Air dam worth the effort
 

Hi there, I am wondering how much improvement I will see if I were to do the old lawn edging air dam install under the front of my bumper and skirts along the sides of my 2007 Kia Rondo.
I travel 15-20 min each way to work in a 80 kph zone...and occasional local errands.
I would just be adding to and extending the current 2” lip on the front.
Unless it’s a noticeable difference I really don’t want to tackle it.
Thanks

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1538695701

If you're looking for guarantees you're in the wrong place. The effect is always unknown. However, usually an air dam is very simple to install, and their gains are usually pretty good. Our wiki page shows an average of almost 5% increase in fuel economy.

https://ecomodder.com/wiki/Front_air_dam

Perhaps I will get my Scangauge first...run some baselines then do the airdam project.
Thnx

If you actually keep to 80 kph the air dam effects would be less than if you were doing say 120 or so.
But with gas over $4 a gallon it's probably worth it.

How's the snow there?

Ever consider a block heater to reduce or eliminate warm ups?

I usually drive at 90 kph so not to upset everybody behind me.:thumbup:
I do have a block heater that I plan to use this winter.
No snow here yet just outside of Toronto. Likely another month than anything goes.
That being said I will be putting my snow tires on at the end of October...there's another strike against me. :(

As it gets colder maybe start with a partial grill block.
Just remember to identify the transmission if you have one and not cover it up.

Yes good idea.
The lower opening of the front of car is for the tranny....major overkill IMO considering the size of tranny cooling rad.

Others have reported that an airdam didn't improve MPG but did improve stability in buffeting crosswinds, like passing or meeting a truck.

The air dam was among my top three mods for fuel economy, along with increased tire pressure and HX wheel swap.

It would be fairly safe to say that an airdam would improve the fuel economy of an average vehicle by 2%-6%. Results will vary from vehicle to vehicle. Generally speaking, the smoother the underbody of a car is, the smaller the effect from an air dam. If your underbody is completely smooth, an air dam may actually hurt your fuel economy.

If I could get a 6% improvement I’d be very happy.
The underneath of my Rondo is an aerodynamic nightmare IMO.
I will do the lawn edging mod once I set my Scangauge to set an accurate baseline.😉👍
Just need to figure out how to fasten the side skirts....was actually thinking of using the industrial strength Velcro

I don't drive fast enough to see a tank to tank difference, but the three I've done made a massive difference to underbody noise and a noticable difference to coasting performance.

I doubt that an air damn will benefit you much, since you have medium-short trips. If your commute was 1 hr highway each way, then it would be fully worth-while.
Also in Ontario you have to keep the snow in mind, unless you plan on becoming a part-time snow plow. :D

I think the grille block would be more beneficial for your medium-short trips, especially in our climate, since it allows for quick engine warm-ups.

I did my grille block with pipe insulation. A 6 ft piece was a couple bucks (CAD) and it was enough for my car.
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-a...-152502648.jpg
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-a...527311-hdr.jpg
I tend to keep it on from mid-Nov til April and I can easily remove it during long highway trips if I notice the engine warming up too much.
In my Fit it's simply stuck inside the grille openings (making sure not to touch the radiator), without needing any glue, tape or zip-ties. It holds there just fine even at 120km/hr or during car-washes.

thanks for all the input guys. If I can find a good deal on the better quality lawn edging I will likely try it anyways. Thinking it might look pretty cool in the end anyway.
Not too concerned about snow pushing.
I believe this will be an ongoing subject....more to follow

wondering
 

Hyundai/KIA have a world-class,full-scale wind tunnel,and the Rondo has already been through optimization testing.
If I had to guess,I'd venture that there's very little you could do to improve on what they've already done.

"If your underbody is completely smooth, an air dam may actually hurt your fuel economy."

For some time now I've been pondering lawn-edge air dam vs. belly pan for my Sonoma. The truck already has the factory "sport" lower bumper extension, and is lowered 3" front and 4" rear.

I already own a length of stiff edging with a drop of about 5", which would leave about 3" of ground clearance at the front and a bit more than that from the front wheels aft.

For the belly pan alternative, the elections are over, so coroplast is available by the acre, and I have a small roll of aluminum gutter forming flat that can be used in places where the coroplast isn't ideal.

The truck already gets better than 32mpg highway, and gets used on rough dirt roads when we go camping.

Which way should I go? Opinions are very welcome!

I say if you have always wanted to do a belly pan, then now is the time.

If not, go the least amount of work path.

I forget where I saw it, but someone in the forum had some niffy ideas on easily removed panels, I think they slid into rails and were only secured front and back.

Maybe it was a double "L" stacked or a channel of some kind running along each side. In either case it saved putting a lot of holes in the car, and servicing was a breeze.

Stance it. 1 1/2" of clearance should be enough, the factory optimized it for normies. :)

Remember that your pounds of drag is determined by frontal area x coefficient of drag; you don't want to go too low with the front air dam and add frontal area. You can go as you dare with the side skirts as they don't add much if any frontal area.
Anything you can do to reduce the "parachute function" of the underside of the bumper area with undertray work there is a bonus.

Have the side skirts dive inward behind the front wheels. Lowering doesn't add frontal area and reduces the volume of air under the car. Do you drive on gravel roads?