Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Would you eco-mod a Mazda MX-3 ?

Cd · 01-16-2011, 04:00 PM

Ever since the Mazda MX-3 first came out, I have admired the aerodynamic shape of the car. However, I never could understand why the car had such horrible gas mileage ( 22 city /29 hwy with a 4 cylinder ! )
Another thing that puzzles me is that the car had a .32 Cd which is worse than my '93 hatchback Civic at .31
I have no idea what could cause the car to have such an 'average' aerodynamics.
I find myself still admiring the car though.
The car appears to be very ideally streamlined when seen from all angles.

The area around the tail lights and bumper should have a sharp separation edge to it, but other than that, the car appears as though it should have a very good Cd.
The Civic hatch has a similar rounded edge around the taillights, yet is more aero despite having a much greater angle to it's roofline and minimal plan form taper. Any guesses as to why the MX-3 would have higher drag ?

Besides having a great shape, the car has a very small frontal area as well.

So have any of you guys ever thought of eco-modding one of these cars, or is it hopeless with the gas guzzler engine ?

( Just 'imagine' if a VW diesel were transplanted in this car and the car had some aero tweaking done to it. )

- My apologies to those of you with slow internet speeds, since this thread has lots of linked images. -

01-16-2011, 04:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
Cd Ultimate Fail Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Austin,Texas Posts: 3,585 Thanks: 2,872 Thanked 1,121 Times in 679 Posts	Would you eco-mod a Mazda MX-3 ? Ever since the Mazda MX-3 first came out, I have admired the aerodynamic shape of the car. However, I never could understand why the car had such horrible gas mileage ( 22 city /29 hwy with a 4 cylinder ! ) Another thing that puzzles me is that the car had a .32 Cd which is worse than my '93 hatchback Civic at .31 I have no idea what could cause the car to have such an 'average' aerodynamics. I find myself still admiring the car though. The car appears to be very ideally streamlined when seen from all angles. The area around the tail lights and bumper should have a sharp separation edge to it, but other than that, the car appears as though it should have a very good Cd. The Civic hatch has a similar rounded edge around the taillights, yet is more aero despite having a much greater angle to it's roofline and minimal plan form taper. Any guesses as to why the MX-3 would have higher drag ? Besides having a great shape, the car has a very small frontal area as well. So have any of you guys ever thought of eco-modding one of these cars, or is it hopeless with the gas guzzler engine ? ( Just 'imagine' if a VW diesel were transplanted in this car and the car had some aero tweaking done to it. ) - My apologies to those of you with slow internet speeds, since this thread has lots of linked images. - Last edited by Cd; 01-19-2011 at 11:41 AM..