1 month to aeromod

[Execut1ve]

Hello all,

I'm planning a trip down to NC (from OH) at the beginning of July to visit family. It's an 8 hr drive one way, through some moderate mtns in WV with speed limits up to 70 mph. I've managed to squeeze out 40+ mpg on that trip on a couple of occasions. I'd like to throw on an aeromod or two this month and see if I can't squeeze a bit more on the trip. I'd love to make it down on one tank without feeling like I need an emergency contact for the near certainty that I"ll run out of gas lol

the car is a 2000 Civic coupe, manual trans. I will entertain any suggestions for aeromods with the possible exception of the more radical ones (ie boat tail, nose redesign). I'm thinking along the lines of air dam and/or belly pan, smooth hubcaps, side mirror delete, directing airflow around tires, grille block, etc.

I have not done any aeromodding before so any hints on materials and methods are appreciated! Which of those above mods (or others) will get me the best bang for my buck?

[NeilBlanchard]

A couple of layers of foil tape over the holes in the wheel covers makes them smooth; or buy or buy a cheapo set. Tape off the upper grill, and part of the lower grill. Coroplast and tape some rear wheel skirts on. Kamm back panels can help. Can you just fold in the right side mirror?

[Execut1ve]

negative, mirrors do not fold

[JRMichler]

Grille block plus pump up the tires to sidewall maximum. Two inch wide masking tape works well for temporary grille blocks.

[Weather Spotter]

Go look through the wiki:
Car MPG Efficiency Modifications Main - EcoModder

There are lots of mods and user data like MPG gain, time to do the mod, cost and how to's.

I have done that same trip (MI to SC) several times and I found that a kill switch was nice for the mountains. Smooth hub caps are also nice.

You could take off your side mirror and put one on the inside. Most cars only have 3 bolts holding the mirror on. its a quick 1.6 MPG on my car.

[Execut1ve]

did you do both passenger and driver's side mirror? or just passenger?

any issues with cops with the outside mirror(s) gone?

[Execut1ve]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Kamm back panels can help

This is a coupe, not a hatchback. I though kammback was for hatchbacks and vans and the like?

[Execut1ve]

My tentative game plan for the week: try to whip up some rear wheel skirts and grill blocks using duct tape and cardboard then give it a couple coast down tests to see if that give me any real gains. If the numbers show improvement, I might look into constructing some more durable replacements of plastic or aluminum for the trip down. I'm also planning on replacing a worn wheel bearing sometime this month, not sure how much impact on fuel econ that will have though

[Weather Spotter]

I only did the pass side.
As for the law:
Mirror Laws by State (U.S.) - EcoModder

I have not had any issue.

[Execut1ve]

yeah I've seen that page before... take a gander at the OH law. If I'm reading that rightly, the side view mirrors are NOT required to be on the outside of the car. so in theory, I could delete both