$10. Suzuki Swift Lip Spoiler

[J-rod]

The best tank of gas my 4-cylinder 5-speed Swift has gotten so far has been 42mpg, on average I'm getting about 38mpg since the temperature has dropped. I really want to get as close to 50mpg as I can so I thought it was time to start the aero mods.

I chose the lip spoiler first since it's probably the easiest to do. I bought some garden edging at Home Depot for 7.99 and riveted to the bumper. Took about 20 minutes total and was very easy to install. I would have done a partial grill block as well but I can't find black Coroplast locally. My Scangauge should be here today or tomorrow so I can start logging things to see if the mods are performing.

Check out the pictures, it really makes the car look a lot different and hopefully may return a .0005% increase in fuel economy The stock bumper just sits far too high. Sorry for the iPhone pics.

[BamZipPow]

Looks good. You might want to reinforce the back with some metal so any force is distributed better instead of just on the plastic air dam. The first time you bump something...it's probably gonna tear...unless you reinforce it.

[J-rod]

Yeah, I will probably reinforce it with some small aluminum flatbar in the center. I may go drive down the highway at 65mph or so and have a friend take a look at what it's doing at speed from a different car.

The stock ground clearance is ridiculous on this thing. Even with the lip spoiler I'll have a hard time hitting anything. That will be a different story when I get around to lowering it.

[fairdinkumfrankies]

How do you plan to lower it?

[J-rod]

Since I don't have 5 posts yet and can't post a link here is screen shot of the lowering springs I will probably buy. They are $239. shipped on ebay.

I'd honestly contemplate cutting the stock ones as well. The stock suspension is very very soft. Cutting them down a bit would make it ride a little rougher and stiffer which may actually not be such a bad thing.

[Ziyad]

The increase in spring rate from cutting the springs will not compensate for the length lost.
As a result, the shocks will bottom out faster than before.
Your best option would be an aftermarket set... but $239 sounds way too expensive! Shop around a bit and see if you get better options.

[Ryland]

Be careful with lowering it, on my civic I ended up replacing suspension bushings after I had lowering springs because everything else on the car started to wear out faster, the swift has a thin body so any weak spots or rust are going to have more stress on them with stiffer springs.

[SuzukiSteve]

Looks great. I have the same car (Red 2000 Suzuki Swift even missing the passenger side mirror). Ive been thinking about doing something very similiar but have not because I wasnt sure if it would look ok. But urs looks very nice. I think Im gonna swing by home depot tonight, lol.

Your goal of 50mpg is very possible. My record tank is 52 so far. I too was getting 42 when I first got the car.

Thanks for sharing and welcome to Ecomodder.

[ShadeTreeMech]

lowering a front wheel drive car may not be the best idea in the world. The geometry of the lower a arm, the stress on the bushings, and the position of the cv axles and related wear would all change.

I would think the less expensive option, and the best for the longevity of the car, is to think on continuing the lowering trend all around the car, or get a belly pan put in. especially with those narrow tires, height is irrelevant to economy assuming the air flowing underneath is dealt with expertly.

For a good solid backing, I would go with a sheet of roll steel to sister behind the lawn edging. I believe it is sold as flashing at Home Depot, and is roughly the correct width. It would stregthen the lawn edging over the entire length, and would be nearly invisible to the exterior.

[sn0w3n]

White cholorplast + black gloss valspar spray paint. That's how I made it work.