Front Air Dam - Substantial Temperature Drop

[flomulgator]

[Syncro Jael]

[jimf909]

Hmmm, I was just reviewing Maxtraxx self-rescue ramps. They're about 46" long by 15" tall.

I wonder if the lower front bumper is a good storage spot for the ramps while doubling up in the benefit of creating an air dam? A creative solution would have the ramps stored in a down position for the air dam and an up position (hinged? Etc?) for off raid travel.

Hinges mounted to the bumper > some sort of clamping/attachment device to connect the hinge to the ramp and then some sort of securing mechanism for up or down travel modes.
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- Jim

[tencentlife]

I could see doing this with a hoop of stiff metal rod, both ends hinged at the back where they join the undercarriage, acting as a frame for some very stiff heavy fabric. Lower the hoop, the fabric stretches tight and forms the dam wall. Lift it up, the fabric folds up and you have all the clearance under the bumper. The lowering/lifting mechanism could be done any number of ways and wouldn't be hard to make it remotely controlled from inside the cab.
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Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
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Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[4Gears4Tires]

Yeah, a convertible top fabric would be perfect.
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'87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition

[Sodo]

Maybe forward-facing, spring-loaded.
Where the wind pressure folds it down at 40MPH,
then it spring-retracts when you slow down.
How much off-road is over 40mph?

But damped, so it can't oscillate like the (fibreglas) westy cargo unit above...
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[old_man]

My contribution to this thread.

Not the prettiest but it is probably the cheapest. I actually wanted it about an additional inch lower but I messed up. Oh well, I could always add a rubber edge if I feel like experimenting.

Initial impressions are that it is now quieter and smoother. I'll wait to see if I notice a improvement in MPG but I am making a lot of other changes that I don't think it will ever be conclusive. On the initial run it did appear that my EGTs were about 100F lower than normal so that would mean less power consumed. Stability in gusts seems improved as well.

Oil temp went up about 10F from 220 to 231F for some reason. Maybe less air flow over the sump.

[a2wolfsburggli]

[[email protected]]

[old_man]

[Syncro Jael]

[a2wolfsburggli]

[vwwestyman]

I was reminded of this thread because of an aerodynamics thread in the Bay forum.

Just curious if any of you have been driving around this summer with your air dams and how they're working out?
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Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[Syncro Jael]

[bene]

Inspired by Jael's original post in this thread, I built a version of this for my van last Christmas and drove a couple thousand miles with it this spring.

Since it was an experiment, I built the thing as simply/cheaply as possible. It's a pair of 4" x .5" PVC interior trim boards and 6" Simpson corner framing brackets.

I made some other changes to the van around the same time, so it's difficult to tease out if it had much effect on mileage. I have a turbo diesel, so my mileage was already pretty good, and it is highly correlated with overall speed. If I drive 55 MPH and it's not too windy, I can easily get 27-28 MPG. I added a water-air intercooler around the same time, and that let me push the engine much harder without running high exhaust gas temps. It's now possible to drive 65-70 MPH for long stretches and that drives mileage down to the 22-24 MPG range.

The WAIC also muddied the picture on the engine cooling aspect. AAZs run hot and managing the temps have been part of all the changes I have made to the van over the last year or two, and it's really hard to tell if the air dam made much difference there.

What I can definitively say is that the air dam has made the van feel significantly more stable on the highway, especially at "high speed" (65-70) and more resistant to crosswinds, buffeting from passing trucks, etc. Prior to the air dam, it was definitely possible to drive 65+, but it didn't feel very comfortable to do so. Without power steering, you had to expend a lot of attention/energy to staying on track, especially when it was windy, and the air dam has really alleviated that issue. Tracking is much more stable, so the van is less tiring to drive, and it was a big win in that sense.

The air dam cost about $40 including the can of black spray paint, and it took a couple hours to bang together. For the cost and effort and positive effect on the handling and overall driveability, I highly recommended this modification.
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1982 Vanagon Westfalia -- 1.9 TD AAZ-like

[jimf909]

I love this mod and hope to try a version of it soon. Thanks for bringing this up again with your version.
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- Jim

[old_man]

[vwwestyman]

[bene]

[bene]

Since this thread seems to have become the definitive one for air dam experiments, here's version 2 of mine after I crushed the first one on a steep driveway entrance. 3/4" PVC exterior trim and stainless steel screws:

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1982 Vanagon Westfalia -- 1.9 TD AAZ-like