Tony's Whipple 5.0 F150

Tony and I were first connected by way of our mutual friend Derek (S/O to Derek!) who tagged me in a post and later a group message. From there we discussed what exactly Tony wanted to achieve. Now, I've done my share of drag racing and understand much of the physics behind it, but this F150 was at a different level. We're talking single digit quarter-mile ETs from a full size crew cab pick-up while having all the factory comforts. Tony effectively had two main issues; aerodynamics and weight. Weight is something that is often dictated by what class he registers the truck in, as there are stipulations on what can and cannot be removed. This leaves aerodynamics. Specifically, reducing drag. Tony had the revelation to just remove the door mirrors, which makes perfect sense; they extend the furthest out from the profile of the truck and have a fairly large cross-sectional area. At lower speeds, the amount of resistance generated is effectively negligible, but as speed increases, so does the force. Just think about when you hold your hand out the window on the highway, now imagine how hard it would be to do with a softball glove on going twice the speed (my mind is a weird place, I know).

So now that we know the why, lets look into the how. Once we had our concept down, it was time for me to collect data on the application. I've done my fair share of scanning before, both personally and professionally, however there were several firsts achieved with this session. This marked the first time I was scanning in public (specifically a car meet), first time scanning in direct sunlight, and the first time utilizing my scanner in a mobile fashion. Despite those, I was able to collect a good bit of clean, accurate data.

That data allowed me to produce a model I felt confident would be a good start to the process. From there, I printed that same model to check the fitment in the real world. To both our delight, the mirror delete fit great. I made a few changes after that, and printed them in the color of his choice. The final design allows for simple installation and removal, and is strong enough to withstand drops, heat, and living at over double the speed limit.

The results of the mirror deletes are definitely promising. Tony reports a gain of 1 to 2 mph in the quarter that he attributes directly to the deletes and has continued to set new personal bests. The truck is receiving some more upgrades, so I'll be looking forward to how it performs!