Under tray/WAI help needed please..

[320touring]

Right,

with the impending festivities, I may actually finally have some time to start on ecomodding the 318iS..

Looking at the car, I can see 3 fairly easy mods that should provide some gain, but before I start, I'd like your guidance and advice!

1. WAI- Warm Air Intake.

The current setup in the car is a AFM (Air Flow Meter) fed from behind the LHS headlight. I'm lead to believe from my reading on here that

-the AFM will be able to respond to the lower density Air if I take a feed from the Exhaust manifold

-The warmer air will improve engine warmup and shift our of "startup mode"

is this correct?

Current Air intake setup



Proposed Route for getting to the Exhaust manifold



What the AFM setup looks like







2.Upper/Lower Grille Block

As is the case with BMW's, This car has a fairly large Upper grille, and a long, thin lower grille built into the bumper.

The Upper Grill feeds directly to the Radiator

The lower grill is just open.

I'd be looking to block the whole upper grille and the whole Lower grille (for the winter at least)

Any advice on attaching or solutions for blocking much appreciated.

The bottom grille is the Black strip running horizontally accross the bumper, below the number plate

Upper Grille







Upper Grille Top Cover





3. Front Belly Pan

As can be seen from the pictures above- the car has no front belly pan, so teh entirity of the engine bay is open to the elements at the bottom..

I have available an undertray from an e46 (the 3 series afer this) that I can chop and fit as required.

I really need some advice on fitting the pan though..

- What is the best NON INVASIVE method of attachment?
- Do I attach it so it falls off if struck (to minimise damage?)
- Any special advice regarding where the pan will meet the downpipe?




Thanks for taking the time to read this post- I hope your advice means I can get this car closer to my goal of 45 IMP MPG

[jakobnev]

Well it certainly looks like an AIT in the AFM.

A bit off topic: If you did an e-fan mod, it looks like you could fit an engine shroud that covers the engine at the front too.

[California98Civic]

I don't know much about your car, but I can say about the WAI in general that it probably does not help warm-up. The grill block and belly pan--if it covers parts of the engine bay--will help warm-up. Also, the WAI will reduce air density, of course, but Sentra_SE-R and I have had differing results as to the effectiveness of WAIs with fuel economy. My older MAP equipped car showed an FE benefit, but newer cars that also have a MAF sensor--instead of just the MAP--seem not to benefit from a WAI. I hope that helps.

[320touring]

Originally Posted by jakobnev

Well it certainly looks like an AIT in the AFM.

A bit off topic: If you did an e-fan mod, it looks like you could fit an engine shroud that covers the engine at the front too.

Sounds positive re the AFM then..

as for an Electric Fan conversion- the 1.9 m44 engine has a rad mounted electric Fan- So I can do a straight swap in for that (once funds allow.

For covering the top of the Engine, I was planning to pilfer Frank lee's "engine Blanket" idea

Originally Posted by California98Civic

I don't know much about your car, but I can say about the WAI in general that it probably does not help warm-up. The grill block and belly pan--if it covers parts of the engine bay--will help warm-up. Also, the WAI will reduce air density, of course, but Sentra_SE-R and I have had differing results as to the effectiveness of WAIs with fuel economy. My older MAP equipped car showed an FE benefit, but newer cars that also have a MAF sensor--instead of just the MAP--seem not to benefit from a WAI. I hope that helps.

It was discussion of Your and Sentra_SE-R findings that led me to question the benefits of the WAI mod- I think the "Old Skool" tech of my AFM may just benefit..for the sake of some ducting It cant be too hard to find out

[Tango Charlie]

Originally Posted by 320touring

I really need some advice on fitting the pan though..

- What is the best NON INVASIVE method of attachment?
- Do I attach it so it falls off if struck (to minimise damage?)
- Any special advice regarding where the pan will meet the downpipe?

Get as invasive as you need to. Don't *****foot around about it. Things WILL strike the pan, and you don't want it coming off. Engineering a break away pan would take a lot of effort and expertise, and in my opinion, ill-advised. It would cause more damage to other parts of the car if it comes loose or partially loose.

Again, my opinion, but don't worry about drilling holes in your car. Drill a hole where you need it, and shoot some Rustoleum on it. Use stainless steel hardware. It'll be fine.

See my Vibe thread. I just had some experience with belly panel damage.

[320touring]

Originally Posted by Tango Charlie

Get as invasive as you need to. Don't *****foot around about it. Things WILL strike the pan, and you don't want it coming off. Engineering a break away pan would take a lot of effort and expertise, and in my opinion, ill-advised. It would cause more damage to other parts of the car if it comes loose or partially loose.

Again, my opinion, but don't worry about drilling holes in your car. Drill a hole where you need it, and shoot some Rustoleum on it. Use stainless steel hardware. It'll be fine.

See my Vibe thread. I just had some experience with belly panel damage.

Yes Dad

I'm hoping to use the pre drilled mounting points on the e46 under tray on my car-Luckily its a one Piece and runs back to about the Bulkhead area. I'll make sure its securely fitted as per your advice

I'm not going to drill the car if I can avoid it

these e36's like to rot, and the climate here(365 days of rain PA) mean everything will rot as soon as you look at it

[Tango Charlie]

Ha! that's funny that it censored my post. I guess I should have said, "don't kitty cat foot around." But then that would just sound stupid.

And if you call me Dad again, I'll give you a time out! Ha ha ha!

The warm air induction sounds promising. I've heard the older Saturns respond well to WAI, because they use the MAF setup. I'll be interested to hear your results.

+1 on the electric radiator fan, too.

[66sprint6]

Your not running a MAF, but a VAM, Vane Air Meter. With that said...Im not entirely sure where itll fall in the WAI realm on how it reacts...maybe itll be inbetween the MAP and MAF guys LOL. Best thing to do it try it and let us know! Good luck with your mods, those are the same 3 that are next on my list.
Matt

[320touring]

Originally Posted by Tango Charlie

Ha! that's funny that it censored my post. I guess I should have said, "don't kitty cat foot around." But then that would just sound stupid.

And if you call me Dad again, I'll give you a time out! Ha ha ha!

The warm air induction sounds promising. I've heard the older Saturns respond well to WAI, because they use the MAF setup. I'll be interested to hear your results.

+1 on the electric radiator fan, too.

How about "dont flock about"..

The electric fan is run via a viscous clutch off the waterpump spindle..so not urgent as I'm losing that energy to turn the waterpump anyways.

Originally Posted by 66sprint6

Your not running a MAF, but a VAM, Vane Air Meter. With that said...Im not entirely sure where itll fall in the WAI realm on how it reacts...maybe itll be inbetween the MAP and MAF guys LOL. Best thing to do it try it and let us know! Good luck with your mods, those are the same 3 that are next on my list.
Matt

I've never heard of a VAM, but i'll investigate it, sounds like there may still be scope for trying to do a WAI