Video: 2009 Ford F-150 aerodynamics in the wind tunnel
 

Not a particularly excellent video, but it did reveal one item that was news to me: the tailgate has what the designer calls a "spoiler" on top that interacts with flow off the roof to minimize rear wake.

Also, the truck has a Cd of .40, which is supposedly at the lower (better) end of the scale for pickups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YL423MHtLc

Yeah, seems strange that such a small "shelf" could function much like car spoilers!

You may be aware of the GM "half-tonneaus" that only cover the box from the tailgate forward to... whatever, but IIRC half-way forward was deemed the best- even better than a full tonneau! That's counter-intuitive to me also.

Hmmm... didn't see the "bubble" at the base of the windshield I was expecting...

How about that!

Once more I am correct that 'the little things' are making a difference.

I'm still trying to find a way to get rid of more of the drag after the tailgate on my F150. I have tried several cardboard forms and tufs with a friend driving and me following but it just does not show much beyond turbulence. I guess I was correct in that the only way to solve this is CFD so many different trials can be conducted quickly. Still solo on that effort.

Amazing, with so many trucks on the road you would think that if even 5% wanted better gas mileage there would be SOMEONE with CFD access to team on the effort but Nada.

Wow, 0.40? That's horrible, and it's multiplied by a very large frontal area. I bet were it not for macho truck buyers, Ford would build an F150 with a minivan-style, rounded front end, rear seats narrower and with less headroom than the front seats, a Prius-shaped tonneau cover, and a Cd of 0.30. Basically a giant Prius that can tow 5000 lbs and haul a few thousand pounds in the bed.

You and your windshield separation bubbles. :) I bet you never tuft tested your Tempo either to see if it has one (it doesn't!).

:confused: Reducing drag on pickup trucks is well understood. There are more than a few examples on this forum of how to do it.

I completely forgot about that! I haven't driven that thing in a month.

Thanks for the reminder.

F-150
 

I liked the video,it's a good introduction to aero,thanks!---------------- All the car makers appear to be raising the height of their pickup's box rails in comparison to the cab roof such that curvature of the locked vortex in the bed better approaches the Kamm roofline.If you look at the drawings of the truck on the easel and of the smoke trace,they both mimic Ford's "aeroshell" of the Texas Tech paper published in the 1980s.---------- It would be interesting to place the F-150(with smoke) under the aerodynamic template and see what kind of "fit" might exist.Thanks again Darin!

One thing of note: the figures on Mr Pien's easel in the video show their tweaking got the 2009 truck's Cd down to 0.40 from 0.42 on the 2008 model.

Ewwwww.

I wonder how bad my 1989 F150's Cd is.

Narrow rear seats with less headroom? Sorry, no. Why have the back seats at all if they can't fit 3 full size adults across the width? Most people seeking the extra seat of a crew cab have a crew to put in them. Kids grow. Back seats need to accommodate full size adults in the full size pickup market because there really aren't any other options besides a closed off SUV or simply forgoing the passenger capacity altogether.

I don't buy for a second that anybody but little people are comfortable in the back of a Prius. Wasted seats IMO.

I ain't little but I rode in the back seat of a Prius once. IIRC it was comfortable.

Mythbusters did a piece on pickups and MPG with the tailgate.
Wait to you hear him call off the gallons per hour that beast is using at 55 mph. :eek: Definitely shows how minimal changes with the bed and tailgate can effect the fuel economy.

[youtube]r3aqHbD-O9E[/youtube]

Back seats of the Prius are plenty big, i'm not sure where you are coming from.
____________________________
Mythbusters IS NOT SCIENCE, stop sourcing them for facts. They entertain, they do not get paid to do science they get paid to entertain. There basis on testing that truck is so messed up.

Hi,

I'm 6'-4" and my brother is a little over 6'-6" and my son was 5'-2" -- and all three of us fit relatively comfortably in the back seat of a '05 Prius.

It is not a small backseat...

Alright, color me informed about the Prius now, (I still have my doubts) but my point about the back seats of pickups still stands in terms of many of those who seek the full accomodation of a crew cab.

This is exactly the kind of all-or-nothing thinking that results in people daily-driving pickup trucks in the first place. Because you're afraid you might someday come across a task your truck can't accomplish, you buy the biggest, tallest, fastest, thirstiest truck you can, and you just end up commuting in it anyway.

How bad would it be to have a front bench that seats three adults, and a rear bench that seats either two adults or three children?

But pickup truck should not be used to transport children. That's what cars are for.

That's why I use the 1ton STANDARD cab to tow my 14000 trailer and haul people in the Saturn.
15mpg is not for hauling 200lb people around !!!
Drives me nuts when i see 1 person in business dress clothes in an empty full-size pick-up commuting.

much truth to that, however . .

That part is unrealistic for many. While we ended up selling our supercrew for the forementioned reasons, we had legitimate need for the number and size of the seating area. We weren't silly enough to forego the middle front seat either - which I believe is still available in the new F-150. (But we have obviously found the same number of seats in our Mazda 5.) The fact remains however, that the extra cost of a supercrew vs. a regular or extra cab in the same class and size pickup is miniscule in terms of economy - and neither of the latter would have worked for us at all without the extra expense of a third vehicle.

When I need a Pickup truck I call Enterprise Rent a car. $39.95 a day plus gas. :thumbup:

Most taxis where I come from are Priuses. I have ridden in them myself and there is plenty of leg and head room. I'm 6 foot myself and it actually felt spacious back there. You don't have to buy it, just try it.

You double posted, I double thanked... in case you end up deleting one.

As for this, I agree completely. I'd rather ride in the back of a Prius than in the back of most extended cab/quad cab trucks.

With careful planning, a Prius could probably carry the same work crew and tools that most times end up in a crew cab truck as well, if one were so inclined.

I say this simply because 90% of the time that we had to take the bosses truck, it was only because there were 4 guys going to the job, and with caulking equipment, the bed was never fully loaded. In fact, we all could have pretty much carried our tools right in our laps, except when we needed the paint pumps or power washers, etc... which could just as easily have been towed behind the Prius.

It's the "plus gas" part that hurts us now, but we now go to the motor pool of Mom & Dad to meet our truck needs. :thumbup:

I think instead of buying a truck, I'm just going to put a new transmission into my Father's S10 (Tailshaft bearing is grinding) and use it while I'm working on the Van.