Joining the Dark Side (aeromodding, results, second round of tests coming)

[niky]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I don't speak Filipino, but I think I know what this comment was about in part one:

This is a country where Toyota taxi drivers go around with their hoods propped open for fear of overheating (doesn't actually help), so yeah, we got a lot of those comments on the Facebook page!

[Istas]

Nice start. Thanks for sharing this!

[backpacker3]

Originally Posted by niky

This is a country where Toyota taxi drivers go around with their hoods propped open for fear of overheating (doesn't actually help), so yeah, we got a lot of those comments on the Facebook page!

Really?! Is overheating a really common problem? I thought that weather in the Philippines wasn't extremely hot but more humid? I could be wrong though since I've never been there or done much research on the climate.

[niky]

Like I said, it doesn't actually help.

The problem is, basically, that the Vios line-up uses a single core 2/3rd width radiator with a single fan. This makes for faster warm-up and better economy for most consumers, but in traffic, it heatsoaks pretty terribly. And taxi drivers here spend a lot of time idling at a stop while waiting for passengers.

Proper preventive maintenance helps keep the cooling system adequate, but the words "proper" and "adequate" hardly ever come together for some taxi operators. The cheap solution? Instead of wiring in extra fans or installing a higher capacity radiator, drivers simply prop open their hoods while driving around the city. The effect is mostly psychological, but then, when in Rome...

[paasat05]

this is great thanks for the info and look forward to more

[niky]

Cue Knight Rider music. Dun-dun... dun-dun... dun-dun dun-dun Dun-dun... dun-dun... dun-dun dun-dun...



Pro-tip... duct-tape and rubber make a terrible wheel cover... especially if you don't have thick spokes to tape the rubber cover to. I would have used zip-ties, but this was always going to be a temporary arrangement.

[MetroMPG]

Another article?

[niky]

Yup. Looking to release within the month... green month over at the magazine.

The results, however, merely reinforced the need for me to purchase a ScanGauge or something similar. Trying to validate theory via a tank-to-tank fill on the spot is incredibly frustrating, to say the least. Need several fill-ups to corroborate data, and the time it takes means that traffic and weather variables will affect the later runs considerably.

Already knew that going in. On my personal car, I've seen fill-ups vary by up to a liter (about a quart) depending on the temperature of the fuel rail and whether the return system decided to dump hot fuel back into the tank when you put the key in the ignition. As it is, I tried my best!

A friend recently pushed for a weight-based economy measuring system:

Chevrolet Spin tops CAGI fuel efficiency rating

It has the potential for great accuracy, but requires the AC be off (condensation adds weight) and the resolution of the scales requires you to run about a hundred kilometers per test.

That's a whole lot of kilos to run.

I also have my own issues about the aggressive acceleration profiles required by the testing route (evident by the ultra-low score for the Spark!), but that's something for another time.

[Fat Charlie]

Yeah, getting short trip mpg is where it's at. It even helps with waypoints- at this point in my commute, I expect to have a certain mpg, etc. Helps you know how you're doing.

[MetroMPG]

A gauge would be very helpful. But coastdown testing is a relatively quick way to measure the effect of aero mods.

The caveat is: the modification needs to be significant enough to be detectable outside of the noise of normal variation in the runs. How significant? For my Firefly/Metro, I could just detect the difference between driver's window open vs. closed in coastdown times.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...open-8863.html