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So I got the shell built, I am calling this version 1.0 for now. The topside looks good from a few feet away, the underside is rough as I didn’t attempt to bondo or do major sanding to the bottom. The transition from the hatch to the shell is not as smooth as I would have liked, it has a rather large step. The overall lines are aligned back to the bodywork so it is placed where it needs to be for AST tapers as if the gap did not exist. It would have been more ideal to taper this down to nothing right at the front edge of the hatch, however the way I was building this made that very difficult. If I do not get the results I expect I will probably go back and try to fill this gap in.
I haven’t run a tank with the shell on yet, just a partial tank that was half and half. My driving throughout the week is fairly consistent and mostly highway, however the weekends are short trips, different routes, more AC use with the family, etcetera. My plan for testing MPG change is to compare my commuting tanks from pre and post changes. I will fill up at the beginning and end of each week at the same pump to enable that separation. While it is not ABA, I feel it is a reasonable method for me to estimate percentage changes. (I have no time for ABA.) The weekend tanks are far to varied to give any sort of defensible indication of changes.
My mental dyno tells me the drag coefficient of the vehicle hasn’t changed drastically, however I can tell the rear end feels much more planted in turns which I attribute to reduced rear lift. Assuming this mod shows a reasonable positive change indicating it is working as designed, I will turn my attention to the underside and tire spats.
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