Hi everyone, name's Brian. I've been lurking around forever taking inspiration for aerodynamic mods and am slowly working towards getting my Mazda3 Skyactiv to break 40mpg. Now before you give me the
look (as the EPA rating is 39mpg already), please let me explain:
My car lives a dual life as a track/canyon rat and fuel-sipping daily driver, so to catch Evos and M3's (and once a GT-R too) I'm running on 285/30/18 Bridgestone RE-11's. It's not your usual patient and I'm aware that I've already done a number on the car's stock fuel economy.
That said, after the most recent round of aero mods (large front splitter + half-undertray, full rear diffuser) I noticed that the fuel economy has taken a substantial leap back towards stock EPA numbers, reading 37mpg on a long, flat, straight stretch of highway (off the onboard computer, which hasn't been more than +/-1mpg off the mark in the past). I've been given hope that completing the car's underfloor and cleaning up the hatch/D-pillar airflow should get me closer to the magic 40, so here I am! Just need to get a proper data logging setup to prep up a more scientific mpg test than "check after one week" in the coming year.
Pleased to meet you all!