I return with a car!

[KITT222]

Define: roof racks please. If you're talking about the cross bars, yeah, I just haven't gotten around to it. I intend to, trust me about that. Although I may also use the back one as an anchor for my partial kammback. If you are talking about the general roof racks, I'm not that mechanically inclined, so they'll probably stay. I'll just make caps for them to make the air transition smoother.

I have installed a grill block! I will now start a new thread in the aerodynamics section. Thank you for your help!

[cfg83]

KITT222 -

The roof rack on the Vibe is definitely not friendly to removal :

Aeromods V1.0

Originally Posted by trikkonceptz

Ok so I have started the aeromods on the Vibe, stage 1 is simple, seal off unecessary holes and see what happens.

Well as you can see by the pics, I sealed off the grille and the fogs, also removed the roof rack, which uncovered an unpleasant issue.

(Vibe)

Looks like the Vibe, unlike the matrix was not intended to be without a rack. What impact do you think this will have on the grand scheme? Should I put the cross bars back on? I'm sealing open holes otherwise and any water falling through the hole simply drains through the hatch, so those are not my concerns, the aero impact is ... your thoughts ??

Next week if this works the holes will be covered with proper blocks likely made from abs plastic ...

I am not sure how trikkonceptz fixed it, but he's got car modding skillzzzz, so his (no longer owned, traded-in) Vibe threads deserve attention.

CarloSW2

[frankspinz]

To cover those rear wheel wells: around here, kids go slidding on a flexible carpet sled we call "crazy carpet". They are often cut up & used by drivers to fashion mud flaps. It offers a great combination of flexibility & rigidity. You'd have to use some kind of bracket to hold the shape at the botton of the wheel well. An aluminium strip would do a fine job... if you can find those "crazy carpets" ... they come in many colors ... (aka wacky carpet - search google!).

[MetroMPG]

That's what I used: krazy karpets. They don't hold up well in the heat of summer though - got too soft and floppy. I reinforced them with some coroplast stuck to the back side.

[Weather Spotter]

Nice to see another matrix/ vibe owner modding their car!

I have several nice write ups on what I did to make my car into a 40+ MPG car.

From our wiki (with my data):

side mirror delete -1.6 MPG for me: Side mirrors - EcoModder

Grill block - upper .8 lower .5 MPG: Grill block partial or full - EcoModder

Kammback-.8-1 MPG Partial Kammback - EcoModder

Wheel covers (pizza pans) -1.5 MPG: Smooth wheel covers - EcoModder

rear wheel skirts- .8 MPG: Rear wheel skirts - EcoModder
Weather Spotter Rear wheel skirts - EcoModder

look through those links, lots of user data, all my builds, how to, etc. Whenever you see my user name that data should be right on for your car too!

I kill switch might be a nice mod: Engine kill switch - EcoModder

My kill switch thread:
Engine off coasting on my matrix

If you really want to mod your car you should be able to pull 45+ mpg like I do most of the time. I got to 40 MPG just by driving alone, your auto should be good for 38 MPG or so.

[Weather Spotter]

Picts of my set up:

[KITT222]

Wow. Thanks Weatherspotter! I may do something like a combination of your and Metro's wheel skirts, and that Wiki will help. Personally, I'll be happy with 38MPG.