Quote:
Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy
Now you sound like me  lol
How long is your commute? My grille blocking (upper and lower) was good for a tested 1 mpg improvement.
Good idea with the foam! The 7th gen Civic's upper grille is somewhat tricky to fab up a grille block onto since the backing isn't flat and flush like most others are.
I want pics! 
Did you cover the fog light opening areas with the lower grille block at all?
Lawn edging air dam - single best mod outside of a boattail. Worth the entire $5 for the lawn edging!
You...had...mudflaps...on...your...car?  Terrible! 
Looking good! But what's AC? 
Trips can vary by quite a bit, so one can't say for sure exactly how much of an improvement is there unless you do ABA testing. But is a generally accepted thing that mudflaps add drag and reduce FE, albeit on a smaller scale.
You might find that if you can properly install wheel spats and boattail behind the mudflaps that they might provide a good mounting surface for wheel skirts, and actually increase your FE.
Pics?? |
My commute is 15 miles one way. Takes me approximately 20 minutes or so. None of it is flat except for the 2 miles of highway I do 60mph on. I'll get mowed down if I go any slower.
Once I get the grille on and done, I'll send some pics, I promise!
The fog light areas are already blocked off. I figured that if I really wanted to make a "smooth" bumper I'd have to remove it, fiberglass, paint, etc. just to net that extra .15mpg. The ROI to do that just didn't balance out for me. Plus, I've got the wife and 2 boys that already demand much of my off time.
I'm really excited to add the air dam, but I really want to test for this tank to determine if the blocking and mudflaps really did boost my FE by THAT much. And yes...they were Honda factory mudflaps. MANY Civics of that era have them. They did work well to keep dirt off the paint, but I wash my vehicles enough that it's a non-issue for me.
AC is this crazy voodoo stuff that involves the compression and expansion of gases and the absorption or explusion of heat through those processes. It's a necessity in Alabama summers, make no mistake.
I want this car to remain as "stock looking" as possible. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm not doing any boat-tails or skirts on this car. It's a good looking car that I just couldn't bring myself to do that to. I'm sure that 10 years from now when my son gets his learner's permit I'll be giving it to him and buying myself the biggest, most lifted, offroad capable 3500 series truck I can find so I can commute in style and NEVER take the truck offroad, tow, or haul anything with it like everyone else around me here does....J/K J/K J/K!!!!