The Fieros are coming! - And an EXP - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

EXPIOWA · 11-23-2008, 05:08 PM

I signed up last night. Although my primary hypermile car is an 87 Ford EXP I also have a Fiero SE that is beating the estimates by 14%. I keep track of my mileage at here since this it is the first forum of this type that I found. I have been averaging 28.5 mpg in the Fiero and 37.3 in the EXP. My best recorded tanks were 41.5 for the EXP and 31.978 for the Fiero.

Now the cars. The EXP has undergone a few modifications that most people will never see.

1987 Ford EXP

Before the undertray:

After:

I have just started my first full tank of gas with the new mod today. I'll post the results at the next fill-up.

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This is my 1987 Fiero SE (RACE at Pennock's Fiero Forum)
I love this car and I drive it without regard for mileage but it does well without even trying. The purpose of this car is fun. It can turn gasoline into adrenalin if driven properly.

This is roughly what the bottom of the car looks like.

This is how I intend to clean it up with undertrays.

Hopefully it will help with high crosswind stability as well. The car is so light that when the wind gusts over 40, and is perpendicular to the road, it moves around more than I would like.

Anyway hello everyone. I look forward to learning from you all.

Frank Lee · 11-23-2008, 05:16 PM

Woo Hoo- EXP! :thumbsup: I always liked them.

EXPIOWA · 11-24-2008, 11:47 PM

EXPs are good cars to drive but it is begging for a proper rear swaybar. The one from the factory is a joke. Fortunately it will only take about $200 and a few hours to fix. Hopefully I can get it done in the next six months.

Christ · 11-25-2008, 02:23 AM

I used to have an 88.5 Escort GT.. same engine/tranny as the EXP, just about 100 lbs lighter.

I loved the fact that I could get like 40mpg all day in that car, while still enjoying a light, somewhat stable platform that was decent on corners.

zemmo · 11-25-2008, 01:20 PM

Finally a Fiero Modder! I also want to do aero mods to mine. I can make a full belly pan on mine since I don't have to worry about heat. There is several things I want to try but I would like to see other people trying them as well.

I am assuming EXPIOWA that you are in Iowa. What part of Iowa? I lived there growing up until about 5 years ago.

EXPIOWA · 11-25-2008, 10:52 PM

I live in the Des Moines area.

zemmo, If you do a full belly pan make sure that you leave an area to vent radiator heat. The best aero mod would be to seal the bottom and carefully vent your hood. Too large of a hole and you will create too much turbulence. Another thing to consider with hood vents is hot radiator air will now be directed past the cabin air intake port and make your car a hotter place to sit. One of my friends with a hood vent said that it is even worse with the sunroof open.

With the Fiero's propensity to catch fire I would recommend keeping the cat and exhaust pipe open as well. The last thing you want to do is provide a place for oil to pool anywhere near the exhaust system.

Once the undertrays have been installed, I thought about removing the middle section of the under-nose air dam. [I would keep the portions outside of the blue rectangle pictured above]. Since the air dam is a functional part of the cooling system bringing air up from below into the radiator, I would add a wing under the nose in front of the radiator to feed it and provide downforce. It would also allow more air to flow under the new, smoother, bottom of the car so that it can more easily recombine with air moving over the top of the car.

I believe the net difference would be an increase in downforce and a lower total drag. I am going to have to get some instrumentation to figure out what difference it makes as far as drag goes. I'll have to wait for a 30+ mph wind day to see if it makes a difference regarding crosswind stability.

Another thing that I think might help would be a small strip along the back side of the trunk lid where it curves down to trip the air and make it separate more cleanly. It would also prevent air from back-flowing from under the car onto the decklid.

zemmo · 11-26-2008, 10:05 AM

Oh yeah, I am familiar with Des Moines. My sister-in-law lives there, so we usually end up taking a vacation up there to see the family once a year.

My Fiero is actually all electric. So I don't have any heat to worry about. I will probably use a NACA air duct to direct some air flow to my motor and controller but I don't have to worry about heat melting anything. I would actually like to take an Aero GT front end and add the extension to the bottom for a lower front and then fill in all of the holes so all of the air flow goes around the car and not through it. Another nice thing about an Electric car, I can fill in all of the holes and not have to worry about engine heat.

TyGuy · 01-30-2009, 09:19 PM

Hey exp! I love your fiero. I would like to get an aero front bumper for my bumperpad. Did you end up doing anything for the undercarriage? I was thinking about trying some of that clorplast on some spots.

zemmo · 01-30-2009, 11:32 PM

I actually have part of my belly pan on my fiero. I have the whole front end sealed up. I have yet to do the middle and back part of the pan. But I at least have a start of it.