1984 Toyota Celica Gts
 

Hi guys been lurking for a while and decided to join. I picked up a Celica last week and want to do some areo mods to help with fuel economy but also improve looks.
This will be my log of what works for this particular car and what doesn't. 1st on the list is some form of front air dam. 2nd will be a home brew rear spoiler or louvers to keep the rear window clean. Possibly after that some side skirts.
Epa rates this car 22 / 26 mpg. My goal is 30 / 34. Some engine mods will happen as I like to actually hear the exhaust note, and some ram air might happen. Before I can do any mods thoughi need to get it running properly. The previous owner said the distributer was off a tooth on the cam.:(

Coupe or hatchback? Or one of the rare 250 convertibles? 5 speed or automatic? ;)

I still have my 1985 convertible 5-speed...and I believe the convertible is heavier than the hatchback. I easily hit 30mpg while on the highway...and 25mpg in city. Best I ever got in that was 36mpg without doing any aero mods. Top was up and I set the cruise fer 65mph...traveling from El Paso to San Antonio. :D

Hatch back looks similar to a supra of the same year. 5spd model

Here are a couple of pics of what I am starting with.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...-00-22_306.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...-00-08_112.jpg

This won't help aero but... just do it ok? :D

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/6...a0cd8d59_o.jpg

I dont know it might turn into that! It looks pretty areo cept for the rims.

Found this today. I know its not a celica but from what I have seen and read the celica is the same from the windshield back. I was hoping somebody could overlay this pic on the areo template for me, my computer is down and I am unemployed. Thanks for your help guys!

The-Blueprints.com - Blueprints > Cars > Toyota > Toyota Celica Supra 2.8 GT Twin-Cam (1982)

Help! I found the overall height of my Celica as 51" measured width@ 60",
So multiplying 60x51x.81 I get 17.2 sq ft. that just doesnt sound right considering a prius is 6 sq ft.

OK, then park it somewhere and walk a long ways off and take a telephoto picture of it from directly in front. Lay a 12-inch ruler across the windshield or somewhere else it is visible in the picture without getting foreshortened.

Then you can use that 12-inch length in Photoshop (or Paint or the GIMP or whatever) to create a grid so you can estimate the frontal area.

Or find some line-drawn blueprints on the web and measure them.

-soD

Print the front picture out and do it manually :thumbup:

60"/12=5'. So, start with the width, and make 10 or 20 equally sized boxes (which will be 6 or 3 inches in scale, respectively). Measure these and make an equal vertical grid as well. You should end up with equally sized squares. If the majority of a square is inside the car, color it in. If the majority is outside, leave it. Count all the colored boxes and you'll have a rough approximation of the frontal area. (That will be easier if you don't have Photoshop or don't want to learn GIMP)

Here's your template :)

http://i39.tinypic.com/dbqjjp.jpg

Sven7 love your Probe. I got an idea here is the pic
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...r56/Celica.jpg


The car looks to be 19-20 sq ft not including the mirrors.

All the crap in front of the car is what I have pulled out of it so far. A little more to come.

The tape on the grill had no effect on the temp the car runs, so I added another strip to block the lowest slot. Once hotter weather hits I will see about making a new grill.

How about this. I mounted the front license plate in the stock location, and started driving through town. The temp gauge started climbing, so I pulled over and pulled my front plate off drove a little further and the temp started falling again. Guess I am running at the limit of my cooling system.

That 6 figure you are quoting for the prius is the Cda. That is the area times the CD.
It will have similar frontal area as your Celica.

That helps alot.

I have to find another mounting location for the plate.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...-43-55_441.jpg


As it sits in this location it blocks half of the air flow to the radiator. You can barely see them in the shadow but there are vertical supports there, 4 slots for air to the radiator and 2 for nothing.

Install yer plate where the grill is... ;)

You might also want to repair/replace the right turn signal housing... :D

Quite right, good idea.
Turn signal housing will be replaced when I get some funds.

Something is missing.
3 screws and snip for the wire off comes the broken ...... A little tape for the holes and
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...2012192405.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...-22-03_178.jpg

I added an air dam today.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...2712143459.jpg

Well, thanks!

The grille looks really cool- like something the designers would have done back in the day. Have you thought about splicing together several junk headlight covers to make it look even more OE?

The spoiler looks pretty cool. Is there a reason for omitting the center section?

I didnt have quite enough to go all the way around.
Oe grill still on just taped up.

I mean, remove the grille and fill the space with extra headlight covers so it looks like one sleek surface across the entire width.

(Purely aesthetic, but I do like OE-looking stuff!)

I will eventualy replace the pop up headlights with clear polycarb and aftermarket fog/driving lights, incorperated into the grill all one piece.

After driving with this airdam I dont scrape at all. Stiff sportscar suspension helps I am sure. The airdam clears parking curbs by a 1/4 inch or so.

Figured I would update this thread, new airdam...
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...0-18-03_84.jpg

This is what I would like to discuss.
When driving on my trip to Boise I saw 2 opposing vortices off the back window, paralell to the ground, meeting in the center of the window.
Should I be concerned, Ie try to control them or just let it go.:D
I want to add a bonneville type spoiler to the rear, about 9-10" long straight off the rear angle, let me know what you guys think.

Side profile, at a distance zoomed in.:D and flipped l to r. The rear is a bit higher now that everything is out of the back.
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...3112142423.jpg

Looking very nice there. I'd try that spoiler just because it is very simple to do. Not much pain, maybe a little gain?

Your car's looking great! Once I've hit a nice consistent average by changing my driving, I'm going to start the modfest.

My computer is not online but I can connect my phone as a camera to it thus downloading my pics onto it and paint. This is what I came up with, it looks like crap but you get the idea:D http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...3112152808.jpg
Anyone feel free to do something similar, photoshop ect to the original. I wouldent mind seeing some other ideas too. http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...3112142423.jpg

Prototype mk1 rear wing, just flat coroplast. 2 pieces not perfectly square haha. 4'aluminum channel for support. Going to be duct taped on soon.
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...-03-10_869.jpg

Well she has a rear wing, I havent done any testing yet. We will see what happens.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...0112165052.jpg

I put some sides on the rear wing today.Total length off the rear deck 6"
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...-37-21_552.jpg http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...0212174119.jpg
Your input and suggestions are welcome

I was driving home from my inlaws Sunday eve into a 10-15 mph headwind, doing 63 mph, being dusk I turned my headlights on. What a mistake! The car imediatly slowed down 5 mph, with the same throttle position. So off they went.
Story lesson pop up headlights suck the aero right out of a car.

Put some wool tufts on the back glass as well as yer new spoiler. Drive and have someone else shoot the results from another car. Make sure they aren't too close... ;)

BTW...looks like yer left rear rim is bent? You might want to git another one... ;)

Will do with the tuft testing.
The rim holds air and when I get a job I am planning on buying some light weight 15" rims.

Driving home from town yesterday the wind was really strong(20 mph) or so. Doing my regular 63 into that headwind I heard the rear spoiler start flapping:mad: no damage but I have to figure out a way to secure it a bit better than duct tape.

Best combined tank of 27.5 mpg. The wing isn't hurting anything but I dont really know how much it is helping. The weather has been cool wet and windy:(

I pulled the rear wing off the car today, and there is a noticeable increse in drag when coasting. That being said I will be making a new permanant rear wing.

Would one of you guys do me a favor and scale out this picture to give me a length from the back of the car to meet the template?
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...3112142423.jpg