91' civic "project nose job"

[Quasimoto]

I plan on painting it after all the body work is done. I also plan on putting grilles inside the the openings to keep the birds from building nests inside. I've driven past numerous PO'S and their reaction is about the same as every one else. They didn't even notice my missing front plate. My neighbors asked if I was building a race car; and a guy at work wanted to know what I was planning on running into.

[euromodder]

Any effect on fuel economy so far ?

[Quasimoto]

I haven't had a chance to check it yet. I haven't really driven it for a couple of months so it's going to take me awhile to get used to driving it again. I'll be on vacation for a week, but I should have some numbers soon.

[Quasimoto]

I have a priliminary mpg figure for the "nose job". I drove 100.1 miles and used 2.195 gallons for 45.6 MPG at 55mph. But that should even get better when I fix my rear bumper; which catches a lot of air, as you can see. I also included some pics of the progress I'm making on the bodywork.

[Quasimoto]

Boy those pics really came across bad. I used a different program for redusing the image size. I won't do that again.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Quasimoto

I have a priliminary mpg figure for the "nose job". I drove 100.1 miles and used 2.195 gallons for 45.6 MPG at 55mph. But that should even get better when I fix my rear bumper; which catches a lot of air, as you can see. I also included some pics of the progress I'm making on the bodywork.

Is that a disappointing figure? Sorry if it is. What was the baseline? What was stock? Most of the guys here seem convinced that the front end changes can be a benefit, but a smaller one. While all agree the tail-end changes are where the big reductions are. I'm into shaving bits of weight/aero/drivetrain stuff in modest and multiple ways, until it's a different car. I think that once it is painted you have an awesome radical look, which is fun. There might be ways to squeeze more from your nose job too: how about a plexiglass fairing from the nose to the stock hood, reducing the angle of the headlight region?

EDIT: 100 miles and 2 gallons leaves a lot of room for pump errors. I would try again, using the exact same pump for fillups, emptying the tank as much as possible, and then refilling on the slowest pump speed, stopping on the first click. Over ten gallons and using the same pump, any irregularities are reduced.

[Quasimoto]

I wasn't completely disappointed with the results, as I said they were just priliminary. I still have a couple of things to do also. The original mpg estimates for a '91 civid dx automatic was 26mpg. The best previous tank I had was 43.2mpg. Most of my mpg log was from the winter since I just bought the civic in the fall of last year. I'll give the plexi fairing some thought for the future.

[Cd]

With all due respect, what is the purpose of your extended bumper ?

You will see much better F.E. results at the back of the vehicle with a Kammback or boattail.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Cd

With all due respect, what is the purpose of your extended bumper ?

You will see much better F.E. results at the back of the vehicle with a Kammback or boattail.

I'm sure its purpose is to improve FE. I completely agree with you that the biggest gains are in the back. I have learned that on this forum since January. But plenty of "aero" projects for speed and efficiency have included front-end modifications, right? Any mostly flat close to vertical surfaces on the front end of the car are in some sense a problem. To me, that's what this nose-job thing is about. Didn't the "aerocivic" project of basjoos include a front-end fairing?



I think adapting to a bit more of the aerocivic design and then building a rear fairing of some sort, and wheel wells, looks like a good combo for quasimoto.

Cheers,
j

[Quasimoto]

CD, It seemed like the logical place to start my modding. I realize that their are much better gains to be made buy modding the backdoor. I will eventually get to that, along with a belly pan, wheel spats, fender skirts, and last but not least a boattail. But you have to start somewhere. I figured that if I wanted to reduce the amount of air going under the hood; i might as well try to move the remaining air over and under the car as efficiently as possible. As California pointed out that's what aerocivic did so I thought I'ld try it too. I think it's fun doing this sort of thing, so I do it.