Originally Posted by Fat Charlie
Actually, most of what happens here is speculation. Educated guesses, really.
Based on what I read here, I inflated my tires to max sidewall, and observed less speed lost in coasts and an increase in both short and long trip mpg. I could have ABA-ed it, I could have tried to eliminate variables to find exactly what improvement I was getting and studied the effects of even higher tire pressures, or I could have done what I did- accepted that it improved things and stuck with it.
A year after I got my current car, I put in a grille block. Again, based on reading here that it generally improved things. I found a greater amount of speed retained in coastdowns and come the next winter the increase in cabin heat allowed me to take my gloves off after 10 miles (down from 20) and my hat off after 20 miles instead of still having it on at the end (over 40).
Hardly science. Maybe more science than current public health policies employ, in that my actions were informed by science, but still not sctually scientific. And that's okay. It was actually a crappy grille block, stealthy, yes, but held in place with a couple wires and some duct tape. It came partly loose after it punched through its first snowbank, losing some of its aero benefit but probably enhancing its thermal benefit by being against the radiator. Don't know, don't care. The aero was still better than stock and the coolant temp never got higher than I was comfortable with, even in traffic in August.
Since I don't have a wind tunnel or a budget, I'm not going to do the legwork to tell the world exactly what needs to be done to a 2nd gen Honda Fit to improve its aerodynamics the most. Because no one cares- The 4th gen is already out. And that's where we here at Ecomodder are at: we've all got the cars we have, for whatever reasons. We're all looking for ways to get the most out of them, and unless someone has the exact same vehicle and has done extensive, actual scientific research on it, all anyone here has to offer are generalities. They're ugly, but they're still helpful.
I've maintained that the best ecomod, even more than the nut behind the wheel, is vehicle choice- but we all have needs and restrictions. I consider myself lucky that my circumstances let me buy a relatively fuel efficient vehicle that met my needs. I would have come across it in my search, but kudos to PaleMelanesian for showing the Fit's capabilities. Thanks to him it was already on my list when the time came to get a new car.
But arguing over aerodynamic ideals, while interesting and educational to laymen, are totally irrelevant to people who already own cars. My grille block could have been better. Someone else's boattail could have had a more ideal angle. But my grille block helped me, and an imperfect boattail is better than my stock hatchback. And that's what Ecomodder is about.
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