First big test!
 

It's the first big test of the new redesigned air dam, side skirts, grill blocker (thinking about taping over the driving lights), front canards and moving the bed cover supports since joining gassavers.org (Darn, I love this place)! Also cleaned the idle valve (oh, my idle is rock steady at 550 rpm now. I almost tried to start the truck at a light today.) and the air cleaner. Acetone is dialed in at 3.25 oz per 10 gallons. Of course as soon as I did that, the battery took a crapper. So Acetone in your gas tank will destroy your battery. $90.00 later, we have a new battery. Tomorrow, I'm off for the weekend to the shack to film another exciting episode of "This Old Shack" - I'm building a solid state generator for this episode and doing solar panels installations. I'm also going to start the solar boat project; totally solar powered.

The results so far. Old stuff is cold air intake, old air dam and old position of bed cover supports. Stock is with bed cover only:

EPA stock city (no cover): 14
Stock city: 18
Old stuff city: 19.5
New stuff city: 20.8 - 21.9
Coast down from 50 mph is much longer.

EPA stock highway (no cover): 20
Stock highway: 21.5
Old stuff highway: 22.5
New stuff highway: 26.5
Coast down from 65 is forever. Expecting this will help a lot on long trips.

I really, really, really hope to use 1/2 tank for each way (249 miles). That would be even better than my V6 Dakota. I might have the wife update my garage while I'm gone. I might even make some cardboard rear skirts (painted black of course with cryptic things like "EXP: 0043.21" on them to make people think I know what I'm doing) and duct tape them on.

Expected beer tally for the weekend: 749.3 not including lost or spilled cans.

Best of Luck ! Will be giddily awaiting the update vid !

niiiiiiiiiiice every time you update your info i rub it in my friends face ( he almost the same truck as yours)

oh me too!!!!! i recycle so many cans its insane! all my friends save um for me

Sorry, you can't have the cans. We use them for various solar projects and force projection around the shack.

Random thoughts......

I taped over the driving light bezels this morning with clear 3 inch tape. If it works I'll use plexi for a permanent cover.

Wondering if it's worth taping over where the hood meets the fenders. Thinking about sealing the gap between the bumper and the turn signals.

Making an appointment with therapist; may be getting too anal about smoothing the airflow with tape. Will probably have gassavers.org withdrawals. May take extra beer to get over it.

Double checked the bed cover with the table top under it and where I've mounted the supports. Should work to drive the air over the tailgate area.

Here's the extra weight that I carry to the shack:

• 1 battery bank, 3 type 24 deep cycle batteries, 47 pounds each.
• 5 gallons water (with gas prices it's probably a lot cheaper to buy the water in town once I get there).
• Tools, figure 50 pounds.
• 1 jerry can of gas, 6 gallons (used in generator and for topping off truck).
• video equipment, 10 pounds.

About an extra 300 pounds.

LOL! That's very cool man. A true inspiration.

And BTW,

All your beer cans are belong to us.

The beer cans are 240 miles away right now. Feel free to pick up the $6.00 worth of them. :p Okay boys and girls I'm back and have my first report. I added clear tape to the openings around the headlights and over the driving lights. My goal is to be able to drive to the cabin (250.2 miles) on 1/2 tank (10 gallons). That part has been accomplished. With a high output 4.7 liter V8 in a truck no less.

Here's the facts and figures:

First leg, west, I-94 from Ann Arbor to Jackson, Michigan. 36.3 miles, speed 65 mph. Head wind 15 mph gusts to 25. Mileage with all mods, 23.9.

Second leg, North US 127 from Jackson, merge with I-75 to Gaylord. Cross wind, 15 mph gusts to 25. Mileage 25.2.

Third leg, South on I-75 from Gaylord, merge to US 127 to Jackson. I-94 East to Ann Arbor. Mileage 25.3.

Seat of the pants report:

The changes to the bed cover worked. I moved the rear support from 2/3 of the length of the bed to 9 inches before the tailgate. Added an old table top to the center of the bed under the cover. No more buffeting, in fact the front of the cover now sucks UP. This is a major change.

The first leg into the wind didn't effect the truck as much as it used to. Before the full mods, there would be a lot of buffeting. Now it was rock steady.

On the second leg, in the cross wind there is no more difficulty handling the truck. It used to be that it would move around the highway.

