1st gen Odyssey project

[Sven7]

That looks amazing! How did you make it?

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by greasemonkee

Most economy passenger cars are .31-.32 Cd, the Odyssey is .39 according to numerous sites including this one 1995 Honda Odyssey Specifications | Used


I doubt I could swing anything that resembles a boat tail due to cost and time required, but a fairly long kammback is possible provided the material is available.

Thanks for the ideas

Thanks for the Cd.I must have inadvertently looked at a more recent model.
Working from Cd 0.39,then you'd be looking for Cd 0.23.
In college I modified my Cd 0.43 Volkswagen Transporter to Cd 0.235,in part,using an 18-inch boat tail extension.There are photos of it in the Phil Knox's aerodynamic photos archive.
NASA modified a Ford E-100 Econoline van of Cd 0.47,employing edge rounding,a bellypan,and full (albeit 'fast') boat tail,to achieve Cd 0.238.
Depending on where the Odysseys body camber originates,you might achieve Cd 0.23 with as little as 24-inches of boat-tailing.
You could use Mair's boat tail geometry or the 'Template' out to 2-feet,then just truncate it with a vertical chop.

[Xist]

If a minivan gets better mileage than my Forester I will be overwhelmed with nerd rage.

[MetroMPG]

"nerd rage": thanks for the laugh! I bet there's a lot of nerd rage around here.

[greasemonkee]

Is this the proper way to terminate/or begin the side skirt?




Had to reinforce the skirts





And here is phase 2



6" ground clearance in the center, 4.5" on the corners - with van unloaded - had to haul 1300 lbs of cargo the other day and the skirts were dragging.








The attention the van is getting is far more than I want, had to put Ecomodder stickers on the windows in hopes of people figuring out the purpose of it all. Knowing the zombie/asleep state of people these days I doubt they'll even be able to figure that out, I'll probably have to break if down further and buy a pack of letters that will spell out "It's to save gas morons"

[MetroMPG]

Is this the proper way to terminate/or begin the side skirt?

Proper way to terminate bodywork is generally with a sharp edge.

Proper way to begin forward-facing bodywork is generally with a radius.

[MetroMPG]

PS: please put your Odyssey in the garage - Your Garage: [ Add new vehicle ]

Are you keeping a fuel log too? With this kind of ambitious project, it'd be nice if other members could look at your fuel economy history & results.

[greasemonkee]

Well you win some, you lose some. I know it is really a bit premature to tell with precision, but between the two mods I saw a 2 mpg gain. Now this would be fine, but for the $38 a month to be saved it just wasn't worth it to deal with these country backwoods folk who stop what they're doing to stare 5 minutes with beechnut running down the chin before walking up to say - what's the purpose of all that? Not to mention the ricer punks who think I've tried to make a race car and nearly twist their neck off while laughing (and probably involuntarily urinating in the seat) as they pass.

I removed everything today and pondered over the front air dam a bit. Since it serves as a grill block I shortened it and reinstalled.

So if a number had to be put on the mods, what I saw was approximately 1 mpg for the side/wheel skirts and 1 mpg for the air dam/grill block.

It seemed as though my VX responded so much better to slight mods, but after all this thing isn't far from a brick running down the road.

Perhaps within the upcoming year the F23 engine with roller rocker arms and 3 valve mode is worth pursuing for a healthier, quieter, and more economical engine.

Thanks for the help guys.

[MetroMPG]

Well that's too bad.

I think that's a first I've read of someone de-modding a car because of the rubber-necking.

[Smurf]

Try deceptive painting?

For instance, paint the top horizontal half of the front bumper white, and the bottom part black. Same with the side skirts. For the wheel covers, perhaps some clear plastic.

Since the rear is your 'red flag' area, maybe consider just a simple curved small wing off the top rear. Subtle, but should help.

If I had a 1000-mile a week commute in an aerobrick, I really wouldn't care what other people did when I was driving if it saved me significant money.