quoted from a magazine review of the 2011 hyundai elantra:
(quote
"Official fuel-economy figures of 29 mpg city and 40 mpg highway
A six-speed transmission, built in-house by Hyundai, is responsible for 4.1 percent of the fuel-economy improvement, and a smart alternator shaves an additional 2.5 percent. Weight loss adds a 1.8 percent improvement, while low rolling resistance reduces inefficiency by another 1.4 percent, aiding the car's claims of best-in-class fuel economy.
Cruising in sixth gear at around 80 mph with light throttle yields an impressive indicated average fuel economy of around 50 mpg—helped, in part, by a tall top-gear ratio of 0.633. More erratic driving at lower speeds lowered our average to just below 30 mpg—spot on with the EPA city estimate of 29 mpg.
A manual-transmission Elantra GLS Standard starts at $15,550,
Read more: 2011 Hyundai Elantra Review - Hyundai Elantra Test Drive - Popular Mechanics"
(end quote)
now....
this 2011 hyundai has a
1. cd of .28 (allowing for the 50mpg highway figure even at 80mph
2. curb weight of just over 2600 lbs
3. a very low highway gear ratio of .633
4. lrr tires
5. smart alternator
it's only problem is the price tag, $15,000 and the cheapest used ones are still currently at $13,000-$15,000 with like 20k-30k on their odometers
so I'm wondering ...
is it possible to purchase a more affordable saturn sc several years old ($1,500-$3,000) and bring it to get the mpg figures of the 2011 hyndai?
I'd have a stock:
1. cd of .32 +/- a drop depending on submodel and year (how do I bring it to .28???)
2. curb weight of 2,400 lbs (200 lbs lighter then the elantra)
3. .73-.605 gear ratio, depending on submodel and year.(the famous 5th gear swap would get me the coveted .605-just as good as the elantra)
4. standard tires (LRR tires could be obtained for it.)
5. standard alternator (I'd perform alternator delete- even better then the "smart alternator")
Now... the only thing I'm missing here in the modded saturn is the .28 cd of the hyndai.
So my question is:
Is it possible to bring a .32 cd down to .28?
if yes, how?
i see many things that people do, like belly pans, moon discs and air dams.
but would these bring a .32 car to become a .28 car?
since most people who perform aero mods dont post their before-and-after cd values, I have some lack of knowlege towards the actual figures, and would appreciate knowing if anyone can forecast by how much any given aero mods would bring down the cd and whether or not I could hit the sought-after .28