>I must disagree..there is definitely drag created from having the tailgate
>up with no cover...anyone who has drivin with and without the tailgate up
>can probably justify this by the noticable change in performance...I have
>noticed.
how was this measured? seat-of-the-pants feel, IMHO is NOT good enough.. it
can very easily be tainted by your opinion... if even on a sub-concious
level.
>If you have ever had paper or leaves blow INTO your rear window when the
>tailgate is up...this would of course be caused by the air being looped
back
>after hitting the tailgate...hence drag. Of course I'm only an amatuer
That air being looped back is the "bubble" that is credited with providing
the improvement with the tailgate in place... measured by scientific means
in a wind tunnel
>> Thanks for the reply. Man I've been told the tailgate acts like an
>> airdam back there.
By someone in a position to make a profit from the sale of a cover?
>The general conclusion I've seen is that with the tailgate up, the air in
>the bed stays put, and the air from over the top of the cab goes over the
>top and directly over the tailgate. Just like if you have a tonneau. When
>you lower the tailgate or put in a flow-through net, the air "bubble" in
the
>bed breaks, spills out, and actually creates more drag.
This is exactly the data that I have heard- aerodynamics sometimes do things
that contradict common sense :-)
Gary Shook
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:15:00 EDT