Archives

After finding out my Cd of .36, I invested in some clear sturdy plastic. I wrapped around the grill for a grill block, leaving space for the transmission cooler, or an excuse for one, and also the radiator. My car is very aerodynamic, so looking at the grill section you can see why it would have a high Cd. I also did around the headlights temporarily with clear tape. not very noticeable, but should noticeably improve my highway mpg. Hopefully in the future I can get something that is not as visible as what i have now, even though it's not TOO noticeable as it is.


http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h77/KgRomeo/downsized_0722081141.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h77/KgRomeo/0722081131.jpg

jusBringIt
well please keep me updated i am looking to do the same/similar products you have done, and would just like some more feed back on modding ones car. peace

You may want to photoshop over your plate number.

I'm not worried about the plate number really. But thanks. I use photobucket and was having issues with the right picture showing that day. I havent been on any highways recently and most of my drives have been up tp 45-50mph. I have been working on a few aero designs and decided I would do ones that are removable. I plan on making my grill block a bit less noticeable and also cover the license plate. A bit less noticeable also means it'll cover the entire bumper. I am looking for materials to cover the undercarriage. This should work well in winter also to prevent undercarriage rust ;). Once I finish installing all the mods I will go for a highway test. Since I dont have one for the hood (which has a significant opening) I lowere the rubber stoppers to the minimum so that when I close the hood it can completely block all incoming air from underneath the hood itself. I use two strips of clear tape on each side (passenger and driver) to hold the hood pressed down against the car.

The next step in modifications is to take measurements. I will see what size I need then find exactly what I need.

Why worry about the plate number? 1000's of people per day see his plate number, and anyone of them could take a picture of it.

Are you using 3M type wide heavy tape- almost clear bra tape? My Suburban has a very crude front end - it could do with some smoothing- let us know how it works.

Thanks,
Charlie

It is actually clear vinyl. I noticed that a bathroom shower liner was the only source for this and it is quite cheap and somewhat durable. The one I have on right now works ok. I've since matured the design and will be installing the new one over the coming weekend.

I also plan on using the clear vinyl for my undercarriage using fiberglass insulation in the heated areas. All these mods should cost way under $100..maybe half that.
I was actually thinking up a highway design cover for an suv that is easily removable. It does involve significantly reducing the "impact" area since suv's have such wide frontal areas especially the suburban. One can be made for a low cost too. Once my setup is complete, I will take pics and post before and after highway runs at the psl of 55 and 65mph with about 5 miles of travel.

Jusbringit- thanks. Ingenius idea , using a flexible fairly tough material like that to smooth out the nose. It should be stiff enough when pullled tight to not flap in the breeze.

Big ,older SUVs with crude bumper to grill transitions would be tailor made for your solution.

Thanks,
Charlie

You can also buy rolls of 54" wide clear vinyl by the foot from boating supply houses where it is used for making windows in foul weather cockpit covers. The clear vinyl is available in several thicknesses and in several grades of clarity. Google "clear vinyl" and "boat" to find on-line suppliers.

You can also buy rolls of 54" wide clear vinyl by the foot from boating supply houses where it is used for making windows in foul weather cockpit covers. The clear vinyl is available in several thicknesses and in several grades of clarity. Google "clear vinyl" and "boat" to find on-line suppliers.


Thanks for the info, I will check that out, keep in mind I do wanna do this with as little expense as possible. ;)

Just to clarify, do you mean clear shower curtain liner like this:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-4826683-5045739?ASIN=B000XHGGAI&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000XHGGAI|Heavyweight_AntiMildew_Vinyl_Shower_Curtain_Liner_Clear&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B000XHGGAI&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

Just to clarify, do you mean clear shower curtain liner like this:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-4826683-5045739?ASIN=B000XHGGAI&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000XHGGAI|Heavyweight_AntiMildew_Vinyl_Shower_Curtain_Liner_Clear&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B000XHGGAI&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

yes, that is exactly what I was referring to.

Here is the front done up for aero. I completely blocked the grill and will not be removing it. :eek: Did I just use my foot to give myself colon check?

not really ;) There is that little black "scoop" that sits behind the bumper that directs air to the radiator from the bottom air dam. What I did was using a little bit of extra force, pull this out of the bumper from the back and let it sit just a bit below the bottom of the bumper so it can scoop whatever is below the bumper ;). that should keep me cool enough :D.

The remainder of the mods including the undercarriage will be done next week. I will take some more detailed pics of everything then. Till then, enjoy these!

