Last year I purchased a 1995 Suzuki Swift for $450. Great little car, but pretty much a piece of junk as far as looks go.
No worries, for me though, I was driving 60 miles a day round trip to work and back, and the big ol' suburban I had at the time was getting 12 MPG. The new Swift (basically Geo Metro) got me a great 40 MPG instead.
Horray for not spending all the money I was making at work on just getting to work... Never endless battle...
So, last year, I decided to play around with a little aerodynamics!
I added a new, long tail to the back of my little car. Built out of all the free stuff I could find... An old 6 foot ladder was the main support. A bunch of 1x3 lumber I had around, a little duct tape, and all the free cardboard I wanted from work.
Putting all this stuff together, I came up with a boat tail that stuck out the back 5 feet farther than the original bumper did...
Before addding the boat tail, I got a rather consistent 40 MPG with my 1.3 liter (4 cylinder) car, for at least 5 full tanks. After the tail was complete, I was up to 48 MPG at the best!
Score! I had proof of concept! The idea worked...
Here in Oregon, it rains 11 months a year. So, my little project was rather short lived. After about 2 months and maybe 8 tanks of gas, the rain got bad enough to basically melt a bunch of the cardboard off. Ooopps.
Taking off the cardboard and lots of wood I used for structure, I know it weighed over 100 lbs... Probably closer to 150 or 175 lbs...
But for being so simple and cheap, fact is, that the boat tail did save me fuel and money.
So, now it is summer in 2011, and I am ready to try again... With lighter and longer lasting materials! Very cool, very fun!
There will be pics soon, if I can get them on here, and updates as often as I can manage.
My overall intentions are to provide examples of the simplicity and cheap budget that aerodynamic modifications can be done at. It may not be appropriate for every person to spend increadibly much modding their vehicle...
It would be great, however, if anyone could do these things inexpensively and achieve a true benefit from doing so!
Hope you enjoy and are able to use any of the information I can provide...
Thanks,
JoshuaChance