Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Help with my aero mods: 1.8L 05 Auto Toyota Corolla

blackjackel · 05-12-2008, 10:13 PM

Current Hypermiling changes/mods:
- Inflated tires to 46PSI (maximum rated tire pressure)
- Changed oil to 0W-20 Synthetic and high-flow oil filter
- took about 5 pounds worth of extra crap out of the car.
- Bought Scan Guage to track FE.
- Inflated tires with pure nitrogen, cosco only inflated to 35, I had to do the remaining 10 PSI with regular air at gas station so not 100% pure.
- Licence plate moved, now flat against the bumper (see page two of this post, same thread as hefty bag mod)
-Smooth hubcaps (thanks cfg83!)

Planned Hypermiling changes/mods:
- Buy Inclinometer/clenometer to track optimal gliding degree slopes.
- Buy cold air intake with high performance filter.
- Rear wheel skirts
- Lowering the ca

Possible EXTREME Hypermiling changes (really not sure about these yet):
- Fabricating and installing (or buying aftermarket) under body panel.
- Front wheel Skirts

Hypermiling changes I've decided NOT to do
- Boat tail (I Live in Los Angeles, parking would become impossible)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you know of any more modifications I can do please let me know.

Links I'm looking at:
http://ecomodder.com/blog/2008/02/07...-a-1992-civic/ (I wouldn't mind making an aerocorolla)
http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthrea...290.html?t=290
http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthrea...978.html?t=978
http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthrea...amics-312.html
http://www.metrompg.com/posts/grille...ing-part-2.htm
http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthrea...s-80.html?t=80 <--- rear wheels skirt example
http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthrea...103.html?t=103 <--Rear wheel skirt howto

I have completed two aerodynamic mods today, both of them took less than an hour to complete collectively. The first mod was moving my licence plate up a little and taking off the licence plate holder.
The second mod was a grill block done with a hefty trash bag. I was GOING to block it from BEHIND the grill, but I figured that it would still create SOME aerodynamic drag if the wind were to go in the little
groves and be "cupped", it would be much more aerodynamic if it was blocked from OUTSIDE the grill, which is what I ended up doing with the hefty bags...

Licence placement mod:

This is how it looked prior to mod, notice how it stuck out a little under the bumper, you could
see a bend in the metal becuase of the air pushing against it all the time...

This is with the plate/holder off, if I didn't censor my plate number, you can see the old screws and the little screw I made, I simply used the old screw to "drill" a hole in the bumper with the screwdriver, it wasnt hard to do at all.

This is the final result, the licence is flat against the bumper and no parts of it are sticking out anywhere.

Hefty Trash Bag Top Grill block mod:

In this second mod, I used two white hefty trash bags to block the grill that is right infront of my engine.

This is what the grill looks like unaltered:

Here you can see the grill is made of two pieces, these pieces are clipped on to eachother,
it took me 15-20 minutes just to unclip them, it wasn't easy but this one part took the longest out of this whole mod.
I will be putting the trashbag in between the two pieces so that the silver part will still be visible, you can see the trashbags i'm using here:

Here you can see that the bag ALOST fits, forcing me to use a 2nd bag to line the edges to make it look "complete"

Here you see the two side pices and the middle piece, I just layed them flat against the grill and taped them from the back:

Here you see my horrible tape job on the back (but this is just temporary as the pices clip on to eachother and this will hold them up

This is what JUST the black grill part with the trash bag over it looks like:

See the little holes in the black grill? this is where the silver part clips in, I'll be cutting holes in the bag for the silver clips to fit through...
Then I will "sandwich" them together and this should hold them tightly without the tape on the back (but I'll leave the tape on there)

After cutting holes in the bag for the silver clips to go through, i clipped the silver part back on:

Here is the finished result:

And another angle zoomed out, dosen't look too bad at all, should be weather proof, and since its sandwiched between the silver and black
part, it shouldn't fall off even after the tape loses grip! Not bad for a 30 minute job eh?

I drove over to Costco and back (about $1 worth of gas both ways), and noticed NO CHANGE WHATSOEVER in my water temp, it went up to 186 and stayed there. So its a good mod methinks

Going to be doing my hubcaps the same way I think, will update here when I do that.