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h77/KgRomeo/0809081315.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h77/KgRomeo/downsized_0809081727.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h77/KgRomeo/0809081726.jpg

Looking good; can't wait to hear how it works out. I guess you attached the vinyl with clear tape.
The front of my car has big openings for fog lights like yours, but I have no fog lights, so there are just blanks installed there in the bottoms of those big holes in the bumper. Can't be doing me much good, and that bugs me.
As hot as it gets here, I won't be blocking my grille though. :eek: However, the time I was in upstate NY it wasn't all that cool either (but I think I took my weather up there with me).
Let us know.
-jon

For the main one on the front, I used tacs to hold it on to the bumper. For the one on the headlights, I didnt have any other option but clear tape. I want to make sure everything I do is reversible and cheap. ;)

Those recessed blinkers for sure, headlights and if that space between bonnet and front panel is as large as it appears will respond well to the same procedure. Putting the number plate under the plastic will help too

The entire bumper is covered. before the mods, I would get 43.xxmpg highway, now with the front bumper alone completely covered, I get about 50mpg pulsing up to 60-65 and gliding down to 40-45. Being that there is less air resistance, I get higher numbers on the pulses and My pulses are actually a bit faster, also a lot better numbers on the glides which are also longer. I'll do the underbody this weekend, not sure how much more that will gain me but I'm quite excited at the prospect.

Installing smooth underbody panelling helps to drop your Cd quite a bit, depending on how rough the OEM underside of your car is and also reduces road noise (some of which is produced by the wind turbulence under your car). For me it produced a Cd drop comparible to that of installing a grill block, but less than when I installed the boattail. Also while you are designing and installing your underbody panelling, it is also a good time to design and install your underside mounted wheel aero treatments (wheel spoilers, double side skirts, wheel boattail, etc.), which collectively produce a Cd drop close to that of a grill block or underbody panelling. If you cover your exhaust sytem, you'll have to make some provision for some cooling air flow, especially around the catalytic converter.

Wow, it does look smooth; nice job! It is a Stratus , right? 4 cyl AT? They are pretty inexpensive .I might keep my eyes pealed for one.

Charlie

;) Stratus clone, yes. It's a V6, though.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/960.png

well....my car came along the same time as the stratus did as the two door version but with a different name. 2-door stratus came in '01. even the stratus v6 made in the same years as my avenger (96-00) had a different engine, these engines were only on the chrysler sebrings and dodge avenger coupes.

and yes, Andrew is right, V6. I have a few more tricks I will be doing to bring that highway mileage up even more including lowering the high revs at highway speeds. This does give me a higher top end speed and lower acceleration :p doubt I'll be using the higher end speed but the lower accel works fine for me!

By my calculations I should be able to hit over 200%epa soon enough.

Wow, that is good mpg for a fairly biggish car with a V-6. I didn't notice that it was a 2 door-sharp looking car- I always liked those "wheels at the edge" Dodges like yours and the Interpid.

Did the Stratus ever come with a 4 cyl?
Thanks,
Charlie

The stratus did come with a 2.4L i4 engine along with a 2.7L V6.

My car weighs in at 3200lb. I really want to get that down tho, but that'll be a while. guys with my car usually report 30-34mpg doing just highway. For average driving tho they're usually getting 20mpg, some as low as 16mpg, some up to 25.

Hmmm,I will keep my eyes pealed for an older "cheap one".Thanks,
Charlie

If I could have gotten my hand on the 5 spd 4 cyl (2.0L) sebring, with its low Cd, I would be able to get 55+ mpg highway/45-50 city easy. They should run btw 1500 and 2500 dollars, a friend of mine just sold his for 1800. If you go to www.asog.net, you may be able to pick one up. www.stratusphere.net has a few stratuses if you want more doors. Just make sure to get one that doesnt have a ton of the tuner scene work done.

I checked my local CL. Lots of the Sebrings are convertibles. I've never been a fan of soft tops, but they do look kinda sharp.Out of the question for New Orleans -too much rain ,and too many thieves that would cut thru the top.

I would like to get a cheap FE car so I can park the Suburban and use it just to haul, evac , or vacation. Besides it has 206,000 miles on it .

Thanks,
Charlie

I see, no prob. The convertibles do look sharp, but they're quite a bit different than the avengers/sebrings, There is a huge support board so you wont have to worry about problems getting one of these and they do have a mitsu engine many people have twice as many miles as I have. I had an 01 stratus that gave me great mileage with my speeding days. 30mpg though it was a lot of highway, that's at 80mph highway and a lot of city driving and hilly terrain.

The coupe has LOT of room, large car, but if you hypermile it you will get amazing numbers plus you can get it at a cheap price.

