Airflow Tailgate
From : norexjoe
Q: i have a 1997 dodge ram 1500 4x4 i am thinking of buying a airflow tailgate is it worth the expence will i see a diferance in my fuel mpg joe -- all outgoing e-mail has been scand for viruss by norton antivirus .
Replies:
From : terra
norexjoe wrote i have a 1997 dodge ram 1500 4x4 i am thinking of buying a airflow tailgate is it worth the expence will i see a diferance in my fuel mpg joe think of it as a whiffle ball tailgate. .
From : tom lawrencemrdancer
has anyone had to change the rear abs sensor on a 99 dak 4x4 i noticed that its seated pretty securely in the diff. and i dont want to break anything trying to remove it. is it supposed to be difficult to remove thanks in advance for any advice. havent done it on a dak but the rams are very similar. first lift up the locking tab on the electrical connector and slide the connector off. next remove the bolt that holds the metal housing over the sensor. then grab the sensor with pliers twist and pull straight out of the diff. the sensor has an o-ring around it and the fit is tight but it does come out without too much pressure. .
From : mrdancer
i have a 1997 dodge ram 1500 4x4 i am thinking of buying a airflow tailgate is it worth the expence will i see a diferance in my fuel mpg nope. in most cases tailgate up provides best mpg. ive test this myself and there have been several studies that have shown the same. for example see http//cartalk.cars.com/columns/archive/1997/october/05.html additionally a pickup truck is much safer structurally with the original tailgate intact and closed. .
From : chauncey gardener
cloudster@iname.com wrote i have a 1997 dodge ram 1500 4x4 i am thinking of buying a airflow tailgate is it worth the expence will i see a diferance in my fuel mpg according to a very recent discussion here- no. youre better off with the stock tailgate in the up position. see http//cartalk.cars.com/columns/archive/1997/october/05.html -- to reply by email please edit return address as indicated. .
From : miles
norexjoe wrote i have a 1997 dodge ram 1500 4x4 i am thinking of buying a airflow tailgate is it worth the expence will i see a diferance in my fuel mpg that is a decades old myth that lowering or removing the tailgate will improve mpg. in reality tests done have proven that mpg will actually drop slightly or stay about the same. do some searches to learn more about aerodynamics and wind drag coefficients of pickup trucks. its interesting to learn that the initial thinking that the tailgate would act as huge air dam is wrong. a bed cover may help mpg slightly. .
From : Annonymous
unknown@unlistedspam.com writes norexjoe wrote i have a 1997 dodge ram 1500 4x4 i am thinking of buying a airflow tailgate is it worth the expence will i see a diferance in my fuel mpg that is a decades old myth that lowering or removing the tailgate will improve mpg. in reality tests done have proven that mpg will actually drop slightly or stay about the same. do some searches to learn more about aerodynamics and wind drag coefficients of pickup trucks. its interesting to learn that the initial thinking that the tailgate would act as huge air dam is wrong. a bed cover may help mpg slightly. been there done it and regretted it. if the bed cover idea helped then logically so would removing the tailgate. in fact removing the tailgate -does- improve fuel economy slightly not because of improved airflow but rather by virtue of the reduced weight. installing the bed cover is a push because any improved drag factor is offset by the added weight of the cover. anything you put on your truck in the way of toolboxes bed liners both drop-in as well as spray-in nerf bars headache racks brush guards etc. will each detract slightly from your fuel economy because of the added weight. what i cannot explain is why my 97 1500 cc/sb gets the same lousy 13 mpg regardless of whether the a/c is on or off. someone suggested that its because i put the windows down when im not running the a/c and the added air drag offsets any improvement. ya just cant win. fuel prices in w. houston today were $1.34/9 for diamond shamrock reg unleaded. $1.44/9 for 89 octane middle grade and $1.54/9 for 93 octane premium. certainly better but still a ways to go. .
From : miles
ramman@dodgecity.cc wrote if the bed cover idea helped then logically so would removing the tailgate. a bed cover will reduce wind drag slightly. probably not enough to help mpg. removing the tailgate or lowering it will increase wind drag not reduce it as many seem to think. again that is a decades old myth that lowering it will reduce drag when in reality the opposite occurs. most tests ive read seem to conclude the difference isnt enough either way. fuel prices in w. houston today were $1.34/9 for diamond shamrock reg unleaded. $1.44/9 for 89 octane middle grade and $1.54/9 for 93 octane premium. certainly better but still a ways to go. youre lucky. here in phoenix 87 octane is about $1.85. costco is about the only place lower at around $1.62. last month 87 was almost $2.40. .
