tacoma aerocap ABA test

[ccrider]

here is the ABA test on my Tacoma aerocap.

my truck is a 2002 Toyota Tacoma regular cab with a 2.4 4 cylinder engine 5 speed transmission with 206,000 miles on it. the truck has no mechanical problems, no check engine light, or any issues that i know of.

[IMG][/IMG]



it has the following modifications.

80% grill block
44 psi in tires
k&n drop in air filter
scangauge II
hot air intake
removed mud flaps
aerocap
smooth hub caps

i did the test on rt 192 west of Melbourne Florida. it is a 65 MPH speed limit road with some mild turns, one canal bridge with about a 5 ft rise over the water. other than that it is very straight flat 2 lane road. i used a 7.3 mile section and did 2 east and west runs for each portion of the test. i do not have cruise control so i used my gps to keep speed. i watched the average speed along with the actual speed and tried to keep the speed at 65 MPH and if i saw the average go up or down from 65 i would try to change my speed by a few tenths of a mph to keep the average at 65 mph. i think it was really accurate. i rarely was off more than 1 mph but i will include the average speed in each run

weather condition were taken from a weather station a few miles from the test road. i started the tests at 10:30 am with a temp of 62 degrees and winds out of the NE at 5 mph gusting to 7 mph and i finished the tests at 2pm with temps at 66 degrees with wind out of the NE at 6 mph gusting to 10 mph




A......west....................................eas t

run 1 27.8 mpg 65.0 average mph 25.6 mpg 64.9 average mph

run 2 27.7 mpg 64.9 average mph 25.8 mpg 65.0 average mph


A average 26.725 mpg





B......west...................................east

run 1 26.5 mpg 65.0 average mph 24.7 mpg 64.9 average mph

run 2 26.9 mpg 65.0 average mph 25.0 mpg 65.0 average mph


B average 25.775




A.....west.................................east

run 1 28.0 mpg 65.0 average mph 26.2 mpg 64.average mph

run 2 28.1 mpg 65.0 average mph 25.7 mpg 64.9 average mph


A average 27 mpg



all A average 26.863
B average 25.775


gain 1.088 mpg




when i had runs that i discarded due to problems with gps and truck interference i took some runs at different speeds just to see what i would get.

i did one run without the cap west at 75 mpg average 22.4 mpg
i did one run with the cap west at 75 mpg average 23.8mpg
i did one run with the cap east at 55 mpg average 30.2 mpg

[ccrider]

sorry the results are so confusing all the spacing changed when it was posted

[COcyclist]

Nice work! Thanks for posting. Real data collection takes some serious time and effort. It looks like you should see some good results from your aerocap. Can you include a link to your build thread for the cap?

[ccrider]

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ghlight=tacoma

i did not start my own thread on my build but i posted some pics and stuff on this thread

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by COcyclist

Nice work! Thanks for posting. Real data collection takes some serious time and effort.

Agreed. Thanks for putting in the effort.

Based on your numbers, that's a...

4.2% fuel economy improvement at 65 mph
6.3% fuel economy improvement at 75 mph

[ccrider]

i was hoping for somewhere around 10% improvement but the numbers are the numbers.


anyone have any ideas on how i could modify my cap to see some better results? i guess next i should do the tuft test maybe the sharp edges on the corners are creating problems.

[MadisonMPG]

Originally Posted by ccrider

i was hoping for somewhere around 10% improvement but the numbers are the numbers.


anyone have any ideas on how i could modify my cap to see some better results? i guess next i should do the tuft test maybe the sharp edges on the corners are creating problems.

The sharp ones that the back are actually better than rounded, IIRC. The ones are the top could be rounded, but I doubt that they are hurting 10% worth.

How smooth is the transition between cab/cap?

[Bajascoob]

How much does the cap weigh...what is the frame material?

[MetroMPG]

Bajascoob FYI, see this thread for construction details: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...kup-11271.html

[KamperBob]

Originally Posted by ccrider

i did one run without the cap west at 75 mp[h] average 22.4 mpg
i did one run with the cap west at 75 mp[h] average 23.8mpg
i did one run with the cap east at 55 mp[h] average 30.2 mpg

Thanks for sharing, and congrats on your progress.
I particularly liked your last line best!

Cheers
KB