Another Massive Cardboard Air Dam!
 

I felt inspired by MetroMPG's post "Massive air dam on '98 Geo Metro (Firefly)" So I got out the piece of cardboard I use to lay down on when I'm working under my car and sacrificed it for the good of science! I had so much fun while making this! You guys and your experiments remind me what life is all about, it's about having fun! Even if my numbers hadn't gone up as a result of this experiment, it would still have been worth it because I was giggling to myself the whole time I was making it :-D But it did seem to create a pretty decent increase in the numbers I was seeing on the gauge today. After work a young kid (about high school age) was parked across from me at the post office. He was driving a sporty looking Impreza and gave me the cool backwards peace sign out his window when he saw my cardboard air dam! What a riot!

I was thinking I would like to make something permanent like this for my car out of better materials...Heck, if I made it strong enough I could use it as a snow plow this winter! hahahaha!!!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...3&d=1511912365

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...4&d=1511912377

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...5&d=1511912389

Awesome!

That's quite the cow-catcher you've got there! :D

And I agree: aside from a boat tail, a massive air dam is the single mod that seems to get the most attention ... in particular from the fartcan muffler guys. I've seen people stop in the middle of the road and gawk at it.

Hope your numbers work out!

Lol, snow plow. :p

Yeah, i'm not quite at gawk-level with my mods yet thankfully. Probably means i'm not trying hard enough. :cool:

Why don't you add yourself to the ecomodder user map? We can always use more active(non-vegetative, anyway) members to populate the map! Link in my signature.

Welcome to the club!

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u...5.jpg~original

Dang, how many miles on that T-100?

Nice i like it. I appreciate the "layed back" approach you took :thumbup:

Have you considered adding (testing) a small "splitter" on each side too lessen the air going under the car, hitting the tires?

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...6&d=1511917133

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...7&d=1511917148

Awesome!

Gasoline Fumes promoted the idea of using a splitter as well, and his numbers are fantastic. But, I haven't yet decided exactly how I want to build a more permanent air dam. I got a piece of 1/2"x12" AZEK plastic wood from home depot the other day to use as a splitter. It's pretty lightweight and very weather resistant. I was just feeling restless and wanted to see some immediate results when I got out the cardboard. I think I could go for a nascar look, real low to the ground but I don't think it will work that well here in Norther Michigan. The snow gets deep here.

After about 5 miles on unplowed roads:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1511920867

OMG!:eek:

****, maybe throwing away the windshield wipers was a bit hasty...

If I put off building an air dam till spring I could work on a belly pan instead and increase my winter fuel economy by using the car as a sled.

That's what I've found. The wipers are largely out of the windstream already and Rain-X doesn't cut it, so I keep 'em. Mirrors are gone though.


Works well for me. :D

Nice removeable grill block. ;)

I think it was close to 300,000 miles before the wife decided to drown the engine with water. My current T-100 is almost ready to click over to 500,000 miles! ;)

Jack,

One option for a more permanent air dam is conveyor belt. It is available used off ebay or other surplus sites. Several members here including me have used it.

Basically you would attach it firmly at the top (i.e. where your duct tape is now) and let the lower end hang free. A solid attachment at the top (i.e. small bolts with backing) and curvature across the front will keep the bottom end stable for wind loads, but if you hit an obstacle it would just deflect and bounce back.

I like the cardboard creation, the slight deflection up angle is nice.

Adding a splitter in a second step or phase would be nice, and it might even add strength is done right.

One material for consideration is thin PVC sheets, I think my sample is somewhat cellular and has some weight to it despite being thin. I have not used this on my project vehicle, purchase it for large scale modeling that takes advantage of it's floppy character and ability to bend. I'm not sure what happens to it below freezing though.

Certainly finding the best and most cost effective material is important.

My experience has been that if it looks vulnerable or frail it will be an irresistible temptation for some idiot to test it out by backing into it with their car for kicks when you are not looking.

Good luck.

Nice prototype. I put a big carboard one on once for tests. Made quite a difference!

splitter
 

At DARKO this year,owner Layne Christensen warned about airdams with too much downforce-induced drag (ei. 'splitters').
Even my nose,with zero splitter is a bit 'dirty' that way.
You don't want to overdo it!:)

I have removed the giant cardboard air dam. It may be of interest to other ecomodders to hear that a heat gun works very well at removing duct tape residue. I would heat up the gook that had stuck to the car and use a fresh piece of duct tape to lift it off, it worked very well. I've seen my mileage numbers go down considerably after removing the cardboard air dam and putting the snow tires on. I'm thinking that I may just drive it as is through the winter and start tweaking it more in the spring...