Streamlining the Civic (2005 Civic EX coupe)

[Cd]

One thing I would black out would be the area where the mirror was.
I think it draws too much attention from the police.

[basjoos]

Originally Posted by Cd

One thing I would black out would be the area where the mirror was.
I think it draws too much attention from the police.

Unless the rest of your car is so heavily aeromodded that the police don't notice the lack of external rear view mirrors. In all of my traffic stops, the cops have never mentioned the lack of external rear view mirrors on my car (although it meets SC auto regs as long as I don't have the center rear view mirror's view blocked by cargo).

[mistergou]

looks good!

[Sven7]

Originally Posted by Cd

I was going to agree with you on this, but I think the car looks great as is.
Looks very much like the Bonneville race car.
Also, the aluminum sets off the wheels quote well.

The car looks great, though I would install a shelf spoiler to the car.
( which is just what was on that Bonneville car ! )

I feel the mirror finish is too "blingy", especially since the car is already red. The ride height and bonneville caps look great though. If mirror removal is legal in your state don't sweat it unless the aesthetics bug you. I put black electrical tape over my mirror deletes.

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by Sven7

If mirror removal is legal in your state don't sweat it unless the aesthetics bug you.

I made sure to check that before removing them...Washington (where the car is registered for now) requires a driver's exterior mirror, but Illinois (where I'm in school and where it will be registered once the tabs expire) only requires "a mirror so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of such motor vehicle." Funny this comes up now, too, as just last night I was pulled over because one of my tail lights was out--the officer noticed the mirrors, I'm sure, and didn't say anything!

[Sven7]

Awesome. I'm the opposite- they're legal where registered in MN but at college in MI they're illegal. I've been pulled over in both states and neither mentioned the mirrors (though one was at night).

It looks like you have some non-eco mods on the car, too (coils, grille, head and tail lights) so I'm wondering if you race it or if it's just for street fun. My Rabbit's got coils and I definitely didn't buy them for fuel economy!

[Vman455]

Yup--I've had fun autocrossing the car. Now I work weekends, though, and since its primary function is as a commuter I've decided to take it in a different (and more economical) direction.

I've been reading all the boattail threads I can find on here, and the idea is really growing on me (especially with those potential Cd values Aerohead posted!). I'm thinking of a 36"-38" extension past the rear bumper (~60% of template), moving the license plate and stock taillight housings to the end of the taper, and building the tail out of foam blocks and fiberglass (using 3-wheeler's method). I have to be able to see out the rear to have a legal mirror situation, so I'm thinking of using a piece of Lexan doubling as a hatch for trunk access, and removing the trunklid since it would be superfluous. This would also allow me to use the trunk edges as mounting points, in addition to a support on the bumper and perhaps in the taillight holes.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Vman455

Yup--I've had fun autocrossing the car. Now I work weekends, though, and since its primary function is as a commuter I've decided to take it in a different (and more economical) direction.

I've been reading all the boattail threads I can find on here, and the idea is really growing on me (especially with those potential Cd values Aerohead posted!). I'm thinking of a 36"-38" extension past the rear bumper (~60% of template), moving the license plate and stock taillight housings to the end of the taper, and building the tail out of foam blocks and fiberglass (using 3-wheeler's method). I have to be able to see out the rear to have a legal mirror situation, so I'm thinking of using a piece of Lexan doubling as a hatch for trunk access, and removing the trunklid since it would be superfluous. This would also allow me to use the trunk edges as mounting points, in addition to a support on the bumper and perhaps in the taillight holes.

At the 'angles' associated with the 'Template' your LEXAN might produce refraction and internal reflections significant enough to obliterate the rear view.
If you have any clear plastic laying around you might prop it against the back of the car at the anticipated angle and look through the rearview to check your rearward vision.
Should it be a problem,you can always do a small,vertical, 'step' backlight which is inset into the rear slope.It doesn't have to be very large and the recessed area around it will simply capture a vortex of which the outer flow will just skip over.Many supercars and competition race cars have used this when running proper K-Form rooflines.

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by aerohead

At the 'angles' associated with the 'Template' your LEXAN might produce refraction and internal reflections significant enough to obliterate the rear view.
If you have any clear plastic laying around you might prop it against the back of the car at the anticipated angle and look through the rearview to check your rearward vision.
Should it be a problem,you can always do a small,vertical, 'step' backlight which is inset into the rear slope.It doesn't have to be very large and the recessed area around it will simply capture a vortex of which the outer flow will just skip over.Many supercars and competition race cars have used this when running proper K-Form rooflines.

Thanks for pointing that out! I'm going to take it one step further, and tell me if I'm off base here. What would happen if I ditch the Lexan entirely and leave the rear window and trunk lid uncovered, with the tail coming up the sides to the roof and then everything past the trunklid built up to the template? Essentially, a larger cutout inset in the slope? Is there a maximum size where that will start to impact the airflow?

[MetroMPG]

Subscribed. I like that red body + sheet aluminum / stainless look.