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The mpg is going to be hard unless you do some wind tunnel treatments. I contend that without some aero work under the truck and some kind of fastback treatment behind the cab/above front of bed you'll be fighting much too much low pressure drag to get consistent numbers in all kinds of wind conditions.
Good luck, I truly hope you find a wind tunnel somewhere to work some things out. I've been thinking very hard about some way to negate the drag behind the back windows. I have the back flip too and at 72 mph the back flip cover is actually pulled up from the bed 12-26" behind the rear windows. I'm not a good engineer so I don't know how to work the numbers but there has to be a good 20hp drag right there.
This body and chassis design has been thru hundreds if not thousands of hours of wind tunnel testing, and if the Ford engineers can't squeak out average 18mpg, it will be near impossible to get to 20. Unless someone comes up with the magic 'thing' only because they didn't know it wasn't supposed to work. (like the radio in a car).
Putting a cap over the bed hasn't made any significant change in the results, altho it significantly changes the aerodynamics.
I agree to an extant Sam, ford is governed by what they think will sell and look right too. There could be so much more aero treatments but won't be cost effective for ford as a business as well.
Feeding air to areas where there are low pressure drag situations may do exactly nothing, I don't know? Most mini vans and suv vehicles have a spoiler on the top back of the roof to direct air down against the rear glass, I assume for blowing water off the window but also to reduce the negative air pressure area.
A truck with no bed cover makes a vortex back there that actually makes the vehicle more slippery through the air as it speeds up. Adding a bed cover or a camper shell messes that up, which, is where my opinions here come from. The most efficient way for these trucks to go is with no bed cover, tailgate up, windows shut.
Sorry big diesel, just tryin to help but wound up using too many words.....
I agree to an extant Sam, ford is governed by what they think will sell and look right too. There could be so much more aero treatments but won't be cost effective for ford as a business as well.
Feeding air to areas where there are low pressure drag situations may do exactly nothing, I don't know? Most mini vans and suv vehicles have a spoiler on the top back of the roof to direct air down against the rear glass, I assume for blowing water off the window but also to reduce the negative air pressure area.
A truck with no bed cover makes a vortex back there that actually makes the vehicle more slippery through the air as it speeds up. Adding a bed cover or a camper shell messes that up, which, is where my opinions here come from. The most efficient way for these trucks to go is with no bed cover, tailgate up, windows shut.
Sorry big diesel, just tryin to help but wound up using too many words.....
I would have to disagree about bed covers and caps not playing an improvement in fuel economy. I averaged 16.05 (hand calculated) with my truck running 295/70/18 tires, stock lift and that is all around driving. Since adding the topper I've increased a little and now see an average (3 tanks) of 17.08. My driving routes and habits are near identical before and after.
Truck looks good so far. The engine numbers are easy to obtain. To get 20mpg you went the wrong direction with the suspension, slam it to the ground and run street tires and you may get there, of course then it wouldn't tow so good.
Truck looks great!
Goals are nice, but none of us bought these trucks for the mileage.
We bought them to tow, and that is what they do well. When it needs to be filled up, I fill it up. I do pay attention to mileage, but it will never be a deciding factor with my truck.
Comfort, safety and tow/haul ability are at the top.
Enjoy.
Pat
Thanks all for the welcome and compliments...loving the adventure! More pictures coming soon...
Originally Posted by ruschejj
The mpg is going to be hard unless you do some wind tunnel treatments. I contend that without some aero work under the truck and some kind of fastback treatment behind the cab/above front of bed you'll be fighting much too much low pressure drag to get consistent numbers in all kinds of wind conditions.
Good luck, I truly hope you find a wind tunnel somewhere to work some things out. I've been thinking very hard about some way to negate the drag behind the back windows. I have the back flip too and at 72 mph the back flip cover is actually pulled up from the bed 12-26" behind the rear windows. I'm not a good engineer so I don't know how to work the numbers but there has to be a good 20hp drag right there.
Agreed--that's where we are heading. The underbody aero is an especially significant opportunity. Looking into belly-pan fabrication, which would double as skid plate protection.
Interesting regarding the BakFlip (sounds dangerous!)...no such issues with the F1 model...stays flush as can be and added about 1 mpg.
Originally Posted by PlayersZ28
Truck looks good so far. The engine numbers are easy to obtain. To get 20mpg you went the wrong direction with the suspension, slam it to the ground and run street tires and you may get there, of course then it wouldn't tow so good.
Big - if you really want to bust that mileage barrier, you're gonna halfta drop the truck down - maybe even lower it - and put the tallest, skinniest tires that will support the weight of the truack and load. The aero has taken as much as 2 MPG as reported by others and the fat tires another 1-1.5 mpg... Then forget about cruise control and learn to surf the highways like the truckers with the big rigs do - gain speed on the downhills and light throttle going up the next hill. It's real name is Hypermiling... I've never gotten an increase in fuel economy with either a rear cap or tonneau cover.
Here are a few shots of the progress from the past few weeks. Given the -12 offset, and to keep the look clean...decided to add invisible film 18-inches up the rockers rather than install fender flares. Llumar came out with a new stronger, harder and better self-healing film this past week to compete with 3M and Xpel...seems to be a great product. Also added Llumar CTX and Air tint...what a difference, heat reflectivity is amazing.
Other updates include the newly released Rigid DOT/SAE compliant LED fog lights, Rigid reverse flood lights, RECON HID's, 6-inch MagnaFlow exhaust, S&B CAI and some very cool custom "Platinum" MGP caliper covers...
A few images...forgive the quality, will be taking better pictures once we get a few more bits installed...
Rigid DOT compliant LED fog lights...very bright and you can actually use these legally
Rigid reverse lights...make a huge difference. Installed these in pre-existing holes in the hitch...no drilling. They are hidden back underneath and un-noticeable, until you turn them on (over 3000 lumens combined)! Perfect sight-line mount for the light, without worrying about damage:
6" MagnaFlow...really should have shined this up a bit. It's a beautiful piece of T304 Stainless craftsmanship:
Went basic S&B for now...but may yet swap out to No Limit if we decide to go all-out:
Loving these custom one-off "Platinum" MGP caliper covers...RR color-matched...we were even able to match the Ford OEM Platinum font. These are made in the USA of 6061-T6 aerospace grade aluminum. They are TIG welded and powder-coated, mount using a stainless steel fastening system and are officially licensed for use on Ford. May seem like a little thing, but you don't realize just how much rusty calipers take away from your wheels until you install these. They really set the overall look off...
And here's a shot of the Llumar along the rockers...bringing it up just above the rocker transition worked out perfectly...now anything that gets kicked up from the wheels hits the film first (as you can see from the dirt spray pattern). And most of the film line is untraceable along the groove, only really see it at all at the fenders:
04-09-2015, 07:05 AM
So what's with the three different boats? You have a collection or is it as Andre guessed?