Well, I picked up a set of 2nd-hand bumpers (front and rear) for my 1997 Civic CXi hatch (I believe this is the Australian equivalent of the US Civic CX hatch, but with a 1.6L SOHC non-VTEC engine & power steering). So I can go mad with bumper mods and still have a mint car while working on it
So, I'm planning to do a 'neat' bumper mod, which will involve a full lower grille block and air dam of some description, with a bit of fine tuning before getting out the plastic welder and putty. As far as starting points go though, I have a couple of options for fabrication, possibly incorporating commercially available 'lips' in the construction. Most of what I've seen on this site and others falls into the category of 'simple grille block' or 'straight air dam', but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with or input on the other options, either on this particular model of car, or in general.
All of the options obviously lower the stagnation point by varying amounts, but will have different effects on under-body airflow. And of course there's the option of having either a front under-body pan connected to the edge of the air dam, or a diffuser (actually there are a few options there). I'm aware splitters are generally used for downforce, but *can* also have a beneficial effect on drag - I think my favourite aesthetically is the angled lip (c), but drag is the main concern of course.
Other restrictions:
- Minimum road clearance for body work (unladen) is 10cm (4 inches) here, and I'd like to leave open the option to lower the car slightly, so the new air dam should only extend downwards maybe 7-8 cm (3 inches) from the existing height.
Disclaimers:
- Car is currently un-instrumented, I have an MPGuino which will be installed before I start adding aero mods (NB: Australian civics didn't get OBD until many years after the US models did).
- Yes, I'm aware that a kammback will probably yield larger results, and I am planning on doing that, but that's for another thread...
- Things are pretty busy at the moment, I won't be starting on fabrication for a little while