From : mrdancer
unknown@unlistedspam.com writes norexjoe wrote i have a 1997 dodge ram 1500 4x4 i am thinking of buying a airflow tailgate is it worth the expence will i see a diferance in my fuel mpg that is a decades old myth that lowering or removing the tailgate will improve mpg. in reality tests done have proven that mpg will actually drop slightly or stay about the same. do some searches to learn more about aerodynamics and wind drag coefficients of pickup trucks. its interesting to learn that the initial thinking that the tailgate would act as huge air dam is wrong. a bed cover may help mpg slightly. been there done it and regretted it. if the bed cover idea helped then logically so would removing the tailgate. in fact removing the tailgate -does- improve fuel economy slightly not because of improved airflow but rather by virtue of the reduced weight. installing the bed cover is a push because any improved drag factor is offset by the added weight of the cover. methinks a bed cover wouldnt hurt mileage. id bet dollars to doughnuts that a camper shell that was angled from the top of the cab to the edge of the tailgate would get you a few extra mpg on a long highway trip except i dont think any are made that way. remember the best aerodynamic shape is similar to a teardrop so a shape that tapers to the rear of the vehicle without creating air pockets will give you the best flow. most vehicles have their worst aerodynamics underneath anyway. youll make the most improvements by cleaning up or stopping the flow of air underneath the vehicle read lowering + air dam. .
From : gary carter
| | methinks a bed cover wouldnt hurt mileage. | | id bet dollars to doughnuts that a camper shell that was angled from the | top of the cab to the edge of the tailgate would get you a few extra mpg on | a long highway trip except i dont think any are made that way. remember | the best aerodynamic shape is similar to a teardrop so a shape that tapers | to the rear of the vehicle without creating air pockets will give you the | best flow. | | most vehicles have their worst aerodynamics underneath anyway. youll make | the most improvements by cleaning up or stopping the flow of air underneath | the vehicle read lowering + air dam. | | with the sloped windshields of the current trucks would a sloped camper shell give enough wing shape to the truck to create lift at speed that should reduce fuel consumption because the truck would think it was lighter but it might make it less stable. lets here from the rest of the peanut gallery! gary carter .
From : toxictavrn
yeah that would be real cool. just what id want a vehicle that gets lighter at speed especially the back end you ever watch a winston cup race and see what happens when someone comes up behind another car in the corner and takes air off the back end and makes it lighter current trucks would a sloped camper shell give enough wing shape to the truck to create lift at speed that should reduce fuel consumption because the truck would think it was lighter but it might make it less stable. am i missing something the wings on cars provide downforce to keep em on the road better at high speeds not provide lift to prevent lifting is more accurate its not a airplane 79 t/a ws6 455 hurst 4 spd blk w/ t-tops heavily fortified 4mpg 00 ram 2500hd qc v-10 4x4blk5 spd410 lsd 10mpg 98 intruder 1400 blk 5 spd 25mpg .
From : redneck tookover hell
yeah that would be real cool. just what id want a vehicle that gets lighter at speed especially the back end you ever watch a winston cup race and see what happens when someone comes up behind another car in the corner and takes air off the back end and makes it lighter current trucks would a sloped camper shell give enough wing shape to the truck to create lift at speed that should reduce fuel consumption because the truck would think it was lighter but it might make it less stable. chaos confusion and trouble!!!! my work here is almost done .
From : budd cochran
whats worse is the speeds the vehicles would have to go on public highways to generate the lift. about 130-150 mph. the famous superbird and charger daytona wings only made about 75-100 lbs of downforce at 75 mph yet made around 500 pounds at 200. info from mopar action magazine budd toxictavrn wrote yeah that would be real cool. just what id want a vehicle that gets lighter at speed especially the back end you ever watch a winston cup race and see what happens when someone comes up behind another car in the corner and takes air off the back end and makes it lighter current trucks would a sloped camper shell give enough wing shape to the truck to create lift at speed that should reduce fuel consumption because the truck would think it was lighter but it might make it less stable. am i missing something the wings on cars provide downforce to keep em on the road better at high speeds not provide lift to prevent lifting is more accurate its not a airplane 79 t/a ws6 455 hurst 4 spd blk w/ t-tops heavily fortified 4mpg 00 ram 2500hd qc v-10 4x4blk5 spd410 lsd 10mpg 98 intruder 1400 blk 5 spd 25mpg .
From : mrdancer
yeah that would be real cool. just what id want a vehicle that gets lighter at speed especially the back end you ever watch a winston cup race and see what happens when someone comes up behind another car in the corner and takes air off the back end and makes it lighter current trucks would a sloped camper shell give enough wing shape to the truck to create lift at speed that should reduce fuel consumption because the truck would think it was lighter but it might make it less stable. am i missing something the wings on cars provide downforce to keep em on the road better at high speeds not provide lift to prevent lifting is more accurate its not a airplane yeah those wings are mounted upside down curve underneath to provide downforce. .