05-12-2008, 10:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
blackjackel EcoModding Apprentice Join Date: May 2008 Location: los angeles Posts: 119 Whitey - '05 toyota corolla LE 90 day: 28.91 mpg (US) Thanks: 0 Thanked 7 Times in 2 Posts	Help with my aero mods: 1.8L 05 Auto Toyota Corolla Current Hypermiling changes/mods: - Inflated tires to 46PSI (maximum rated tire pressure) - Changed oil to 0W-20 Synthetic and high-flow oil filter - took about 5 pounds worth of extra crap out of the car. - Bought Scan Guage to track FE. - Inflated tires with pure nitrogen, cosco only inflated to 35, I had to do the remaining 10 PSI with regular air at gas station so not 100% pure. - Licence plate moved, now flat against the bumper (see page two of this post, same thread as hefty bag mod) -Smooth hubcaps (thanks cfg83!) Planned Hypermiling changes/mods: - Buy Inclinometer/clenometer to track optimal gliding degree slopes. - Buy cold air intake with high performance filter. - Rear wheel skirts - Lowering the ca Possible EXTREME Hypermiling changes (really not sure about these yet): - Fabricating and installing (or buying aftermarket) under body panel. - Front wheel Skirts Hypermiling changes I've decided NOT to do - Boat tail (I Live in Los Angeles, parking would become impossible) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you know of any more modifications I can do please let me know. Links I'm looking at: http://ecomodder.com/blog/2008/02/07...-a-1992-civic/ (I wouldn't mind making an aerocorolla) http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthrea...290.html?t=290 http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthrea...978.html?t=978 http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthrea...amics-312.html http://www.metrompg.com/posts/grille...ing-part-2.htm http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthrea...s-80.html?t=80 <--- rear wheels skirt example http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthrea...103.html?t=103 <--Rear wheel skirt howto I have completed two aerodynamic mods today, both of them took less than an hour to complete collectively. The first mod was moving my licence plate up a little and taking off the licence plate holder. The second mod was a grill block done with a hefty trash bag. I was GOING to block it from BEHIND the grill, but I figured that it would still create SOME aerodynamic drag if the wind were to go in the little groves and be "cupped", it would be much more aerodynamic if it was blocked from OUTSIDE the grill, which is what I ended up doing with the hefty bags... Licence placement mod: This is how it looked prior to mod, notice how it stuck out a little under the bumper, you could see a bend in the metal becuase of the air pushing against it all the time... This is with the plate/holder off, if I didn't censor my plate number, you can see the old screws and the little screw I made, I simply used the old screw to "drill" a hole in the bumper with the screwdriver, it wasnt hard to do at all. This is the final result, the licence is flat against the bumper and no parts of it are sticking out anywhere. Hefty Trash Bag Top Grill block mod: In this second mod, I used two white hefty trash bags to block the grill that is right infront of my engine. This is what the grill looks like unaltered: Here you can see the grill is made of two pieces, these pieces are clipped on to eachother, it took me 15-20 minutes just to unclip them, it wasn't easy but this one part took the longest out of this whole mod. I will be putting the trashbag in between the two pieces so that the silver part will still be visible, you can see the trashbags i'm using here: Here you can see that the bag ALOST fits, forcing me to use a 2nd bag to line the edges to make it look "complete" Here you see the two side pices and the middle piece, I just layed them flat against the grill and taped them from the back: Here you see my horrible tape job on the back (but this is just temporary as the pices clip on to eachother and this will hold them up This is what JUST the black grill part with the trash bag over it looks like: See the little holes in the black grill? this is where the silver part clips in, I'll be cutting holes in the bag for the silver clips to fit through... Then I will "sandwich" them together and this should hold them tightly without the tape on the back (but I'll leave the tape on there) After cutting holes in the bag for the silver clips to go through, i clipped the silver part back on: Here is the finished result: And another angle zoomed out, dosen't look too bad at all, should be weather proof, and since its sandwiched between the silver and black part, it shouldn't fall off even after the tape loses grip! Not bad for a 30 minute job eh? I drove over to Costco and back (about $1 worth of gas both ways), and noticed NO CHANGE WHATSOEVER in my water temp, it went up to 186 and stayed there. So its a good mod methinks Going to be doing my hubcaps the same way I think, will update here when I do that. __________________ Last edited by blackjackel; 08-10-2008 at 05:35 AM..