Anyone have ideas on how to accomplish this mod:
 

Not the top grill block or the head light thing but the bottom of the bumper...
I want to make it flat like in the ghetto-photoshop I did...

I want to do something like this and have some cash to spend but would like to keep it cheap-er... Would just screwing coroplast into the bumper and painting it silver be the best way or is there anyway I can heat up the bumper enough to shape it?

Sounds crazy to heat up the bumper to shape it but W/E :D:rolleyes::thumbup:

Or is this way to much blockage?

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1269542880

You might be able to find "kick panel" trim in a close to matching grey at Lowe's or Home Depot. It's like $4 for 3 to 6 feet of flexible rubber that's 4" or 6" tall. I forget the exact name, and can't seem to find it via search.

It would be awesome to block that much of my grill off, I want to start a belly pan too but just up under the front bumper, Just worried about using coroplast cuz that might sag or rip off

Two layers of Coroplast can be glued together with beads of Silicon Seal. It takes a while to dry, but gives a very rugged panel. It also makes it easy to make seams and hold curves. There is also a heavy-duty, thicker Coroplast.

RandomFact314 -

I forgot his name, but there's the dude that did the awesome side mirror deletes and the front foglight covers for his Civic (hatch?).

I don't think that will cost much $, but I it will cost time. Sooooooo, it depends on what you have more of, punk! (as Dirty Harry might say)

CarloSW2

Big Daddy Roth would have used plaster to seal and smooth, then fiberglass over it.

I still like my shrink wrap plastic. $1.68 at Lowes. It is the stuff you put over your house windows in the winter with double sided tape and then shrink with a hair drier. Since it is clear no need to paint. I put mine on in the begining of winter and still on there. I need to attack it again with a hair dryer since some of wrinkles came back. I've started watching the SG temp guage as the temp warms up. I'm hoping to rig a cooling fan light so I can make sure I'm not overheating.

I thought about doing something similar. My plans was to buy a second used bumper and stretch fabric over the inlet. fiberglass over it sand, prime and paint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcs1hz8z-9k

Same idea...

1.Clear packing tape on the outside. 2.expanding foam in a can. easy if the bumper is removed but if you can get at it from behind it's that much faster. 3.let dry a few days, remove tape and trim off excess foam. 4. Fiberglass coat it.

I have been in the autobody industry for over 30 years and have done a million and one modifications using all kinds of materal. That tee shirt idea is absolutely brilliant!

The plastic filler work seems like a bit much. I would make it smoother with the glass so you don't have to use the filler so much.

At the very least using a polyester primer would be a big help being you don't have to sand out all the spreader marks in the filler. Polyester primer will fill a LOT, you could tape a quarter on your fender and bury it with only a few coats!

Brian

Better design
 

So I was reading around and it said not to block off too much because it will just make the fan come on more often so I redesigned for a little bigger holes... I think this one would be easy with coroplast and some screws...

Whatcha think?

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1269669156

I'd definitely roll the edges, or add chunks of plastic drain pipe, to get the smoothness seen at the edges of the stock opening.

I was wondering if that actually would make a difference or not, thats why the fog light covers stopped at the top of the curve, so the other side of it isn't covered and can be used to flow the air smoother...

Just do it in cardboard or coroplast first like everyone else to see what it takes to come up with something that works.

RandomFact314 -

(Frank's right, cardboard first to prove the mod)

I like it. It has a "look" I haven't really seen on Ecomodder yet. I messed with it a little for fun :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...block-idea.jpg

CarloSW2

I think that you may hurt more than help in that final idea. Think about this, that ducting thru the middle of the bumper between where the fog lamps go is sort of, not a part of your frontal area. It allows the air to pass under the car, though most goes into the rad and thru the engine compartment. It is allowing "movement" where your design most definately ADDS to the frontal area.

Maybe take advantage of the original design and simply "help" the air to move under the car or thru a better path than it has now (if at all possible)?


Brian

MARTINSR -

Yeah, you may be right. Good catch. My (incorrect?) assumption is that what is behind the ducting (aka the radiator and engine parts) also counts as part of the frontal area. I'm just never sure when it comes to this aero-stuff.

