Pickup Truck Streamlining

[d0sitmatr]

how about using those door ding guards ?
the kind that slips over the very edge ?

Ive been toying with that idea for a while and as soon as I can afford too, I am going to buy a 100' roll and then proceed to do every crevice on my truck.
to completely surround my doors will take 17' for one side

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by orange4boy

Nice work Phil,

I love how you covered the headlights/grille. I did the same for my grille but never got around to doing the headlights.

Any thoughts on smaller mirrors? I'm still hoping to do that myself sometime.

What do you think about the idea of A-pillar "fillers" I had the idea of creating plexi bubbles like those rain drip guards but they would fill the area where the vortex forms instead of stopping drips. Thoughts?

Commuting is pretty scary and I'm going to stay with the bigger glass.Eliminating the mirrors altogether on the CRX made no difference at 100 mph,I don't think modern mirrors are the liability they once were for the good they do.
As to the A-pillar vortex,it seems like the 'bubble' would have to extend so far out to the sides,that the increase in frontal area would cancel out the benefit of the vortex elimination.
An EV-1 windshield would solve all this but they've gone the way of the Easter Island Lumber Co..

[miket]

Originally Posted by darcane

Why the great concern over brake cooling? Most of the people here try to limit their brake usage enough that cooling shouldn't be an issue.

I've had problems with warped rotors and I just upgraded the calipers per technical service bulletin. Also the truck will sometimes be fully loaded which will put more stress on the brakes. Cant forget steep hills too. It just seems a bit odd to me that the rotors have vanes inside specifically for moving air and then seallng the tires up tight.

[darcane]

Well, hills and towing certainly put you in the exception category. Carry on.

[Varn]

I have no interest in sealing up the brakes on any of my vehicles. You can't coast that long on some hills around here before you get over the top of what is controllable. We have steep hills some of which if you hit at 25 mph you will be at 65 at the bottom and there are some tight curves at the bottom.

I bet that warped rotors and increased pad wear cost more than the gas it saves.

[max_frontal_area]

Originally Posted by aerohead

The forward tilting hood is the ultimate objective.Right now I have to remove two handfuls of screws and the blister just to open the hood.Prototypes are like that.No convenience whatsoever!
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The cab/aeroshell gap allows clearance for frame flex inherent in the non-unibody trucks.I'll soften the leading edge of Poco-Loco at some point to help in yaw conditions but I've got bigger fish to fry first.
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The 'cone' inside the grille-block inlet is actually a 'valve' to help regulate airflow volume especially in the winter,when it will actually fully close when the truck is parked.I thought it might help conserve some engine heat,reducing 'cold-start' issues.The inlet to the radiator is air-tight and the engine runs at normal temp,although at lower load do to the reduced drag of the grille-block.So far the computer appears to be smart enough to keep the BSFC fairly constant,where a carburetored truck might suffer.
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I'm not going to be much help to you on the turbo.I'd be looking at serious race cars on that one.You almost need to get a static pressure probe and a good manometer and locate your highest pressure,whether at the forward stagnation point,or maybe even inside a wheel well.Don't know.
I think the bigger issue is rejecting the heat of compression from the compressor section.Does anyone mist the inter-cooler itself? De-ionized/de-mineralized water so zero salt buildup on the core? And no risk to the turbo if there is a plumbing problem?

10-4 on the hood, for me that would be a pita, sompin is always being tweaked under there...

cab/aeroshell gap, yes the flex was ovious, but with your clever sourcing of materials i recon you could have come up with something there as well!?

the grille-block inlet valve is manually adjustable from the driver seat?
you might find that at just the right setting it will cool your intake air
like a carburetors venturi.

on my turbo... it seems most streamliner designers haphazardly place engine air inlets figuring at over 200 mph there will be plenty of air for the engine
only to find they are starving it. some of the brighter teams look into tuning their scoops to work like venturies, effectively cooling their intake charge
and packing more air in the engine.

and that is what i am hoping to achieve but with a vehicle that is not quite as sexy.
yes, i intend to mildly dimple (golf ball) the compressor involute of my turbo
with a small ball nose end mill to introduce xtra mass, and fit it with a housing and duct which will supply cool air from the stagnation point.
i have read that pre turbo water injection is supposed to be quite effective,
however too much water won't flow well through intercoolers!!
yes ppl spray their intercoolers with water although i doubt they are using distilled h2o.
the hip way for racers is to blast it with bottled co2 - much more effective.
but no chance of gettin into green heaven with that method.
traditionally, the additional cooling of the IC is only needed during continued
boost.
i have a slightly different twist in mind, the idea is to supply a the max cool air to the turbo and keep it cooled along the way to the combustion chamber thus maxing out volumetric efficiency (on a 30some yo engine design) so that the turbo is always producing boost. secretly hopin for 5 psi.
the idea is to significantly lower rpm's therefore increase mpg by buring fuel more completely as well as reducing recipocating and parasitc losses - all the while extending engine life. best of all i can go to work without having to fool
computers or sensors

forgot to ask, on your grille-block inlet are you using airflow straightners
between the inlet and the radiator or is the air wild? takes lots of energy
forcing dirty air through lil fins. main reason why i dislike pusher fans.
also is your radiator sealed on its outer periphery, lots of cooling air is wasted
flowing around it, if you adress that you could effectively close your "valve" a bit more.
never cared for the looks of the t-100. i do now!

