and vibrations, I have to gently push the hose back into place. It's not a big deal, and even if I forget to check it, it never sticks out as a problem or anything, it just won't be as effective IMO.

If I lived closer to a straight, flat smooth piece of highway or road, I could really test this better using a scan gauge and so forth, but for now, I will just have to work off of my best efforts to gather data, and run my cargo business as I go along.

I read in a magazine that one of the improvements being used in the big truck market to gain fuel mileage is sealing the bumper fender gap. Hmmm.......

When I can get the extra money, I will order a scan gauge and hopefully be able to nail down a scientific set of data. For now, I can only go by the pump calculations and onboard mpg indications, but don't have the luxury of returning to the same pump for re-fueling, (Same angle, etc.)

I'm doing my best to stay as accurate as I can with what I have to work with.

[Coroner]

I will be moving forward to enhancing the wheel spats for the front wheels and adding spats to the back. I have selected this as the next mod because as I have stated before, I run a Cargo Business and can not afford to take the vehicle out of service as I would like in order to make large improvements and mod's.

So, next is the tire spats.

Again, I will post before and after pics.

Mark

[Coroner]

Just ran to Flippin, Arkansas - Yep, they actually named a town Flippin in more than one state... Anyway, to continue my posting... I ran this load in 2 parts. The first part I started from Ridgeville Corners, OH to Rochester Hills, MI Nd back (Leg 1). Then, the rest of the trip to Arkansas and back to home as the second part (Leg 2). I had a 1 day stay over at the house, hence the division of the load/run.

Both parts were driven at 55mph as the constant speed, and every now and then I adjusted for traffic, etc. I had plenty of time, so there was no rush...

At this point I'm back home and haven't made the final fill for the whole trip. When I go and get the next load, I'll have the final fill up, but if I drive in the same manner, it can be assumed that I will achieve 20+ mpg consistently.

I truly never thought I would ever figure out how to achieve this, but I have. The magic, so to speak, (and for those of you who already now, may now roll your eyes into the back of your head), was holding the speed at 55mph. I used to run at 60 and had a hard time maintaining 18 mpg's with celebrations over 19+. Apparently, some where in my life I was smacked in the head with the stupid bat, and the long lasting effects are hard to shake off.

Thanks to all who have shared there successes and failures on this site, I was able to open my mind to other ways of driving and thinking. Thank you!!!!

Here's my reason for sharing my excitement:

The trip I took was longer than the next info, but I had needless to say, plenty of road time to think on this.

500 miles at 70 mph yields an mpg of 14+, approximately. SOA, maybe 55.
500 miles at 55 mph yields an mpg of 20+, approximately. SOA, 48 - 50.

It is the speed of advance that truly determines when you will arrive at your destination, but it's the mpg's that determine how much it will cost to complete the same trip/load.

Most of us will do the math this way...500/70 = 7.14...hours or basically, 7 hours.
500/55 = 9.09 or basically, 9 hours. The reality is that - due to traffic, construction and other delays, getting fuel, restroom stops, etc., you live in the SOA (Speed of advance) with regards to the true amount of time it takes to complete the trip. After long hours on the road driving as a professional, I admit that there are those loads that do require the higher speeds and control of stops and stop time to make it work out so the line doesn't shut down, but in those circumstances, the rate paid to make this happen is negotiated to cover the higher cost and risk Blah, Blah, Blah... you get the picture. Most of the time, there is plenty of time, which leaves room for making adjustments in your favor.

If gas costs 3.50/gal US, then we can do the fuel cost math.
Since this is a business, I get gas at about 1/2 tank, just in case!
1000 mile round trip
28 gallon tank:

70MPH:
14 mpg = 1/2 tank at 196 miles (200 for easy math) using 14 gallons of fuel.

Starting with a full tank of gas - At 70, we would need to stop 2 times to fill up on the way there, drive the last 100 miles there, turn around and repeat the 2 stops to make it back. Each fuel stop will cost 14 x $3.50 = $49 bucks to fill up. $49 x 4 = $196 plus a final 1/4 fill to top off the tank at $24.50 for a grand total of $220.50 for 1000 miles.
SOA accounting for stops - highest ~ 55, time to destination about 9 hours.
Round trip driving time 18 hours.

55MPH:
20 mpg = 1/2 tank as 280 miles, using 200 miles as the fill up point, here is where we get the advantage. 200 miles at (20 mpg) 55, allows us to only need 10 gallons of gas.


Starting with a full tank of gas - At 55, we are going to make the same 2 stops to fill up on the way there, drive the last 100 miles there, turn around and repeat the 2 stops to make it back, to make a fair comparison. Now, each fuel stop will cost 10 x 3.50 = $35 bucks to fill up. $35 x 4 = $140 plus a final 1/4 fill to top off the tank at $17.5 for a grand total of $157.5 for the same 1000 miles.
SOA accounting for stops - highest ~ 50, time to destination about 10 hours.
Round trip driving time 20 hours. Not that big of a difference to me!

$220.5 - $157.50 = $63.00 more in my pocket per 1000 miles (a 29-30% reduction in cost).
At ~50K miles per year, that's $63 x 50 = $3150.00/year in my pocket and not anyone else's. Gas prices are all over the place and will continue to rise in general over time, so in order to stay in business, I have to find ways to cut cost and increase my vans performance. Again, adjusting the nut behind the wheel has proven to be the biggest savings.

Hmmm....What to spend $3000 on during the holidays!