SPAL Ranger Aero Ideas? Rocket Ranger
 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...gers/7side.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...rangers/75.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f8...palRanger3.jpg
http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/news/rocketranger.html

Looks like:
Lowered
Side Skirts
Bumper Grille Block
Bumper Skirt
Bed Cover
Smoothie Wheel Covers
V8
Mirror Delete

Everything but the last 3 I can do:D
-Wheel covers cover shiney chrome!
-V8 not mpg friendly
-Texas requires atleast 2 rearviewing mirrors..

Anything else I might have missed?

Narrow highway looking ish rubber?
Fiberglass panels?

:turtle:

don't see one.
Huh? wonder why they went with the Edge? you'd think the torsion bar brackets would hang down into the air on the bottom. Unless they painted everything, but i think they wasted money on painting the bumpers and Fender flares then.
Oh Fx, lose the fender flares, i'm sure that could help cut down on aero.

Running different sized wheels to generate downforce might be fine on a high speed run, but it will only increase drag in a fuel economy setting. Lowest drag should be achieved at an angle of attack of ~0.

I think an aerocap for the bed would be the most beneficial addition...I wonder why the rocket ranger didn't use one? All the other mods seem worthwhile (except the V8...:p).

- LostCause

The 2nd edition of the truck looks a little different in this article...and a whole lot less stock.

Another article shows a better front view... ;)

More piccies... :D

I noticed there isn't any visible belly pans...I guess the front air dam is pushing so much air that any belly pan isn't a factor at that speed... :eek:

Looks like an edge but doubt it has much edge left.. and I plan to get rid of the flares..

So a level truck is best? no rake?

I might make an aerocap during the summer, looks simple enough..

It might be beneficial to the Cd, though nothing I've read comes back to mind in this regard, but it's detrimental to frontal area, not that it matters considering the air dams they tend to stick in front anyway.

Bondo (Brett) mentioned somewhere that the aero cap creates a lot of lift, which would be very bad at the speeds these trucks go. This is what happens with lift at 200mph:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TX-mp-5o1sg

On the plus side, you get a good view of the belly pan!

-Brian

The fences on the roof are there to prevent that. There also very prominent in nascar now.

Ranger rake
 

I think Frank Lee is correct on this.I have an old HOT ROD Magazine article which deals with body rake,and older cars experienced a slight drag reduction when the nose was dropped slightly,if it was dropped a little more,it began to go back up.Ford may have already designed rake into the Ranger.Don't know.And short of having a wind-tunnel,it would take a lot of trial and error to isolate the ideal angle.

Many trucks, like my Ranger, have some rake. My assumption had been that this was for load carrying, so the truck would level out rather than squat.

But, it's possible there is an aerodynamic benefit as well. Would that be different than the benefit of an air dam?

maybe a lip spoiler at the end of the cabin would help. a lot of hatchbacks and breaks have this. perhaps even a small kammback that attatches to the roofline and sides, and slighthly angles inward. it wouldn't compromise the looks or usefullness of the truckbed much but might do a lot for aero if done right.

How about a bed fairing like mine. You are talking MPG, not Bonneville.

Most of my thoughts on aerodynamics first center around symmetric airfoils just because they are the "ideal," but you are right. Being a funky, cambered "airfoil," the ideal AoA will vary based on the specific car.

The lowest drag solution will be one where the car generates no lift (Cd,0). Ideally, I think that should be achieved by setting the car's incidence angle to zero and cancelling any lift with downforce (e.g. a venturi). Raking the car, as Tasdrouille said, increases frontal area.

In the real world, rake would probably be a more practical solution, but that Ranger seems a little excessive.

- LostCause

An SAE paper I looked at this morning ( its old an from Fiat) had results from wind tunnel studies for scale models.Their take on airdams was that for a clean-bottomed vehicle an airdam could actually increase drag.For a dirty-bottomed vehicle they would probably help.Since the Ranger has a torture-chamber for an underside,my guess is that the airdam is for you.CAR and DRIVER's Pinto and Z-car projects both saw mpg improvements with airdams.They are an industry standard now for passenger cars. Corvette and Firebird Trans AM run very deep airdams,however,they are "bottom-breathers" with no grilles,and take in all their air from below the bumper.Try to get as much air around the Ranger as you can.

Thanks!:thumbup:

As another Ranger rider, I'd be interested in installing an airdam. However, this is the first I've even considered the idea, and I'd appreciate some pointers. Are we talking about a commercial product, and if so, where does one get one? If this is something I have to build, please direct me to needed information.

Lane

custom..

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100013884

cut and screw on.. I have the XL valance so I really dont mind drilling holes into it..

http://ecomodder.com/forum/emgarage-...4546eaf8f9.JPG

I also plan this weekend to make the side skirts from the same material.. and maybe a spoiler type thing..

The price is sure right for the material. And I have the XL valance as well, but I'm not sure where you put the strip. It looks like mine already has a dam... but I may be completely off base about what one is and where it goes.

Lane
http://lanelester.com/dropbox/files/TruckFront400.jpg