[bondo]

I have read alot of discussion here and in other threads about the importance of filling or covering the gap between the cab of a pickup and the aerocap.

In the wind tunnel testing of my Aerolid, I was told by the Engineers, at the American pickup truck manufacturer whose wind tunnel I was in, that the air flowing around the top and sides of the cab never gets sucked into the gap between the cab and a camper shell/aerocap. This is due to there being higher pressure air being forced out the gap from underneath the truck, so the air actually travels backward from what one would intuitively think.

The smoke tests showed this to be true also.

Bondo

[d0sitmatr]

Originally Posted by bondo

I have read alot of discussion here and in other threads about the importance of filling or covering the gap between the cab of a pickup and the aerocap.

In the wind tunnel testing of my Aerolid, I was told by the Engineers, at the American pickup truck manufacturer whose wind tunnel I was in, that the air flowing around the top and sides of the cab never gets sucked into the gap between the cab and a camper shell/aerocap. This is due to there being higher pressure air being forced out the gap from underneath the truck, so the air actually travels backward from what one would intuitively think.

The smoke tests showed this to be true also.

Bondo

but would that not change if your using a full belly pan ?

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by bondo

In the wind tunnel testing of my Aerolid, I was told by the Engineers, at the American pickup truck manufacturer whose wind tunnel I was in, that the air flowing around the top and sides of the cab never gets sucked into the gap between the cab and a camper shell/aerocap. This is due to there being higher pressure air being forced out the gap from underneath the truck, so the air actually travels backward from what one would intuitively think.

The smoke tests showed this to be true also.

In the pic, the smoke seems to be detaching from the aerolid rather than following it

Regardless of what direction the actual flow goes, it'll create more drag being there than when it wasn't there.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by max_frontal_area

10-4 on the hood, for me that would be a pita, sompin is always being tweaked under there...

cab/aeroshell gap, yes the flex was ovious, but with your clever sourcing of materials i recon you could have come up with something there as well!?

the grille-block inlet valve is manually adjustable from the driver seat?
you might find that at just the right setting it will cool your intake air
like a carburetors venturi.

on my turbo... it seems most streamliner designers haphazardly place engine air inlets figuring at over 200 mph there will be plenty of air for the engine
only to find they are starving it. some of the brighter teams look into tuning their scoops to work like venturies, effectively cooling their intake charge
and packing more air in the engine.

and that is what i am hoping to achieve but with a vehicle that is not quite as sexy.
yes, i intend to mildly dimple (golf ball) the compressor involute of my turbo
with a small ball nose end mill to introduce xtra mass, and fit it with a housing and duct which will supply cool air from the stagnation point.
i have read that pre turbo water injection is supposed to be quite effective,
however too much water won't flow well through intercoolers!!
yes ppl spray their intercoolers with water although i doubt they are using distilled h2o.
the hip way for racers is to blast it with bottled co2 - much more effective.
but no chance of gettin into green heaven with that method.
traditionally, the additional cooling of the IC is only needed during continued
boost.
i have a slightly different twist in mind, the idea is to supply a the max cool air to the turbo and keep it cooled along the way to the combustion chamber thus maxing out volumetric efficiency (on a 30some yo engine design) so that the turbo is always producing boost. secretly hopin for 5 psi.
the idea is to significantly lower rpm's therefore increase mpg by buring fuel more completely as well as reducing recipocating and parasitc losses - all the while extending engine life. best of all i can go to work without having to fool
computers or sensors

forgot to ask, on your grille-block inlet are you using airflow straightners
between the inlet and the radiator or is the air wild? takes lots of energy
forcing dirty air through lil fins. main reason why i dislike pusher fans.
also is your radiator sealed on its outer periphery, lots of cooling air is wasted
flowing around it, if you adress that you could effectively close your "valve" a bit more.
never cared for the looks of the t-100. i do now!

The original grille is still inside there for turbulence and distribution to the heat exchangers.
The inlet is sealed to ensure that the air is delivered only to the heat exchangers.
The valve is fixed at 'wide-open.' After the pick and shovel work is done,and if the truck survives that long,I'll get around to some of the 'fun' stuff,doing the 'active' aerodynamics.
I recall carburetor icing issues with my 1st VW after deleting the heat-riser on the intake manifold,so the venturi effect is certainly real.