There's a great overlap between speed and efficiency. I see two main schools: the ecomodders and the street-racing modders. But we don't need to be at odds with each other. I could see eco-modded cars at racing events and shows. There ought to be an alliance, an open discussion, an exchange of ideas, and we'd both be better off for it. I think the biggest difference is that we're just really frugal and make modifications out of, heh, cardboard and corrugated plastic.
But yeah, there are so many things in common with speed and efficiency. It's interesting, it's kind of poetic. I wish I had a beautiful analogy for it. Two groups of people you would think didn't have much in common or wouldn't possibly like other, being able to talk about things in common. I could imagine Team Ecomodder! with a fleet of the most hideous, ridiculous looking cars made for pennies. And on the other side, Team Street Racers, with their body kits and fancy colored lights and loud engines and so on. And you'd think these two groups would have nothing in common. But we have so much in common. I don't know my point, I just find it poetic somehow.
I know nothing about that side of modding, but I was looking at some body kits for my 2001 Corolla, because I never knew people modified this car like that! I always saw my car as an old, beat up, unappealing, just simple, basic, vanilla, fuel efficient, sensible car for an old lady. But then I see this 2001 Corolla all souped up. It's weird. But yeah, I was wondering if those body kits offered aerodynamic benefits. Lowering a car definitely improves fuel economy, and so do side skirts, which these body kits have. And just as you mentioned, I was really curious about the design of these body kit front bumpers, since I'm trying to design a front bumper/air dam right now. So I definitely might try doing a front bumper design something along those lines, with a cow-catcher kind of design at the bottom if I can. My driveway up to my garage is an upward slope though, and even at the height of my cardboard prototype it scratches the concrete a little. I'm probably planning on trying out and testing a cardboard hammerhead pointed shark front bumper, with a belly pan covering up to just the front axle. We'll see.
Oh man, I would love to see a Ecomodder vs. Street Racer competition. They'd all have their cars parked and lit up and revving waiting. And we, like a triumphant army, out of nowhere, will march in 5 cars side by side, going 30 mph and 1,500 RPM, blocking all traffic behind us, all in slow motion of course, while the entire crowd stares at us in silence. All in the glory of our yard sign coroplast and cardboard and duct tape. And all in the glory of our fuel efficiency. What a contrast! But with what dignity in our eyes, without shame would we exit our vehicles!
This could make a movie, I kid not. All the ridicule and stolen wheel hubs and skirts. The dramatic scenes and overacted crying. When the whole world called us crazy, and said we could never do it, and that we'd never make it. The group with cardboard modifications versus fifty thousand dollar modified cars. What odds, when the entire world is against us! The car failures, then heartbreak, the friends and family who too called us crazy and told us to quit.
And after all the ridicule, all the naysayers, the entire world calling us crazy, and that we could never do it, there would one event, one day, one final run that would prove once and for all, while all waited with abated breath, if what we had was gold, or just base metal.
The first event would be a one lap around the oval track. We would modify the cars just before the race, and make some last minute changes. Finally the cars meet at the start. Everyone is laughing and scoffing. What a waste of time! The light turns red, yellow, green! The street racer takes off! The ecomodder considers not even participating in this particular event. Is it not their strength, it is not what they were made for. But he goes for it anyway. He finishes, losing, but not so badly, though still quite badly, heh. The crowd mockingly cheers.
Another two ecomodders run the lap. They all fall short. But then the third one comes so close, only a second off! The crowd dismisses it as luck. Though now the atmosphere has changed. The street racers were overconfident, slacking in their driving and car. Now they wake up a little bit. Finally, the last ecomodder. A Honda CRX comes to the line. They rev their engines. He looks straight ahead. "This is for our Ecomodder brethren, every brother who suffered ridicule for what we have believed in." Red. Yellow. Green. The cars take off. The Honda CRX... wins. The crowd is silent. The announcer: "And the winner is.... Team Ecomodder? Is this a mistake? Show the replay!" We welcome our MVP with cheers and celebration! Smiles all around. The other team scoffs.
Then comes the final event. A X-mile city course where the winners are, you guessed it, whoever has the greatest MPG and the greatest percentage over EPA. Ten cars compete. The street racers have no idea how to hyper-mill. They just try to drive really slow. One guy in defiance and disgust races through the track, and is the first to finish the race, with an impressive MPG of 15.
The CRX is on a miracle run! Only a mile left to the finish line, and the ScanGauge shows perfection. On an engine off coast, something happens. The car refuses to restart. He can see finish line. Panic sets in. Was it all for naught, all because of this? He radios in with his team-mates. "Guys guys! I just did an EOC and now she won't start up! I need a jump! Tell me someone has a pair of jumper cables!" Radio silence. They are all in shock. Finally someone pipes in, "I've got a pair! But I'm about X miles from you right now! Give me X minutes!" Every second passes like a century. The CRX sees cars passing him, finishing the race. Will his team-mate make it? Will the car even start? Or will he be disqualified?
Finally he shows, rushing and struggling to pop the trunk. Shaking and trembling, he takes out the cables and hooks them up. "Crank the engine!" The engine does not start. "Give it two seconds! Crank it again!" The car refuses to turn, like a stubborn child. "I will sacrifice my MPG for you!" The other car revs his engine mad, burning valuable fuel. "CRANK IT!" The car... starts. "YES! GO GO GO LEAVE ME!" "I WILL NOT LET YOU GO WITHOUT ME!" "I SAID GO!" The CRX takes off, and finishes the race.
The announcer, "Ladies and gentlemen, now for the moment we've all been waiting for: the winner of the Fuel Efficiency Race and the overall team winner of this event! First off, finishing with a staggering one hundred and thirteen miles per gallon, Team Ecomodder with their Honda CRX!" Vindication. Redemption. And the overall winner of the 2012 Red Kap Event... TEAM ECOMODDER!" Many in the crowd now cheer, now believe, now understand. Some still scoff, but inside they are amazed. Team Ecomodder wins, and every member cheers. "You saved me back there." "I love you."
At the end, a few members from the street racer team comes over. "Hey, good race." They all shake hands sincerely. "Hey uh, what can I do to increase my gas mileage?" You laugh, and pat your hand on his shoulder.
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Originally Posted by Old Tele man
...also, take a look at the "air-splitters" used on race cars (NASCAR, F1, etc.), they're typically raked down and forward (like train cow-catcher), with a flat-bottomed plate at their front edge (hence, the "splitter" terminology).
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