Pickup trucks and bed aero

[skyking]

I'm not going to block the grille on my TDI bug either, I think they run much closer to capacity on a regular basis. The intercooler gets a lot more use than my truck, for sure.
I'll get active grille on the truck this winter (sure I will ).

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by skyking

I'm not going to block the grille on my TDI bug either

The grille on that car is already just a lower valance slot, a fraction of exposed area verses traditional looking cars. I would not mess with the Bug either.

[jamesqf]

Something I have been thinking about re the aerodynamics of the pickup bed. Suppose that instead of looking from the side, we look down from above. Then perhaps cutting a couple of NACA-style inlets behind the cab and louvering or dropping the tailgate would really improve the airflow. Any thoughts?

[kach22i]

Sketch it up, I bet someone has pondered a similar thought at one time or another and will recognize it.

[freebeard]

Been looking at the aerodynamics of pickup trucks since I bough an 03 ram diesel last week.

Today I saw a truck with a softtopper on it. It's like a convertible top, folds out of the way when not needed.

How about a soft-topper under a rack? If you did it right it could look like this:

Second thing I wonder about is the dam in the front...

There's lots of opportunity in the wheelwells.