Accord aero mods, 4.25% increase, more to come

[Istas]

If they work, they work. And if you're not happy with them, don't feel bad; do it again the way you want to.

[David Philips]

I understand part of your testing process but your mods look very time consuming to install and remove with many fasteners, etc. How was this done for ABA.

Where I live we have real winters but we also have 90 degree days in summer and use the AC a lot. We'll be interested to hear if you have to remove some of the blockage for hot summer days. Years ago I owned a 3cyl Saab that had a window shade device in front of the radiator.

[Istas]

Originally Posted by David Philips

I understand part of your testing process but your mods look very time consuming to install and remove with many fasteners, etc. How was this done for ABA.

It is quite time-consuming, you are correct, and is the reason for the 25-30 minute gap going from stock runs to modded, and 12 minute gap going from modded to stock. 61 sheet metal screws for the grill blocks and airdam/undertray, if my count's accurate. It was the first way I came up with for cheap and simple, and repeatably removable, unfortunately I sacrificed ease/speed for that. Not an issue in regular use as I only need to remove them for oil changes or tire issues.

For the testing I brought along a cordless drill with a flathead screwdriver bit that it came with, and a freshly charged spare battery. Otherwise the removal/attachment would have taken much longer.

Where I live we have real winters but we also have 90 degree days in summer and use the AC a lot. We'll be interested to hear if you have to remove some of the blockage for hot summer days. Years ago I owned a 3cyl Saab that had a window shade device in front of the radiator.

I'm very interested to know this as well! Temps here range from -40 in winter to mid 90s in summer; 40 degree swing from low to high is common in the summer. I plan either on leaving the opening as it is until we get to the hottest days, or making louvers that are adjustable from inside the car so I can keep it optimum at all times (possibly with a second one for the AC side). Inspired by The donkey CRX in this post http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post421965 and others in similar projects. I'll be sure to keep up-to-date info on this post. Was the Saab's window shade device stock? I hear some modern cars now have auto-adjusting grill blocks as standard features.


Finished the driver side rear skirt last night, went to aero test them this morning but got too discouraged by winds and traffic. Got a better picture, at least.

[Cobb]

I have all but a 4x4 inch hole in my grill on my insight and it does well year round up to 100 degrees with ac use. When it goes above 100 degrees I remove half the lower blockage or another 4x4 inch square so the ac stays cool as it will get.

In the off season outside winter I run a full block.

[Istas]

Thanks for the reference numbers, Cobb! My Accord probably produces a good bit more waste heat than a second-gen Insight, but even still those numbers (and what the Scangauge has been reporting) suggest I could block off even more.

Hopefully I'll get an in-car-adjustable louver thing set up on the intake so I can get exactly the cooling I need, year-round. Double-hopefully I'll only need one on the driver side.

[Cobb]

I use a bottle of water wetter too and it helps. Use of ac keeps everything around 184. No use of ac and it goes to like 195 or so.

I set ac for recycle, lo temp setting and lowest blower speed. I vary blower speed for more or less cooling. I also close the passenger side vents when its me and just use the drivers ones.

I had a slidable block I zipped to the grill. I close it in the morning, then open it for the afternoon drive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pRT7dejJs8

[Istas]

Nice setup. Though I think the cold-air intake might be reducing your efficiency.

[Cobb]

I lost some mpg, but the foot likes pushing the go petal to the floor.

I babyed the car the other day on my old commute and managed 62 mpg.

Originally Posted by Istas

Nice setup. Though I think the cold-air intake might be reducing your efficiency.

[accord_minded]

I have the same car, but for 2004 and will be doing similar modifications, so thanks for the details on your modifications...will definitely be useful to me.

I was planning to install tightly fitted upper grill blocks deep inside the plastic front piece that has the emblem. So no air will get through, but there will be a recessed part of the upper grill instead of smooth sheet metal all the way across. Anyone think that will make any significant difference?

[Istas]

It will make some difference, yes. Significant, depends on your definition of 'significant'. It won't be huge, but aeromodding is all about adding up little changes. So it really comes down to your preferences/priorities.

And I'm glad I could be of help.

A few more mods: Larger OD tires (205/70R16's instead of stock 205/60R16's, front only for now), smooth wheel covers (corrugated plastic with zip ties), and running board skirts (corrugated plastic and slotted hex washer head sheet metal screws; the running boards are wonderfully plastic).