Article: ecomodding a vanilla Renault production sedan... efficiency up 19%
 

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1449178765

Some very interesting details in this article in the list of peformed mods.

The net effect was reduced CO2 emissions from from 120g CO2/km to 97g / km - putting it in the same league as a Prius. (Though it should be noted: they are not exactly comparable vehicles.)

There's much mre, including the list of several aeromods, LRR tires selection, steering geometry setup & other drivetrain tweaks.

Definitely worth a read:
Green Car Congress: Renault Introduces Logan Renault Eco2 Concept at Challenge Bibendum; Taking a Production Car from 120g CO2/km to 97g

Here's the total list of mods they did, culled from the GCC article:

• final drive ratio lengthened 8% (reducing consumption 3.3%)
  .
• re-calibrated the injection system and widened the piston bowl for enhanced fuel spray and combustion (4.2%)
  .
• optimized tolerances, low-viscosity lubricants in engine & transmission (1.7%)
  .
• aeromods: front bumper lower dam/splitter; rear pan; revised grille intakes; wheel spats; rear deck lip spoiler; Mitsu-style VG's on the trailing edge of the roof ("a particularly effective solution on three-box cars"); lowered ride height (total of aero savings: 4.2%)
  .
• Michelin Energy Saver 185/65R15 low rolling resistance tires (1.7%)
  .
• low friction rear bearings (0.8%)
  .
• front alignment setup, and "work on the running gear" (2.5%)
  .
• lower voltage alternator (12.8 vs. typical 13.5) with smart on/off control, plus changes to "energy-hungry parts" (3.3%)

They then went and drove this car in the fuel economy challenge at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum and pulled off 2.72 L/100 km (86.5 mpg US) over 172 km.

I would say so! On top of the mods, the driving style reduced consumption a further 22% (down to 71g/km CO2) from the original production car's rating.

Oh, and the Renault driver/team took 2nd place overall in the "prototype" category.

Interesting list of vehicles in the results: PDF of Rally results from Michelin

Some of these things are very reminiscent of the design of the Civic VX. Sometimes I wonder why manufacturers don't sell ecomodded types of normal cars more often...

I guess because people don't buy them. I recall reading that the VX sales represented about 5% of the Civic total; the Metro XFi made up about 10% of total Metro sales.

But times are changing. More awareness, higher fuel prices...

I guess we are seeing this in part with the move to hybrids. I just wonder how much some hybrids are still lacking in these same departments.

I just read about this in my new issue of automotive engineering international and had to make sure it was brought up on this forum. Looks like I'm behind the times a little :o.

I like how they listed the impact of the ecomods they did :thumbup:.

An interesting car - funny though, that all the engineering, engine tweaks etc is given attention, and only light modifications in the aerodynamic department.....

More work on the areodynamics could have yielded even better results.

For instance I see some big grills on the front of that car :)

Don't know that I've seen B30 biofuel widely available on this side of the puddle. Nor have I seen many Renault's.

Maybe the Civic VX and the Metro XFi weren't big hits in the USofA, but similar cars seem to be popular in other markets. The small diesel powered cars over here do seem to be popular and hold their prices pretty well, but we don't have nearly the number of choices that the Euro's do.

A spare-wheel fairing to optimize the flow of air underneath the car (1):

A flexible splitter under the front bumper to reduce underbody turbulence (2):

(1)+(2)+slightly lower driving height=gain 3g/km

VORTEX generators (small, drag-reducing, roof-mounted features that channel airflow to reduce rear drag, a particularly effective solution on three-box cars gain 0.7g/km:

The front air intakes were modified to reduce the drag caused by air-cooling airflow gain 0.5g/km:

A rear lip spoiler to reduce the vehicle’s overall drag performance gain 0.5g/km:

Rear wheels deflectors to reduce lateral turbulence gain 0.3g/km:

front view

rear view

tyres

changes in production model

Thanks for the pics, Ironick:)

The dashboard on the Logan eco2 concept has a gear-shift indicator to help the driver to optimise fuel consumption.

They should have added a belly pan to improve aerodynamics.

IRONICK -

Thank you! I really appreciate your effort in taking all of these pictures. What's interesting is that because it's a concept, I can see some "execution details" that we could make use of.

CarloSW2

other pictures

Note that no speed tape has been used and that the car is not "tuned to death".

It looks much more like a quick mock up rather than hair splitting.
Appart from the new pistons and electronic tuning, it is all achievable at home ...

I mean, they could have put narrower tires, lightened body parts or stuff like that but they didn't so that is very representative what can be done to production car

:) :) :)

more

I will do some changes on my car. (Dacia Logan, 1400cm³, gasoline)

Gasoline is never gonna see any consumption that low but all the aerodynamics are on the card.

Clio dCi 85 Renault eco2: 98g/km CO2

This new version of Clio dCi 85 Renault eco² produces just 98 grams of CO2 per kilometre, corresponding to combined cycle fuel consumption of just 3.7 litres/100km and a theoretical range of 1,486km.

