19bonestock88's 2004 Saturn "Ion Green Line" build...

[19bonestock88]

So I’ve noticed my coasting distances have gotten massively better for some reason. I’m not sure if its the 60psi in the tires or the vortex generators but I’ve had to re-calibrate my coast points after having had a roadside chat with a cop... apparently, not only did my car build more speed than usual during a downhill coast, but I had also forgotten what the speed limit was through that section of road... 56 in a 40... somehow I did talk myself into a verbal warning but it should be stated: all the fuel saved by EOC downhill won’t pay for a ticket if you get caught speeding lol

[19bonestock88]

So apparently I’m also now having trouble with my exhaust system? I’ve been having a terrible intermittent rattle, which has been accompanied with an intermittent funny smell at the tailpipe and an intermittent loss of power. My thought is that something, being pieces of the cat core, or a loose muffler baffle, is loose in my exhaust system and causing these symptoms. I’ve no real way of knowing, so I’m gonna “fix” the whole thing... new muffler, new resonator, new downpipe, and possibly a new manifold...

[2000mc]

I’ve seen a few ions / cobalts rattling their exhaust due to a bad flex pipe. If it is, you might be getting an exhaust leak there too.
If the problem is the flex pipe, it may have been taken out by bad motor mounts.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Any codes being thrown? Maybe something in the catalytic that is clogging it up every now and then?

[19bonestock88]

Car is throwing an 0420 code, you know, “catalyst efficiency below threshold”... it runs in closed loop though and over 95% of the time runs totally fine

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

Car is throwing an 0420 code, you know, “catalyst efficiency below threshold”... it runs in closed loop though and over 95% of the time runs totally fine

If it's P0420 then replacing the other piping won't fix it; it needs a replacement catalytic. You could probably try cleaning it too. RockAuto has good prices on aftermarket catalytics, or you could just straight pipe it with an O2 fooler.

[19bonestock88]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

If it's P0420 then replacing the other piping won't fix it; it needs a replacement catalytic. You could probably try cleaning it too. RockAuto has good prices on aftermarket catalytics, or you could just straight pipe it with an O2 fooler.

WV doesn’t do any emissions testing, and part of the build involves increasing power to make better pulse/glide length ratio, so I planned on a cat delete and upgraded exhaust... in addition, I can have the exhaust guy take special care to tuck the pipe up tight to the underbody and my new muffler is flatter than the stock one, so I should be able to make a nicer rear diffuser without having to cut out around part of the muffler...

[19bonestock88]

I’m getting serious again, guys... in the prototyping phase for new wheel skirts and some air separation plates (sharpens the corner of the rear bumper) to boost mileage some... still gotta fabricate mounts for all this stuff but I’m getting there...

[mpg_numbers_guy]

I like! Any issues with the skirts rubbing?

You might be able to incorporate rear wheel boattailling to combine the wheel skirts and air separation plates for even better aero - similar to what MetroMPG showed a picture of on his Miata:



https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...ata-35644.html

[19bonestock88]

No issues with either rubbing or with it flopping about in the middle, it seems fairly solid up to approximately 72mph (EOC downhill)... no plans on combining wheel skirt, wheel pant and air separation plate, as I don’t have pieces of coroplast big enough to construct the pieces like I’d like them to be... I wanted the flutes to run along the length of the skirt instead of along the height so as to avoid needing a metal bracing strip along the bottom... I did achieve my goal there...

I also did some testing and it appears that my coasting speeds have improved from the skirts and plates, on the long *extremely slight* downhill I measure coasting speed on, I hit a high of 47 or 48mph... was going fast enough I actually scrubbed speed in the little turn in the middle of the run and ended at the same 46mph that I hit beforehand... this thing is coasting *extremely* well