Nissan Versa Base 1.6 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

skyl4rk · 03-15-2009, 07:56 PM

Thanks to the warm weather, finally got the coroplast aeromods on the car.

The valence and grill block went on OK. The double sided tape was not sticky enough to hold on the fog light blocks. I will have to find a material that bends easier.

With both vent holes closed, I ran the car on the highway and temps went up to 210F and I smelled things getting hot, probably heater core. Usually the temp is 195F. I pulled out one vent and temps were around 207F, moving between 200 and 207F. I am going to run with two vents open for now, and maybe next winter close them back up.

I don't have any good comparison tests yet, but I have to say it was much easier to hypermile my way into the 40's mpg. With no hypermiling, I did a 7 mile run on the interstate at 70mph, and a 7 mile, 60mph run back on the state road with no attempt to hypermile, except that I can't help but coast a long ways before stops. The result of the no hypermile test was 38mpg, compared to EPA highway 34mpg.

skyl4rk · 03-15-2009, 08:07 PM

moar pix

I found the best way to cut parts was with a router. I made plywood patterns and can cut more parts easily. An exacto blade works but it ends up not being as smooth as a router cut part. The router cut part still needs some trimming and sanding to finish it up but it smooths up nice.

my first gmc · 03-15-2009, 08:24 PM

Man, that looks really good.

NeilBlanchard · 03-15-2009, 10:08 PM

Hi,

I agree -- you did a great job fitting them in so neatly. And the coverage is pretty aggressive! My theory is that when you only have opening under the bumper, the cooling efficiency goes up -- maybe because the air comes out the upper grill? (Someone mentioned this is what happened on the original Taurus.)

My grill covers leave an area on the bottom that is roughly what you would get with 2 or 3 more holes, and it is all in the middle -- and my temps are the same as they ever have been; or maybe even a touch cooler!

1337 · 03-16-2009, 12:51 AM

Nice! What was the outside temp during your test?

skyl4rk · 03-16-2009, 07:57 AM

The temp was 50F and dry.

The double sided tape is still sticking, hopefully the panels are mounted securely.

MetroMPG · 03-16-2009, 08:22 AM

Looks nice.

Do you have a way to monitor when your cooling fan comes on? You probably wouldn't hear it once above city speeds.

Daox · 03-16-2009, 09:06 AM

I agree, it looks great (much better than stock IMO). Nice work!

skyl4rk · 03-16-2009, 09:56 AM

I don't hear the fan at all, and have no way of knowing when it is on.

I can see the temps on the ScanGauge. Sometimes it rises and drops a bit.

What do you think are the max temps before I open up the vents a bit?

I am thinking below 220F max peak is OK, if it goes above that then more air is needed.

MetroMPG · 03-16-2009, 11:01 PM

If the fan is coming on, more air is needed. That's why I wondered if you could tell.

The fan draws a LOT of power. Probably as much as running with full lights on, I'd say. That's one reason (aside from additional stress the added heat puts on things) to size your block to avoid having the fan come on in normal driving.

If you hunt around, you may be able to find a thread about how to hook an LED up to the fan circuit so you can monitor it if you can't hear it.