CarloSW2

I Don't understand because the designs are essentially the same, the top grill is blocked, the fake fog light holes and the middle of the lower grill block, please elaborate if possible

If I'm understanding you, THIS design would be better because it does not block off any part of the smooth design of airflow....

The upper grill block is a definant block and the fake bling light spots can be blocked off too, up to where the smooth design for intake comes in correct?

Ignore the bad picture art, you guys get the point...

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1269718523

You're right, they are essentially the same and I didn't mean to single out ONLY the later one.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1269542880
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...block-idea.jpg

I personally see this as much better. Though I am not aerodynamics expert. I would run it all the way to the headlamps and make new flush mounted turn signals or make the grille cover out of a transparent material in that area so the lights can be seen.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1269718523

But again, it really comes down to, where is that air going that goes thru the bumper? If it has a good clean path then I think it is better than enlarging the frontal area. I am new to this ecomodding thinking so give me some room here. :) I know in racing you wouldn't want that air under the car as it would effect the traction. But in ecommoding, is that a bad thing? All this turns into a serious gray area I think.

Brian

If your having trouble wondering if the air dam vs. frontal area confuses you, your should look at this: He got like a 6.25% improvement in MPG with one... Its a very good article that helped me with learning some of the hypermiling basics...

$11 worth of mods plus new tires – Car and Driver improves MPG by 25%

It is my understanding that the usual calculations for frontal area for aerodynamic purposes include the area from the road to the bottom of the vehicle since the air going under actually contributes more drag than the air flowing around the body. This is why front air dams and lowering work to reduce drag

It looks like I will watch what I say until I understand more. :) I just see that big flat front and it screams poor aerodynamics. If it is more "tear drop shaped" with no holes, of course, that is is perfection. But when I see the flat front, I see SUV.

But in that trade off.......the large flat frontal area may be better than some air going under the car? Ok, I will study a bit on the subject.

Brian

Don't think of it as a big flat front.. It doesn't have to be flat. Try to picture a shape that redirects air as smoothly as possible away from the aerodynamic nightmare of the underside of your vehicle and towards the relatively aerodynamic top and sides.

What are the guys using for speaker & sub boxes? Would that work stuck out on front of the car?

Very simple and to the point, thanks!

Brian

Brian -

Don't worry, I have been here for years and I can't figure out this aero-stuff. One of our members, aerohead, is an aero-pioneer. Here is his photo collection of aero-dynamic pickups :

Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - aerohead's Album: Pickup images
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ae...works-auto.jpg

In most cases, the main worry is how the tear-drop finishes, not how it starts.

CarloSW2

cfg83 was referring to me in one of the earlier posts. i basically did what was in that video except i didn't use wood. i bent a thin piece of plastic, used double-sided tape to keep the contour and started to fiberglass a piece so that it would fit perfectly in the fog light indentation. it is very time consuming.... mostly because it takes forever for fiberglass resin to dry.

tomo did the foam spray method and it seems to have worked for him. a small opening for the radiator is enough for our little civics.

if youre going to use my method, you should do it in coroplast or cardboard first to get a template anyway. then see if you've blocked off too much. this way you can alter the template before the fiberglass work.

how to's in my signature

"it is very time consuming.... mostly because it takes forever for fiberglass resin to dry. "

Fiberglass resin does not dry, it sets. If it is setting slowly, it is usually due to bad measuring, inadequate mixing, or unwaxed ester resin in contact with air. With the esters, the percentage of catalyst should be adjusted according to ambient temperature, but the minimum time to sandpaper-stage is under a half hour.

that's what i thought. it was hard to the touch but i let it sit just to be sure. good info.

Buying waxed or unwaxed resin is one of those little details that can mess up the beginner. Carbon dioxide inhibits the cure of the esters, so sometimes we use some wax that floats to the surface to seal it off. This has to be cleaned off before anything else gets bonded on - one reason for the popularity of sanding. However, using unwaxed resin is real handy for adding layers gradually, and avoiding heat build-up and distortion on thick parts.

You can stock only unwaxed resin, and either add wax or just use plastic wrap, which can also help improve the surface, reducing finishing work.

When doing spot repairs, you can use a very quick "hot" mix, but eventually, the catalyst defeats itself if you use too much. It makes the dust toxic, too.