Hey Guys,
Well, at 26,000 miles and counting, I have begun the aero mods. About a month ago I fabricated Lexan wheel covers. However, I took them off temporarily to get a decent baseline of summertime mileage in completely stock form. Yesterday I fabricated a center grille block and reinstalled the wheel discs.
The grille is made from 1/8 inch black G10 Garolite (epoxiglass). Since I am modding a brand new $30K car, I wanted to make the mods look as good as possible. However, UV resistant carbon fiber was too costly. So, this is a good compromise.
I have a total of 4 hours of work in the grille, including the facia removal and reinstallation. This was needed because the stock grille clip tabs are released from the backside of the facia.
I have only done a small amount of driving with these mods so far. But, it looks like around 2mpg improvement so far on the highway and about half that in the mixed driving I do day to day. I consistently see 56 to 57mpg in stock trim. My driving area does not vary much. So, after a tank or two (couple weeks of driving), I will have a very good idea of my mixed driving mpg improvement. Also, we are going on an interstate trip this week. That will give me a very good idea of the highway mileage increase.
The remaining mods I have planned are;
#1 The upper and lower grilles, modded the same way this grille is modded.
#2 Three inch dropped chin/dam to match the lowest part of the car.
#3 Rear belly pan. (The car's stock belly pan stops before the rear wheels.)
I have a couple other things I want to do as well. But, again, this is a brand new car. I want to keep it looking nice. Besides, even though this is my work car, I still have to maintain a high "Wife Acceptance Factor".
I hope to see 5mpg improvment with all mods combined. That should be doable. Heck, the blocking the 3 grilles, alone, should net at least half that.
Matt