The all-new 2014 Sierra full-size pickup truck spent more development time in a wind tunnel than any GMC pickup before it, which helped designers construct the most fuel efficiency and quiet GMC pickup yet.
Engineers spent a lot of time examining every millimeter of the truck in the wind tunnel to figure out if there were any areas that needed improvement, and even proved some popular theories wrong along the way according to GM press release.
In order to study the way air passes over, around and under the new model, engineers used GM's state-of-the-art Aerodynamics Lab, a 750-foot-long tunnel through which a 43-foot-diameter fan powered by a DC electric motor that can generate winds of up to 138 mph.
"We can't stop air; we can only guide it through the path of least resistance. It's like electricity, without the shock," said Diane Bloch, GM aerodynamic performance engineer according to GM. "The biggest misconception is that it's all about single components. But a certain side mirror design doesn't create a certain amount of drag, its interaction with the rest of the vehicle does."
A new air dam below the 2014 Sierra's front bumper was designed to reduce drag because it directs air toward the ground and away from the truck's underbody.
Sierra's ducted flow path, which can be gound between the grille and radiator, prevents air from "swirling" inside the Sierra's front cavities according to GM.
The top of the Sierra's tailgate and the center high-mounted stop light were designed to guide air around the truck. Since Bloch's team discovered unwanted airflow between the cab and bed, new sealing was designed and has since been added.
"We discovered that in the computational analysis we perform," said Bloch. "The most harmful air between the cab and bed was coming over the cab and down through the gap, so we paid the most attention to that specific area."
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