It is pretty much a challenge any way you look at it.... I knew from
the start a truck on the track would be a challenge. Any one can make a
pony project go fast w/ little cash. You never see those Ferd wussies
hitting the track w/ a truck???? The lightening doesn't count.
Supercharging is not expectable on a stock vehicle. If Ford needs a
supercharger to get that sled off the line, then what does it say for
Ferds, hahahaha.... I won't achieve the ultimate sleek design on my
budget. I just don't want to spend the heavy cash on something that
might pan out to be a poor approach. I don't know what nice Tonneau go
for, but doesn't sound cheap..... That 2/3 smooth thing is pretty much
the truth, and a spray on. Well, sounds like it kills the smooth 2/3
idea, right??? You have the texturing of the material, its' weight,
plus the ridges of the bed from start..... A drop in liner may offer a
'smooth' surface over the spray. I just don't trust the drop in any
more..... the lid is a fair approach and should over a down force on
the rear, kind a spoiler like????? Every car contains drag
somewhere.... I will just have to try a few things little by little....
Gee if I had a tunnel, boy I would spend days in there with my truck,
hahahaha.... What I would love to do is make it handle better on a road
course as well..... May I ask what the majority of you use for lids,
and the wallet crunching price????
Jason
1/7/99 4:34 PM
-----Original Message-----
From: Bridges, Bruce [SMTP:bbridges@alarismed.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 07, 1999 4:15 PM
To: 'dakota-truck@buffnet.net'
Subject: RE: DML: RE: R/T bedliner
Jason,
If your looking for the ultimate aero package check out the
Pikes Peak
challenger from Toyota... Looks like they grafted a 65
Barracuda window to
the back of the cab. doesn't even look like a truck anymore...
And
seriously, Once the flow has separated off the edge of the
truck's cab, your
pretty hosed aerodynamically anyhow, Tonneau or no Tonneau. The
separation
layer acts as an additional chunk of cab, effectively making
your little Dak
truck look like a Mack truck in the wind tunnel (Just think how
big a Mack
truck must look without aerodynamics in the wind tunnel)...You
need to
smoothly transition the air over the bed from the cab! The
2/3rds cover
moved to the rear starts sounding like a good initial approach
with the
racing Tacoma bubble back being the ultimate for aerodynamic
purposes...
.02
BKB
-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Jennings [mailto:jason@spray-tech.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 07, 1999 12:56 PM
To: 'dakota-truck@buffnet.net'
Subject: RE: DML: RE: R/T bedliner
I to agree with the fact that I should only be concerned with
the rear
of the bed and truck..... I personally fear the extra weight
vs. air
flow on the track. Open high hay runs are more costly in the
drag
factor when thinking in terms of gas mileage. I can see the
line
between traction and excessive weight. I plan to make a few
runs w/ the
bed as is.... And contemplate coving the bed with something
after I
have a few ets in the book. Sorry, I hate to disappoint
everyone, but I
can't take this one as a truck..... If I wanted a truck in it's
name.
I would have kept my '97 Ram and all of its' dents & scratches.
Jason
1/7/99 3:57 PM
-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Shook [SMTP:gary.shook@mci.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 07, 1999 2:56 PM
To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
Subject: Re: DML: RE: R/T bedliner
I hate to break it to all three of you, but results from
2 of
the big 3
automakers (you guess which 2) showed that covering the
bed of a
pickup
truck did little, if anything to improve the
aerodynamics.
I know this sounds hard to believe, but with their
experimentation the only
thing found to make a measureable improvement (and still
very
marginal) was
to cover the rear 2/3s of the bed with a hard, slick
surface and
leave the
front 1/3 UNCOVERED!
The theory is that there is just turbulence behind the
cab at
speeds where
it would make a difference, and not smooth airflow-
disrupting
turbulence
does nothing, it's already disturbed ;-)
So in theory, your ET's make go UP when adding a lid,
unless the
extra
weight gives you more traction that you need.
Personally, I'd
take it for
what it is- a TRUCK, and give up on aerodynamics, unless
you're
worried
about airflow into the engine!
Just my 2 copper/zinc discs...
Gary Shook
>True...however the lid will ad wait, and with the line,
lookout
heavy
>boy. That is one of my biggest concerns. That chute
thing
called a
>short bed. Even with the tail gate down or off, it
will pull
on the
>truck like a mother. I would slap a lid on it, but the
slapping can
>only start w/ a few dollars from my end..... I was
thinking of
a mat
<snip>
> faster you run it. The more potential drag may
arise???? The
spray on
> kind is not getting my best thoughts either???? The
spray on
has a
> massive rough surface.... My opinion.....Leave it
untouched
and just
<snip>
> That is just completely ridiculous, in my opinion of
course!
in case you
> didn't know, having an open bed is like a dragging
parachute,
if you are
going
> to be eating fords of the road then you need to be
installing
a lid. I
drive
> a 98 sports plus with a rhino spray-on and a gaylord
lid. once
you have a
lid
> it doesn't matter what surface is in your bed and the
real
drag again is
the
> open bed!!!!
<snip>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:11:54 EDT