Honeycomb of death

[swartz77]

So my Mazda6 has these "vents" in the lower front bumper cover where the driving/fog lights would be. The problem with said "vents" is that they aren't vents at all, just a honeycomb-esk design that is solid in the back, meaning they're little pockets of dirty aerodynamics. I've been considering ways to cover these until I acquire the factory lights (I know, more weight, more electric consumption, but the 6's lighting is pretty weak, and a little more would go a long way).

I've been thinking of two ways to go about it, one would be filling the holes, sanding the excess material to make a smooth shape. The other would be to simply cover the exterior, most likely creating a golf ball look over time from wind pushing on cover (depending on material of course). If I was to fill the holes, I'd want a lightweight material, maybe great stuff insulation foam or something, but that's a bit nasty/messy to work with, but light. If I cover it, black duct tape would be easiest, and ugliest. I'd rather not comprimise the stock look of my car too much.

I'm open to any suggestions.

[Daox]

I'd forget the little pockets and first look at bigger things like blocking the upper grill, and a partial lower grill block. Those pockets aren't hurting nearly as much as the open grill area.

[swartz77]

I agree, but those are rather, "dramatic" changes that I'm not willing to do, yet. They'd require much more modification and fabrication than I can donate time to. The little honeycomb vents I could pull off and work on in short time spans.

[Daox]

Unfortunately, I highly doubt you'll see a noticeable gain from doing anything with those pockets.

[Laurentiu]

why death ?? coz it's killing the FE ?? LOL

[swartz77]

yeah, and I simply consider it poor design. why a manufacturer should take the time to build a "vent", without it venting, is a waste of everyone's time (and now I'm considering wasting my own). It's something that I've been considering doing with or without fuel savings.

So, does anyone have any construction ideas?

[busypaws]

I'm using the 3M shrink wrap plastic. I bought a kit for $1.99 that is used to cover a single window in your house. (Use it in winter to help seal around window frame). I covered the entire lower grill with it and then used hair dryer to shrink out the wrinkles.
We'll see when the summer comes and I take the tape off. The two sided tape does not pull off paint on window casings or sheetrock so I feel safe with auto paint. You can't beat the price.
In fact unless you have tripple pane windows in the house buy enough to do the house and then use the leftover for the car.

[swartz77]

Good idea busypaws. We have really old windows in our house and they're already covered with some 4mil sheet plastic. I'll have to see how the assemblies accually click into place, I might be able to get away with something similiar and just use the compression between the "vent" and the bumper to hold things together.

[Laurentiu]

Originally Posted by swartz77

So my Mazda6 has these "vents" in the lower front bumper cover where the driving/fog lights would be. The problem with said "vents" is that they aren't vents at all, just a honeycomb-esk design that is solid in the back, meaning they're little pockets of dirty aerodynamics. I've been considering ways to cover these until I acquire the factory lights (I know, more weight, more electric consumption, but the 6's lighting is pretty weak, and a little more would go a long way).

I've been thinking of two ways to go about it, one would be filling the holes, sanding the excess material to make a smooth shape. The other would be to simply cover the exterior, most likely creating a golf ball look over time from wind pushing on cover (depending on material of course). If I was to fill the holes, I'd want a lightweight material, maybe great stuff insulation foam or something, but that's a bit nasty/messy to work with, but light. If I cover it, black duct tape would be easiest, and ugliest. I'd rather not comprimise the stock look of my car too much.

I'm open to any suggestions.

Maybe some flexible plastic sheet or something similar that's thin and light and that will be able to be shaped for those spaces. Then use some longish/thin type of buried/flat head bolts with nuts going on the inside part of the bumper, 4 bolts should do the job. Then paint the whole piece black (would be best to find a matte black piece to start with. Also, you could just use some strong glue to glue something similar over those vents but obviously that won't be as strong and might come off when you wash the car or due to shocks.

[Frank Lee]

Here's the most constructive idea you're gonna get (well, actually you've already gotten it): forgetaboutit. It means nothing aerodynamically. I you can't resist your compulsion to block it off, realize you are doing it for aesthetic or for some other reason than aero or fe.