drop echo for mpg?

[moonmonkey]

i searched alot of threads and did not come up with definative info. My echo has bellypans,grill block,mirror delete,pizzapan wheel covers, but i've been drooling over the ford fusion 999's .08 drop in cd just by lowering. i hear that it is car dependant, my cars ride height is around 5", dropping my car would be tough because i would have to make it raise and lower ,to get into and out of my 3/4 mile dirt road/drive way,, so any opinions as to how effective it might be? i might try to get some spring clamps just to aba it, with them i could lower the car to test then take them back off.so if somebody does have info on lowering and benifit please also suggest a height reduction to try, thanks.

[BamZipPow]

Use air bags...pricey option though.

[alohaspirit]

i wouldnt

the cost of lowering would not offset my fuel costs enough

plus 3/4 mile of dirt road doesnt sound like fun


but if youre striving for that almighty higher number, go for it

[Daox]

I'd agree with alohaspirit. You could do it. I did, not for FE reasons at the time though, and I've never had a problem with clearance on dirt roads even. However, there are things that cost less and will give better gains. I'm thinking alternator delete with deep cycle battery which normally nets 5-10% increase in FE. Also, with your belly pan already installed, the gains will likely be smaller.

[aerohead]

Let me re visit an article on the Probe-IV.That car had at least 4-ride-height settings,finally "dropping-it-into-the-weeds" for Cd 0.15.
You may be able to GOOGLE it,otherwise I'll look.
Most low-drag concepts have active suspension and Ford actually offered a few production cars with air-suspension.Lincoln Town Car was one.
Lowering affects length/height ratio for the good.It also chips away a little on frontal area because some of the tire becomes shrouded.
Ford lowered the nose to just over 3-inches ground clearance and kicked the tail up to mimic the Banana Car's releiv'e.
P.S.,do you have a good side shot of the ECHO? That would be really helpful!

[stevet47]

A static drop would be nice, but if you need an adjustable suspension, there is no way you will recoup your $$ in fuel savings.
The ABA testing with spring clamps would be beneficial to others though!

[moonmonkey]

aero there is a pretty good side view of my echo in my garage (silver clown) if that is not good enough i will take more pics . thanks.,,, i am looking at a few methods of adjustable ride height for my car ,it gets alot cheaper when you dont need to make the car hop, im looking at pneumatic cylinders ,(i build projects with them for my work) and also a screw drive system using 4 gear motors, i will either do it with cheap surplus parts or i wont do it, but first step is to determine benifit, if i do it i will post methods. $300 or less or i wont do it,but i can do the fabrication myself making it cheaper.

[alohaspirit]

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by moonmonkey

aero there is a pretty good side view of my echo in my garage (silver clown) if that is not good enough i will take more pics . thanks.,,, i am looking at a few methods of adjustable ride height for my car ,it gets alot cheaper when you dont need to make the car hop, im looking at pneumatic cylinders ,(i build projects with them for my work) and also a screw drive system using 4 gear motors, i will either do it with cheap surplus parts or i wont do it, but first step is to determine benifit, if i do it i will post methods. $300 or less or i wont do it,but i can do the fabrication myself making it cheaper.

Moon,I found an ECHO on the way here,stopped,photographed,and let my eyes roam over it and under it.
The bellypan is a good idea for that car,especially from the rear axle rearward.
The car I looked at,with standard ride height already had evidence of "strikes" with curbs,etc..The ABS or sheet molding compound used was lacerated and scraped pretty significantly.
Which makes me think that lowering,while definitely beneficial to drag,might become a real pain in the --s for daily commuting.
I found my article on the Ford Probe-IV.That car dropped 1-inch at 11-mph,then dropped 2-more-inches above 40-mph.
All the drop was at the front which rotated the tail up an inch or so getting the departure angle to about 17-degrees at speed.
No data is given for Cd at the varying drops.
The lowered car achieves a fineness ratio ( length/height ) of 3.848.
By comparison,a Prius is 3.01
CIVIC 3.267
Corvette 3.583
Bugatti Veyron 3.701
Ferrari F430 3.715
Lamborghini Murcielago 4.033

Anything you can do to gain real or apparent length,with respect to height,is going to show up at the pump.

[moonmonkey]

learning aero everyday, did not know longer was better! (no wife jokes please),,,,,,,, thanks aerohead