<VV> Tailgates

[Steve Hammatt Mount Vernon WA USA]

TV show "MythBusters" did a whole segment
on tailgates up or down (and also did a further
check using the "flow-thru webbing" tailgate
replacement.  I believe the outcome was:
the "flow-thru webbing" was the winner and
by a substantial margin.  2005 (Nov 16th) show
date.
Go figure........!
Steve Hammatt
Mount Vernon WA USA
-----Original Message----- 
From: James P. Rice
Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2011 1:43 PM
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject:  Tailgates

All:  There was article in some magazine I then read many years ago about
the tailgate up or down.  The mileage improvement was there, but the also
instrumented the underbody air flow and pressures.  Found the tailgate down
produced a fair amount of aero-lift at the rear of the truck.  Someplace
where I think most of us think you don't want aero lift.

There are better solutions.  Cheap one: when I had a '03 GMC Sonoma (SLS,
V-6, 5-sp, ZQ8 suspension, extended cab, red) I cut down a 4x8 piece of ply
wood to fit the bed liner.  It was angled low into the front bottom of the
bed, cutouts for wheel wells and rested on the edge of the tail gate.  I got
about 2 more mpg at 70mph with it.  In the winter, watching the snow swirl
was a visual lesson in my truck's aerodynamics.

Historically Yours,
James Rice