DIY: plastic rear wheel skirts (Geo Metro)

[zemmo]

That is a very good looking rear skirt. I may just have to try that project. I see your rims have the slots filled. How was that done? Have you made a post on the steps for doing that? I think my Fiero rims would be a good candidate for that.

[akashic]

Yes, I flattened a 1/2 inch copper pipe with a hammer and drilled it with a regular bit (copper is pretty soft).

HA! I figured out last night why my "copper" clips were such a hassle to make... when a magnet grabbed one (DOH!) Yeah, I never remembered copper being so uncooperative before...

Really, I just think those clips are the best thing ever. They would solve so many problems I run into.

aside from the exposed screw heads offending some people's aesthetic sensibilities...

I'm considering other schemes... like maybe magnets. Or those snap-in things that hold mud flaps on. All seem to come with hassles, but I'm hopeful.

Speaking of magnets, I highly recommend experimenting with neodymiums as an absurdly easy way to attach pizza pan wheel covers. I tried it, and it would totally work if the pans fit better on my rims. (I'm like a millimeter off) That would be a $5-and-5-second racing wheel install, if you're lucky.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by guudasitgets

Did you see much of a diffrence in MPG? By that I mean not a 10 or 15 mile trip, I mean a 200 mile tankfull compared to a 200 mile tankfull?

I measured a 2.9% improvement @ 59 mph / 95 km/h. Though it wasn't very rigorous: Testing grille blocking & wheel skirts: +5.7% improvement - MetroMPG.com

Also see: Found a coastdown hill! Mini comparo: windows vs skirts vs hatchback

FYI, rear skirt effectiveness won't be consistent across different cars. It depends a lot on how close the rear arch is to the rear of the car (my opinion is that the closer the wheel is to the corner, the more a skirt will help); the size of the tire/arch gap, wheel cover style & other factors.

Originally Posted by zemmo

I see your rims have the slots filled. How was that done?

I just cut out some thin plastic shapes and glued them to the wheel cover. 2 of the shapes have since come off (wrong kind of glue).

[Bicycle Bob]

I'd be very worried about having the steel near the copper disappear from galvanic corrosion, especially if any road salt is present.

[MetroMPG]

The stainless bolts that squeeze the brackets onto the wheel arch lip may be subject to corrosion, but the car itself should be OK (I didn't break the paint to use this attachment method, which was the original goal after all).

The skirts do come off at least once per year for inspection and pre-winter rustproofing.

[Christ]

I just went back through the list of mods to get here (I do this every so often, to keep them fresh in my mind... lest we forget...)

If you took those clips back off, and put some shrink wrap over the sections that touch the car's sheet metal, it would prevent any chance of galvanic corrosion, and help prevent the copper from wearing through the paint due to vibration. Plus, they'd have that much more of a friction coefficient against the sheet metal, which might promote an even better hold. And it would only take like 30 seconds per side.