INCORPORATION OF THE LATEST ENGINE DEVELOPMENTS
· Longer gearing across all the transmission ratios: the torque and the flexibility of the dCi 85 allow this to be achieved without any significant impact on performance.
· Reduction of frictional losses in the engine and gearbox with the introduction of lowviscosity lubricants.
· Dedicated engine mapping focused on reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
REDUCTION OF ROLLING RESISTANCE AND DRAG
Improvements to aerodynamics:
· Flexible lip under front bumper extended by 15mm;
· Front wheel arch liner extension flaps;
· Specific underbody enclosure for rear axle.
These aerodynamics-related improvements have had no adverse effect on Clio's looks, and have notably been achieved without calling on such intrusive solutions as a rear lip spoiler or full disc wheel trims.
Reduced rolling resistance:
· Michelin 185x60 R15 low energy consumption tyres.

Taken together, these changes bring about a 5 per cent improvement in CdA, taking it from 0.725 to 0.690 and directly benefiting the vehicle’s CO2 emissions. The reduction of 17g/km has been achieved without any impact on driving pleasure, comfort or noise levels.

Top speed (km/h) 174

Cycle urban (l/100 km) 5,2
Cycle extra urban (l/100 km) 3,9
Cycle complet (l/100 km) 4,3

Speed at 1,000rpm:
in 1st gear 8.56kph
in 2nd gear 15.58km/h
in 3rd gear 24.15km/h
in 4th gear 32.85km/h
in 5th gear 42.20km/h

eco2 version

Top speed (km/h) 176

Cycle urban (l/100 km) 4.5
Cycle extra urban (l/100 km) 3.4
Cycle complet (l/100 km) 3.7

Speed at 1,000rpm:]in 1st gear 8.93km/h
in 2nd gear 16.26km/h
in 3rd gear 25.20km/h
in 4th gear 34.28km/h
in 5th gear 44.04km/h

Changes from #20 are made on the production car equipped with 1200cm³ 16v engine.

A prototype made of fiberglass on a similar car.
From 43.56 to 45.23 MPG MPG. (5.4l/100km> 5.2l/100km).

Is that only for the spare wheel area or is it a full belly pan ?

Yes, is just for for the spare wheel area.

funny they picked the dacia logan.... its a bring aero wise!, that engine is in the clio and new megane coupe both of you'd have thought could draw benefits from the aero.

Does it have front wheel deflectors , didn't seem like it from pic's ?

On little off topic, I notice my 08 accord has wheel deflectors front/rear, but they only stick out to little more than 1/2 tire width , unlike here that covers almost whole tread width .

Wonder if thats done for cosmetic's , so its not noticeable .

thanks

i think you meant it's a brick, right ? 0.360 drag is bad for this day and age I agree with you, but think of the possibilities in better aero cars.

In it's defence (Dacia Logan being made in Romania and me being from there :D) this car is mostly designed for newly emerged markets let's say with a lot of pothole roads which is why it has high ground clearance (155mm) and it has quite a big trunk for it's class, it wasn't designed to break aerodynamic records but to haul large amounts of stuff / people around which I've seen it do remarkably well.

Some older model Dacia's have a reputation of motorised donkeys, take a look:
http://irock.ro/wp-content/gallery/s...plina-ochi.jpghttp://www.celmaitaredinparcare.ro/w...-incarcata.jpghttp://traficul.org/wp-content/uploa...37eeaac3e1.jpg

Dacias!! I love Dacias!!
And I get a kick out of seeing how cars are used in post-communist (and so-called third-world) countries. It's just plain boring seeing all the new, shiny, expensive cars in the city. Go to the boonies and you see what extreme sport means;)

The Dacia Logan is similar to our 307sw, same dimensions, also a 7-seater, etc. But I'm glad we got Svietlana, her Cd=0.33 is barely good enough by today's standards. Cd=0.36 would be OK for a sports car, not a production economy wagon.

sorry don't get me I love the logan purely for it work-horse nature. I love basic, simple, easy to work on cars (hence my polo d) and the Logan is I think the best modern car if you still need to repair it in the middle of a field, in winter, in a storm, in the dark.

Is it true that the older renault 9 dacias only needed a 13mm spanner, a 17mm, a X-head screw driver, a plug spanner and hammer as a tool kit?

it was actually the Renault 12 based Dacia 1300/1310, not Renault 9 . Renault 9 was more modern but I guess the R 12 was quite sturdy.
My father had a couple of grew up and I have to say they were very sturdy, especially the earlier models (early 70's). You could possibly repair it with those tools but the engine was quite reliable and although I remember my father tinkering on it from time to time, it was mostly easy repairs as a matter of fact I can say that most people in those days in Romania used to do all the repairs themselves.
Dacia 1300/1310 was practically the ONLY sedan(very few Lada's, Oltcit's and some Trabant's) it was not only the family car but also ambulance, police car, officials tricked out ones etc. , so it was a matter of time until most drivers with a bit of technical inclination knew how to fix it, I remember helping him sometimes and learning some useful stuff which I use even today, I only go to a garage for some serious engine faults that I don't have the tools/information about to fix. It's so much easier nowadays with internet, back then it was just word of mouth.

http://www.automobileromanesti.ro/im...cia_1300-1.jpghttp://www.automobileromanesti.ro/im...00_break-1.jpg

One car that was even more notoriously easy to fix was definitely the Trabant with it's 18HP, two stroke, two cylinder engines . Kind of eco-bombs nightmares though, I would think.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_mXz2rszFv0...Trabant601.jpg