On the way back I did two experiments. I did this with the cruise control on set to 65 mph. I didn't shut the engine off and just hit "resume" for the second leg. First, after fueling I drove down the highway 25 miles to a rest stop with no Acetone added to the tank. Average mileage was 24.4. After stopping at a rest area I added the Acetone and drove an additional 25 miles. Average mileage was 25.3. This part of the highway (I-75) is hilly with curves. Both 25 mile segments have the same number of hills. Of course the weather conditions were the same.

I also discovered unlike the unmodified air dam and grill blockers that when I'm alone on the highway at 65, the instant mileage goes between 23 and 28. When I do 70, it goes between 23 and 28. I tried up to 78 mph before I noticed any drop off in the mileage.

In traffic, there is an astounding improvement. At 70 in a pack of cars, the instant mileage is 25 to 29 mpg. The vehicle is now very sensitive to airflow from other vehicles. I tried driving behind a Wal-Mart truck, mileage was 25 to 29 mpg. Behind a camper (full size, 5th wheel style) mileage was 24-29 mpg.

With these results, I feel that I could possibly break the elusive 30 mpg goal with the addition of rear wheel skirts, flat wheel covers and a larger canard on the front wheel well.

So there is hope that even a brick can get great FE ! The real proof will be in repeat /further improving FE . Good job ! Wheres the video ? Everyone else can fight over the cans ...

Come on! I just rolled into town an hour ago. These things take time. I'm starting the edit tomorrow night for Associated Content. I'll put links to scenes as I get them done. Wait till you see the rig I made for the camera! Beer tally, btw; 62 over 4 days. 3 "lost", 2 forgotten, 1 spilled. Still haven't found the good one.

Here's a little taste I whipped together. short video.

Oooh Very Dramatic ! Love the cloud shots .

Wait till you see the dancing girls!

Haha !! *giddy with anticipation* I think somethings are best left to the imagination . After what 'beer tally' are they considered "dancing girls"?

I don't know how to answer that. Dancing girls are dancing girls. Doesn't take any beer to figure that out. Let me get the goggles out and I'll explain further.....

As an aside to resume our normal thread, I've been ordered to take the truck to a large home improvement chain to purchase large quantities of stuff for the deck. Seriously, the wife wants a the biggest grill and patio set I can find. I can't make that up. Found one online with 5 burners, 45 burger capacity, a smoker, griddle, 2 side burners, a cooler. And she wants it so go figure.

So I thought that I'd get some mileage results with the tailgate down on the way. We'll see. We know with nothing in the truck and the bed cover we get 26.5 mpg. What about with no cover and the tailgate down? It's about 9 miles on the highway in 90 degree weather. I :sigh: suppose it's worth it for a new grill. :)

She who has the biggest grill ? :p

Actually guys, I picked out the grill, umbrella and new table; winners all.

Darn grill actually works. I got a smoking pot for it and experimented with it tonight. Instructions say it takes 2 people 2 hours to assemble. 45 minutes from out of box to cooking by myself. See, I'm used to cooking with wood. My Weber makes the best smoked meat ever. Well, our deck is small and doesn't get a lot of air flow and since it's a condo the neighbors didn't appreciate the smoke. Mix in two college age kids and I had to go in a different direction. The good part is the Weber is going to the shack so I can BBQ my butt off on the weekends.

Now I'm wondering. If you were to put a Weber grill top on the roof of your vehicle would you be able to create a low pressure area behind the rear bumper.

You might be onto something. What if I were to mount the Weber on the rear bumper, light the fire. Then open the top vent and the rearmost lower vent (I'd put a small scoop on the top vent facing into the airstream). That way I'd get some "jet" boost as well as heating the air stream at the rear and creating a positive pressure area in the center of the rear of the truck. This would cause a horizontal lift condition and propel the truck forward. At the same time, I'd be producing green house gasses which would help raise the air temperature of the planet and would in turn raise the engine compartment temperature which (of course) raises the fuel temperature (no, I can't use the Weber to raise the fuel temp. - too much variation as the charcoal burns down) and would net me better mileage. At the same time, the growing season would be lengthened, I'd be able to buy cheaper food, New York and Boston would be flooded and the Yankees AND the Red Sox wouldn't be able to play baseball anymore. :D

And if I lower the wheels of the Weber onto the ground, raise the rear tires of the truck, I'd have lower rolling resistance. Wait a minute. Rear wheel drive. That wouldn't work. Drat. Okay. I'd have to stop at all the rest areas to put more charcoal in the grill and I wouldn't get drowsy on the road and thus be a safer driver. I could also collect the coal gas as it comes out and convert it into methane to run either the truck itself or the generator at the shack. What I could also do is put two Webers back there (yes, I have two, I am a BBQ god) and hook cables to the vents to help steer the truck thus saving front tire wear. That would allow me to put wheel well skirts front and rear.

