Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Project: modding sixth gen Corolla sedan on a budget

christofoo · 10-03-2012, 04:14 PM

I feel that the stock bumper design is particularly crummy aerodynamically. I wouldn't be surprised if I have 5-10% to gain here without too much effort.

I failed on the first attempt, but learned how to gather good coast-down data and discovered that I have a mechanical problem (BTW, now I think the problem is the rear drum brakes). http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ast-23162.html

Edit: I took off my v1 "bullnose" this morning. I'm certain I can hear a lot more turbulence against the windshield and hood without it, with a sudden onset around 55 mph. Although my bullnose didn't work properly, probably due to the open sides, I'm even more convinced that my aero eye is correct; the stock grill-to-hood angle / radius on this car is a disaster. A grill block by itself would not fix the problem.

Anyways here is a crude photochop of my v2 mod design - more conventional ecomodding:

I've got 1/8" clear PETG to go above the bumper, although I think it would look nice to paint it black over the grill location. Below the bumper I'm thinking coroplast, reinforced with coroplast, unreinforced at the bottom 4 inches so it can fold if it scrapes. The blinkers you see low on the the bumper will either get moved forward or clear covers. The cooling inlet will be bottom middle of the coroplast. I might hand-mold a smooth inlet trim. Cooling ducting would probably not be very aerodynamically effective without more distance between the mod and the radiator, so I might not bother.

As a tangent, the 4x8' 1/8" PETG rolled up without too much trouble and fit in my back seat, which is good because the seats don't fold. It was about $90 = $2.80 per sqft.

PETG top-to-bottom would be a little cost-prohibitive here. My motive is primarily environmental, which also means evangelical, but I aim for cost-effective energy reduction. That's what I really mean by shoestring budget. This car isn't going to see that many miles, in my possession. So I'm trying to keep mod ROI down to ~7,000 miles. That sets the bar pretty low, like $33-$66, depending on whether this is a 5% or 10% FE mod. Most of the PETG is going to be for the Civic.

10-03-2012, 04:14 PM	#2 (permalink)
christofoo Master EcoModder Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 292 00C - '00 Toyota Corolla 90 day: 43.54 mpg (US) Thanks: 147 Thanked 190 Times in 73 Posts	Aero front-end mod plan, grill blocking and smoothing I feel that the stock bumper design is particularly crummy aerodynamically. I wouldn't be surprised if I have 5-10% to gain here without too much effort. I failed on the first attempt, but learned how to gather good coast-down data and discovered that I have a mechanical problem (BTW, now I think the problem is the rear drum brakes). http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ast-23162.html Edit: I took off my v1 "bullnose" this morning. I'm certain I can hear a lot more turbulence against the windshield and hood without it, with a sudden onset around 55 mph. Although my bullnose didn't work properly, probably due to the open sides, I'm even more convinced that my aero eye is correct; the stock grill-to-hood angle / radius on this car is a disaster. A grill block by itself would not fix the problem. Anyways here is a crude photochop of my v2 mod design - more conventional ecomodding: I've got 1/8" clear PETG to go above the bumper, although I think it would look nice to paint it black over the grill location. Below the bumper I'm thinking coroplast, reinforced with coroplast, unreinforced at the bottom 4 inches so it can fold if it scrapes. The blinkers you see low on the the bumper will either get moved forward or clear covers. The cooling inlet will be bottom middle of the coroplast. I might hand-mold a smooth inlet trim. Cooling ducting would probably not be very aerodynamically effective without more distance between the mod and the radiator, so I might not bother. As a tangent, the 4x8' 1/8" PETG rolled up without too much trouble and fit in my back seat, which is good because the seats don't fold. It was about $90 = $2.80 per sqft. PETG top-to-bottom would be a little cost-prohibitive here. My motive is primarily environmental, which also means evangelical, but I aim for cost-effective energy reduction. That's what I really mean by shoestring budget. This car isn't going to see that many miles, in my possession. So I'm trying to keep mod ROI down to ~7,000 miles. That sets the bar pretty low, like $33-$66, depending on whether this is a 5% or 10% FE mod. Most of the PETG is going to be for the Civic. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by christofoo; 10-04-2012 at 02:26 PM..