I've been reading this thread today, and I'm very interested in your work. Congrats on the mileage btw. So, you have softened your frontal area, and started on the undercarriage?

I ask because my Accord 4cyl gets similar percent gains (my technique is still coming along). You mentioned a transmission mod? What are you planning?

I've been reading this thread today, and I'm very interested in your work. Congrats on the mileage btw. So, you have softened your frontal area, and started on the undercarriage?

I ask because my Accord 4cyl gets similar percent gains (my technique is still coming along). You mentioned a transmission mod? What are you planning?

The transfer gears in my car are swappable with those of the 3.8l dodge caravan. that will have me at lower rpms since it will change my final gear ratio. I asked an expert on my platform on a forum and he gave me that info.

Your Cd went down from .36 to .... ?

You figure maybe .35 ? ... or more ?

I'm thinking to smooth out the edges on the front of the Saturn as well if this helps ... maybe also the undercarriage.

Your Cd went down from .36 to .... ?

You figure maybe .35 ? ... or more ?



because of the drastic changes the vinyl cover made, it is about .30, maybe less.

How have you calculated the new Cd?

from your chart, the chrysler sebring counterpart with the exact same profile (minus the front bumper) is .32, I had one of those and comparing the two front bumpers, I figure its at least a .02 reduction from a complete block.

I was fairly certain that a poorer Cd was related to width/height of the vehicle for the mostpart, .... and never thought an increase from added flow-disruption across the front section of your vehicle could be a serious contender too ...

A well made point.

I was equally surprised when I saw the difference in cd for both cars but when I thought about it, the bumper on my avenger is like a parachute with the huge grill and foglight areas.

now, despite the fact that my clearcoat is failing, i am VERY narcissistic when it comes to the apperance of my car. how does that look in real life? is it extremely noticable, or no?

and to go the cheap way, could i use packing tape?(i think thats what its called. bout 1.5" wide, clear, ya know. usually says scotch tape r 3M on the roll)

It doesnt look bad at all. It's only really noticeable up close, but it does not have any cosmetic effects that cause people to talk about.

Do NOT use pkg tape, that will be hard to remove, few hrs of scrubbing..:o

i would probably clay bar the areas to get it off, i have the benefit of a few layers of wax on my clearcoat, and i hope that stripping the wax will pull off anything the tape leaves behind...hope im right lol

From about 3 car lengths away, you cant notice the clear vinyl, If you do a good job, you would only notice it if someone told you it was there.

The layers of clear coat should do some good in preventing scratches and such. I used some pretty abrasize matterial (scotch brite) but it worked well, I was careful..

It may not work AS well for your focus as for my car because of how bad mine was to begin with, but there should be some noticeable difference in glide time. I think I'm geting used to mine now, I used to underestimate quite a bit.

well i did a partial upper grille block, and a partial lower. i didnt go over the spots for the fog lights in the lower grille much tho, maybe 2-3". i used packing tape, and its not noticeable on the paint from more than 4 feet away, but where it covers the grille is pretty noticable. i might put some black construction paper on the back of the tape, and see if that helps. i looked under my car with Cd in mind for the first time, and its horrible!!! im gunna have to do something with it, but i wont be able to do too much with tape close to the engine or exhaust, but ill see what i can do. hopefully i dont melt too much tape lol.

well good luck with it! I have to do an underbody too, havent really had time :o. I'll get to it soon. though, especially underneath that back bumper.

Very nice job - it looks almost like you shrink-wrapped the front end of your car!

Have you been out in wet conditions with it? I ask out of curiosity regarding sound, and whether or not it made rain louder.

Thanks :) I have had it in wet weather. The rain actually doesnt pose an issue sonically. As long as it's done well, it should seal out moisture which would have been the only ill-effect.

Ok, so from this thread, you can see I went through a couple grill blocks. After a bit more reading, I decided to go with a third type of block. Without a grill block I would hit a max of 166F on the coolant.

This is largely due to the huge air dam in front of my car causing an additional effect of drag puzzling for a car with the shape of mine. (0.36 total apparently).

A nice grill block would effectively help in both cases. here is a pic of the newest grill block. Additionaly, I will have some wheel covers, I should have pics of those installed tomorrow.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_0489.JPG

Notice the "air dam block" as it really isn't a grill. I'll be switching those bright yellow push pins for flat head tacs tomorrow along with putting on the wheel covers. It should be virtually invisible :)

oh btw, I did get 51.3mpg coming home today, my best so far has been 47.1 on a "perfect" day.

Wow. That is nearly invisible, even when you're looking for it. Nice.