Now we're cooking. I'll have photos/video of the Weber setup this weekend.

HAH! Now who's wearing the pants around here?

Now what can I do with that Hibachi?

Beer tally to think this one up: 14

Oh boy *this* is going to be rich ! LOL

Hovercraft !! Rear wheel drive be danged !! Only needed to get ya going now .

Only 14 ? You're slipping :p

No wait. The Weber, because of it's shape will also help to negate the buffeting of the bed cover because the rise of the air over it will occur before the air stream actually hits the area near the tailgate. I got my cargo straps out mount the Weber. Wait till you guys see the scoop I'm making for the Weber. This is going to be a classic.

Beer tally now stands at 22.

Seriously, Associated Content now wants me to do videos for their new area on Youtube but wants them at less than ten minutes long. That's in addition to the regular episodes. So, the aerodynamics episode of "This Old Shack" is going to have this as one of the gas saving tips. Can you imagine all the fluids spewing from nasal cavities around the world as they're watching a serious deal about saving gas and this segment comes up. I think tip #3 would be good.

I can't wait for the Discovery channel to pick up my show. :cool:

Beer tally: 31

The Weber doesn't have the carrying capacity of the Dakota. Besides, I've added a new feature to the Weber that dictates that I can't actually drive it.

I'm thinking about calling it the Webinator.

Okay. The Webernator is done and attached to the truck. Now we did some testing this afternoon and got 74.6 mpg on the first run but ran out of charcoal. Plus I didn't have the bed cover on, so you have to take that into account.

Here is a clip from the episode it appears in:

Webernator video.

Oh yeah, beer tally stands at 12 for this project thus far.

:p :D :thumbup: Going 10for 10 - haven't failed to impress me yet ! LOL (and no I didn't take your advice ... thats ok though I do have plenty of towels to dry my keyboard and monitor off ! :D )

I'm thinking one of those pointless infomercials where they show you how it works without actually showing how it works. Like the Tornado. The Webernator. I'm so getting sued by Weber.

Then you need to Canard-ize the Webernator ! Confuse the look a bit ,then a Weber it will be not . ;)

The duct tape shows a pro is at work! :thumbup: :)

I was going to use some cargo straps and then decided that the folding chairs and duct tape (100 mph certified) would probably net better results because of the back of the chairs acting as spoilers to diffuse the wake of the vehicle.

I tried canards but it disrupted the flow into the scoop too much and made the beer too warm. :D

Interesting observation on the duct tape vs. cargo straps - an added benefit to the tape is it's light weight .

Don't think of the bier being too warm - it's European style ! :)

I actually came up with a device for my Stealth in the 1980s that people bought into, hook line and sinker. I even had fake time slips from the track to back it up. The worst part is that I've always wanted to try it. It's called the "KBS" or Kirby Blower System. Say you take all the parts off of a Kirby vacuum but for the main body. Now we all know that you can get grinders, paint sprayer and whatnot for them. Well, why not hook the thing up to an intake? You can use an inverter and hook it to the throttle so it switches on at full throttle.

The fabled Mad Max switched blower set up ! OMG!! you invented that ?

I have been experimenting with an aluminum sheet grille block lately. Basically it is a long rectangular strip, slightly tapered/curved to accommodate the slight conical shape when applied to the fascia. It mounts to the black plastic "tongue" which splits the grille in half lengthwise via some 2" angle brackets and screws.

As I watch the engine temperature rise and the fan kick on (at highway speeds), I drill more 1/4" holes in the middle bottom of the sheet. My goal is to run a little hotter than stock operating temperature, but not so hot that the fan turns on.

So far I can tell this tank of gas is going to have horrible FE, because I did a lot of driveway idling, I revved around town, and now the fan keeps kicking on. I can literally feel the accelerator jerk when the fan kicks on -- is this due to sapping engine power or due to fan-induced turbulence disrupting aerodynamics at highway speeds?

