Quote:
Originally Posted by orbywan
Hi,
This is my first post with ecomodder so here goes. I have a 99 Saturn 1.9L DOHC 5 speed. Great car. So far I've blocked off the front grille completely (no overheating even with the A/C on), made covers for the headlight nacelles, removed the side view mirrors and installed cameras instead.
I posted some photos of some of the mods, I hope they load OK.
My average 14 mile commute has been 43.2mpg on the scan ga. before the mods. After the mods I'm still collecting data but the average is around 52-53 mpg.
So, the reason for the post is I'm thinking about a bellypan since the body is about as low drag as it's going to get without major surgery. I found the post by lovemysan concerning belly pans. He said he used polyboard and like it better than coroplast, but I'm not sure plastic is the way to go down there.
Anyone have any suggestions for the bellypan material? Aluminum sheet will have to be ribbed to keep it from rattling, etc., but problem I would think with anything plastic is the cat will melt that in short order.
He refers to Hucho's post on belly pans, can't find it, does anyone have a link to that? Any info on belly pans would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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Whatever fits your budget can be used.
* the materials you've alredy mentioned
* door skin will last a few years if sealed
* fiberglass/foam composite
* ferrous sheetmetal
* fiberglass sheet
* ABS plastic
* the thin sheets will require closer center-to-center distance on supports to prevent sagging
* of course,carbon fiber/epoxy as Ferrari has used.
Just let the free span rigidity determine your support distance.
* hot areas can be dealt with with special shielding/venting
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As to Hucho,he has published a series of books: Aerodynamics of Road Vehicles.Worth every penny!
In his text he goes into the science of the belly pan and diffuser and cites research which has fixed the dimensional criteria for successful streamlining.
I recommend you splurge and get a copy.It's the difference between being given a fish to eat or learning to fish.