Scion xA aero mods

[whokilledthejams]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Hello,

I'm contemplating how one would use something to decrease the drag at the back of my xA (or any hatchback\stationwagon)? Ditto for improving the stock mirrors?

Would a row of tabs or fins along the roof and down the sides (at least down to the rear wheel openings) be the way to go? (I probably can be helped a lot by some rear wheel skirts!)

One guy on the scionlife forum had, for a time, a set of small round mirrors on his xB instead of the big stock ones. He made some plexi blanks to cover the holes on the door, and used some little mirrors like this: https://www.mooneyesusa.com/Store/pr...15a1d608275263

I can't recall if he specifically mentioned FE gains, but he did say that the wind noise was cut immensely, and a reduction of frontal area and drag is obvious.

[Xringer]

Hey Neil,
What about closing off some of that lower intake?
Insert some coroplas on each side, leaving the center 1/3 open..?.

I covered up a lot of mine and it still runs about 185 as usual.



I think my air intake is about 1/5 of what it was..

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello,

I am getting consistent anyway: another tank, and ~46.5mpg again. Same thing for the last three tankfuls.

I don't think the A-pillar mod has done anything appreciable. I will pull off that tape and see how things go.

I need to put plexiglass over my fog lights -- in case I need to use them. Oh, I put some 5/16" thick foam "rubber" gasket under the front edge of the hood, so I could open the hood!

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello,

I now have my ScanGauge II -- the highest coolant temp that I have seen is 184F -- typical is 181F. No problem at all with cooling with the upper grill blocked.

[Edit: today when stuck in traffic (sitting still!) I did see 198F -- but the fan kicked on and kept it under control -- the blocked grill has virtually no effect when the car is sitting still anyway. Once I got moving again, it came back down to ~180F.

I averaged 55mpg for my round trip commute, BTW -- even with the stop and go crap! ]

[akcapeco]

Someone could make a pretty penny with a business constructing lightweight aero pieces. I would concentrate on rear skirts for Metro generations 2 and 3.

[Xringer]

Originally Posted by akcapeco

Someone could make a pretty penny with a business constructing lightweight aero pieces. I would concentrate on rear skirts for Metro generations 2 and 3.

And, there are a lot of Honda Gen1 CRVs out there that could use better MPG..

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello,

As you might have noticed (in my signature) my wife is now driving a Scion xD -- and the very first tankful has equaled my 90 day average. The car is ~310 pounds heavier, and has a 1.8 liter engine, a 4-speed automatic, and a slightly worse 0.32 Cd (vs 0.31 or my xA), and the EPA Combined estimate is lower at 29mpg -- and all I did was pump up the tires a little (~37psi vs the 32 recommended) and seal (most) of the hood joint to the top of the grill....

Now at 55mpg, the engine only turns at ~2,050RPM, so that may be most of how it does it. I hope to do similar front end aero mods -- esp covering the pockets where the fog light would go, and the upper grill is only for show -- and this car could be hitting 50mpg real soon.

The factory MPG gauge is a little optimistic, BTW -- it said we did 44mpg, while we actually did ~42mpg. But for the first tankful, I am quite impressed!

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello,

I'm posting a coupla' pictures showing the current mods to my xA. I now have a foam "rubber" gasket under the leading edge of the hood -- so I can now actually open the hood. And I've made flush lens for the fog lights out of 1/8" acrylic glass (aka PlexiGlas or Perspex) -- so I can actually use the lights!

[Xringer]

Should be a bit smoother now.

That tape looks like packing tape (little lines in it).
You might want to try some long lasting clear tape.

FROST KING T96H Clear Plastic Weatherseal Tape, 2" X 100'

This stuff is not thin like packing tape and works at all kinds of temperatures.
It's flexible and has a little stretch to it. Great stuff for outdoor use.
I use it to hold the Ailerons on my RC airplanes and a lot of other stuff.
I get it at hardware stores like Lowes and Homedepot.
You need a sharp tool to cut it, since there is no way you can tear it by hand.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello,

That sounds like it might be something I should try out.

The tape I'm using is actually "transparent" 3M Duct tape. Very sticky, and quite strong, but it does dry out and lose grip over time.