I will post pictures hopefully this weekend and give updates as I continue to drill holes and thereby increase radiator airflow. Any comments for me, especially w.r.t. engine operating temperature and combustion efficiency?

My guess is that you're feeling the alternator's increased load on the engine.

As for the grill block, I think the aerodymics are best if say the lower part is open and the upper is blocked in a clean way so the air can flow over the hood well. I started with a "seive" approach of a bunch of openings spread over the grill but I decided to go with mostly a blocked upper and open lower for mine. FWIW.

that video was great. i thought that it funny. i like the whole sarcastic reference to beer being the perfect beverage to driving. i think that we need to see some video of this in action. or not, would not want to be the camera operator behind the webernator.

Jim Dunlop: I have a couple of thoughts, for your consideration.

First, the when the fan or fans come on, it does cause a noticable drop in power. This is probably a function of the power being pulled through the alternator, to run the fan but it is also a function of the load on the fan.

Second, I suspect that their is some lower end limit to the size of holes you can put into the grill block and still have it allow the air flow you need. When I was running my grill block I used two holes that were 2" * 4", which seemed to be a pretty good balance. It's a little tougher with 1/4" holes, but my suspicion is that their is some point where the hole starts to just look like a rough spot, with very little real airflow through it.

Good luck with your efforts.

My vehicle is in my sig. It has dual fans; a low resistance mechanical fan and a 16 inch electric for over 190 degrees coolant.

What I've done (and a lot of Dakota guys have done) is get some aluminum gutter guard and install that behind (or in front, your choice) of the stock grill. This has the effect, when you mount it in the upward direction of the punched holes of blocking a certain portion of the air coming in. My temperature penalty was 15 degrees when I installed it. At that point you can start installing plexiglas grill blockers over portions of the grill. With this combo, it gave me an additional .75 to 1 mpg. Total cost was something like ten bucks for the whole grill. To bend the plexiglas, see my video about it here:

plexiglas mod video.

Well Boo, you'll just have to wait for the infomercial that I'm doing for Associated Content - they want me to do some 10 minute shorts in addition to the regular version of This Old Shack.

Here's the infomercial narration. So far.


"You've heard all the claims of some gas mileage products only to be disappointed. What if I were to tell you that you could actually improve your gas mileage to over 75 miles per gallon while being able to power your vehicle at the same time? All without pouring anything into your engine or gas tank or shoving some swirling device into your air cleaner. What if you could also use that amazing device to cook your food or even as a refrigerator? Would you be interested? Of course you would. Introducing the Webernator! When it's installed with it's charcoal gas to methane converter you can convert simple charcoal smoke into methane for powering your vehicle! The Webernator was developed by the ACME products company. That's right, the same company that brought you Atomic Road Runner bird seed and the amazing dehydrated boulders as well as the ACME death ray now brings you the most amazing product to save gas that you've ever seen."

Thank you for your comments. I will factor them into my actions going forward.

Second big test!
 

It's true, the second big test is coming this Friday. I've got the Acetone in the tank, the very same mods are on the body, including the 2 inch clear tape over the driving lights. Weight will be the same. Thinking about checking the fluids and then sealing the hood with tape.

The temperature is scheduled to be 80 degrees, no high winds this time. Route is from Ann Arbor, Mi to Jackson via I-94 then U.S. 127 from Jackson to the merge with I-75 and then to Gaylord, Michigan. One way trip; 247 miles. Last average was 25.6 mpg. Drafting campers and semis at opportunity.

Any suggestions for driving techniques appreciated. The cruise control in the the Dakota is "okay" not much more. It can surge on hills. Frankly, I can control the speed better than the cruise, especially on hills.

Going down hills will be with clutch in as always.

Note: my average almost never varies. City is 22.5 to 21.7, highway is 24.5 to 25.6.

Have you tried coasting downhill in neutral, no clutch ? The Focus gets stoopid FE when doing that .

That's how I drive normally. You people actually don't?:confused:

My instant FE meter tops out at 99. With the new aero package, I can even coast on the highway with no speed loss. :cool:

I must've misunderstood by the way you had posted the "clutch in as always" - Downhills are made for coasting ! So there ya go !!

this preceding message for Scangauge is for informational purposes only I am in no way affiliated with Linear Logic in any other capacity than as a customer ....
Instant FE gauge maxing out ? !! Get a ScanGaugeII it has all kinds of ElNeato features that you can use ! Get One!!!