Aeromodding my 2003 "Classic" NHW11 Prius.

[orange4boy]

Back from a 2200 mile road trip to California. Whew! We decided to drive non -stop from a friend's place in Seattle to San Rafael in one day. Good weather and clear mountain passes allowed us to make it in about 18 1/2 hours.

We had to stop in Cedar Grove Oregon to fix a slow leak that was getting fast. The tire was rubbing on the cap and making noises because of the sidewall bulge at the lower pressure. It made a small groove in the sidewall which was no big deal because we were going to replace those tires soon anyhow. We found a Les Schwab who repaired it for free in 45 minutes and we were on our way. I had to remove the caps for them and we decided to keep them off for the rest of the trip because they only inflated the tires to 35 PSI and we didn't have time to fool around with finding air and putting them back on.

It would be better if the caps had a flat edge or a rubber strip on them where they meet the sidewall so this would not happen again if a slow leak occurred.

Otherwise, they worked flawlessly. I will be thinking of a way to solve the edge issue. Any ideas?

We just got a new set of LRR Nokian WR G2 185/65 R14s and I want to make sure that does not happen again.

[Christ]

Mounting points - make them flexible. If the tire softens, it can push the pan away from the hard mounting points, giving you more time to react before it starts grooving the tire sidewall.

For instance, you could mount the plate on springs instead of standoffs holding it away from the wheel, so that when you put pressure against one side, it would collapse the spring on the other side.

[orange4boy]

I thought about some kind of springs. Perhaps leave the bolts proud and have some wavy washers or springs so it can push off if contact is made. Your idea is a bit more steathy but the leverage effect would require lighter springs. I just wish it were easy to put a lip on them or bend out a lip.

I also thought of using some neoprene weather stripping which would seal the gap and create some padding there in case of deflections but I doubt the adhesive would last. Cheap to try though. It would allow a larger gap too without sacrificing aero.

I just thought of a possible way of slightly flattening/flaring them which may or may not work. They are a bit "deep" and may add to the frontal area. They could be sandwiched and compressed evenly. They might buckle though. Hmmm.

[Christ]

Frankly, you could also just lubricate them. The groove is from friction, so lubrication would help prevent the friction-created groove when your tire gets low. Of course, keeping your tires inflated is the best option. :P

Beeswax or some other solid wax-like lubricant would likely be best.

[orange4boy]

Mounting details. The machine screws are threaded and torqued into the rims and the discs are held out with ny-lock nuts so they can spin while screwing them on to the rims. A lot simpler than spacers. To do the spring idea the nuts just have to be turned back a bit to leave space.

Frankly, you could also just lubricate them. The groove is from friction, so lubrication would help prevent the friction-created groove when your tire gets low. Of course, keeping your tires inflated is the best option. :P

Beeswax or some other solid wax-like lubricant would likely be best.

That would help a bit but the angle they hit the tire is steeper than it looks. That's why I'd love to be able to flare them a bit, then the lube would really work. I wonder if armour-all is slippery enough.

[Christ]

The Nylon Locking Nuts wouldn't even need to be there, if you used springs, unless you wanted a "stop" point in order to prevent the pan from buckling.

One possible scenario is that the tire is so flat that it pushes the pan until it contacts the rim... just before this point, you may want a "stop" that prevents this from happening in favor of just letting the pan contact the rim... if your tire's gone that flat while driving, it may not be salvageable anyway, you know?

Of course, with nearly 1.75 inches of overlap from the pan to the rim, a truly flat tire will have the pans riding on the road, possibly cutting the tire anyway.

[MetroMPG]

Another awesome Prius-modding thread. Subscribed. You're a man possessed!

[orange4boy]

You're a man possessed!

Yeah... by the way is there a support group for the husbands & wives of ecomooders?

First thread: My husband has a "battery problem"

She jokes that PRIUS is to me like SQUIRREL is to the dogs in UP!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBWrMQVsuak

P.S. That really works on dogs. Hee Hee.

[orange4boy]

In continuation of the madness, I have just put on a 4" air dam on the Prius. I only had some "vertical grain" coroplast. I used some stainless brackets I got at the restore. I hate drilling stainless!

First test drive was promising. The butt meter felt an improvement but there were some strange whistling sounds coming from the dam. I was trying to think whether I left something hanging from the car that would whistle like that but then I realized that I had just created a giant pan flute under the car. Ha Ha! The sound generator that hybrids will need in the future!

It goes straight across for now but when I get more coroplast, I will make the sides lower and the centre higher.

The Prius has been starting to approach the Previa in coastdown performance. Hopefully this will take the Prius into the lead.

I'm way behind on my photo documentation. Bad Ecomodder.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by orange4boy

In continuation of the madness, I have just put on a 4" air dam on the Prius. I only had some "vertical grain" coroplast. I used some stainless brackets I got at the restore. I hate drilling stainless!

First test drive was promising. The butt meter felt an improvement but there were some strange whistling sounds coming from the dam. I was trying to think whether I left something hanging from the car that would whistle like that but then I realized that I had just created a giant pan flute under the car. Ha Ha! The sound generator that hybrids will need in the future!

It goes straight across for now but when I get more coroplast, I will make the sides lower and the centre higher.

Get some white glue and a long, thin tube/syringe, and tune that puppy to a decently low frequency!

Then, you'll have BASS!