Pickup truck aerodynamics

[Piotrsko]

I am reminded of a statement by some expert that a "Ute" does nothing well they are just averages of everything else.

[JacobLeSann]

True, that’s not an unrealistic take. I like the idea of a ute for reasons I’ve stated previously. Main reason being that the rear of the car (which is the most important area), is modular. You can use different bed caps to suit different cargo capacities while working for low drag. I also like that you can camp in the back of one, and that it’s a 2 seater.

My only concern is weight distribution. Trucks aren’t track cars.

[freebeard]

Most average:



The Type II [crew cab] can take a Porsche 911 front suspension.

[JacobLeSann]

I love it. Great bodywork and finishing.

Is the early 911 really so close to the other models? I noticed a lot of the early 911 parts are said to be usable on Beetles

[Piotrsko]

I actually heard it the other way that many beetle parts would fit the 911 which back in the day were either unobtanium or extremely expensive. Had to go to the prosche dealer instead of Dave's online auto parts and cheesecake emporium. When I got into VW, back in the '80s, there were a lot of decent performance parts that actually did something to improve hp or handling. Ditto for Audi economy cars.

[freebeard]

Generally, the 356 and Beetle share actual OEM parts. The 911 suspension is a modification.


www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=714576

[JacobLeSann]

Yes, VW and Porsche parts mixing is pretty neat! In my search for unibody chop tips, I found out about a Golf “Speedster”. I forget who made it, but they used 944 and 928 parts on various Golf models of that vintage. Pretty cool stuff. I can be wrong though.

I like that subframe, freebeard. Is that just a Macpherson strut setup? I don’t see any upper control arms.

Seeing all the stuff you can do with a beetle makes me wish I was about a decade older! Enough to get a beetle and parts for less than $7,000. I love the kits you can attach to the floor pan.

[freebeard]

If you follow the link, there is some discussion. I think the rusty part is stock, the painted parts are 911 and the white parts are custom.

There is also mention of a double A-arm bolt-in unit. It's $3K!



I've heard of Golf owners replacing the steel front subframe with an Audi TT part in aluminum. The Blackjack Zero puts a flat four ahead of Golf GTI front suspension.

[BlackGold6.4]

Have been watching Aerodynamic videos on youtube and reading this thread getting all pumped up for work on my truck, not sure why since it's over 500 miles away being work on mechanically but I guess nothing wrong with planning ahead ... lol The idea of taking a 7000lb+ truck and trying to improve highway mileage is somewhat bizarre but at this point it's what I have to work with so we'll call it a new hobby to add to all the others.

[aerohead]

You could have chosen worse!
Basically speaking, since pickup trucks began from 'passenger cars' ( Ford Model T ), and passenger car-based 'utes' have the lowest drag of all ICE 'pickups,' then, it kind of follows that, your RAM is going to have its lowest drag when it 'looks' the most like a lower drag passenger car.
Taking a look at Stellantis' upcoming electric RAM 1500 'REV' pickup may give you some insight into how FIAT's Dodge Division is handling the streamlining of this pickup in order to make it 'range' competitive with the Silverado, Cybertruck, and Rivian.