http://www.bankspower.com/DmaxTypeR.cfm

 

Cool. I hope to see it at the Willow Springs NASA event July 8.

 

That's a real work of art. There may be a few things for us to learn from this build. Really nice aero management.

Anybody know our drag coefficient? If Cadillac can get .36 from the new Escalade with those tires, I am convinced that there is massive room for improvement on our trucks.

.36 used to be the domain of high end sports cars. There are getting much better at this.

TB

 

I hear you loud and clear, but aero is not easy to do after the fact. It really needs to be designed in.

The new Chrysler products, for instance, are aero engineered right down to routine splash guards in the undercarriage.

 

One thing that really strikes me is how much turbulence we have under our trucks. If you take a look at almost any new car, the undercarriage is really smooth. When I get a chance , I would like to plate under the vehicle. Doesn't have to cover everything, but if some turbulence is reduced, I believe there will be a huge improvement. Worst of all that big SM roll pan in the back is like towing a small parachute.

Aero will be my quest in the next year.

TB

 

If you have removed the spare, that is probably the easiest area on the chassis to cover. I have thought about a large sheet there, not so much for aero, but as a place to mount things like a diff cooler and tranny fluid reservoir.

The problem with aero for a shade tree mechanic is that the eyeball has a hard time following airflow. It's often counterintuitive. How will you know if you improved? Comparing top speed runs is the only thing that I can think of, but I have no place to do top speed runs around here.

Maybe you should consider a DG air dam. With a lowered front suspension, it pretty much drags the ground. It's easier to keep the airflow from under the truck than it is to manage the airflow once it gets under there!

Big difference between this:


And this:

 

No doubt that the front air dam needs some help.

I have a few buddies that work for Multimatic which build the FR-500C Mustang. Multi. is just 2 miles from where I live. Very high security there but I would like them to take a good look at my truck for any suggestions. The significantly improved the aero on that car compared to the regular Mustang. Yet it really isn't obvious.

On another topic. I am also really tall and had issues with my head being above the head rests. I will send you pictures of my custom seats over the weekend. They came out really well.

TB

 

You mean the shoulder blade supporters?

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

I think i truck is either .41 or .42

 

According to this data, it's .45 for a 1997 F-150. According to this data, a 2004 Lightning is the same.

Google is a wonderful thing.

 

Also, the CD must be multiplied times the frontal area to come up with the actual drag. So a Lightning will have about twice the drag as a subcompact with the same CD.