Dearborn, Michigan – The 2015 Ford F-150 is the most aerodynamically efficient F-150 ever, thanks in part to new aero curtains that reduce wind drag by guiding airflow across the front wheels.
Air curtain technology, which first debuted on the all-new Ford Mustang, allows air to flow through a vent underneath the headlamps and out around the wheel. Side-by-side animations show how airflow is smoother at the front wheel and down the side of the truck with the air curtain, versus without it.
By optimizing the aerodynamic design of F-150, Ford designers and engineers reduced drag to help F-150 deliver an EPA-estimated rating of 19mpg city and 26mpg highway when equipped with the 2.7L EcoBoost V6 engine.
“With the new F-150, an extensive amount of time was spent running aerodynamic simulations and doing wind tunnel tests,” says Rob Lietz, Ford technical expert in applied computational fluid dynamics. “Major advances in our computational fluid dynamics capability let us quickly see how we could improve airflow while maintaining the tough truck looks expected from F-150.”
Rotating wheels are a major source of drag. Enclosing the wheels in skirts to smooth the flow isn’t necessarily practical or attractive. So Lietz and team adopted a different approach.
Horizontal slots underneath the headlamps channel air from the front o`f the truck through ducting to openings in the wheel wells – directing it across the outer surface of the wheel and tire. The wall of high-speed air works much like a skirt to reduce drag, while still leaving the alloy wheels fully exposed.
Source: Ford Motor Co.