Belly Pan on 1st gen RAV4

[Weather Spotter]

looks like good progress!


I miss read the post about the template, my bad.

[Otto]

With an election looming, there will be plenty of Coro to play with, soon. I assume ~1/4" to ~1/2" thickness is best, but what do people with experience say?

4' width: On my BMW 325is I plan to use a 4X8 sheet, flutes running lengthwise along the car centerline. This will leave a ~6" gap on each side, so hope to have short sections in that width running from the lower lip of the plastic bumper cover back to attach to the rear portion of the control arms, zip tied and intended to flex up and down with the control arm. Hence my questions above about the RAV4 application.

Fog lights: Mine always seem to get broken by rocks and road debris, as being so close to the ground they're in a bad environment. Maybe move the fog lights up into the radiator inlet area, giving some effective blocking that airflow? Would make for a cleaner/easier attachment of the Coro to the lower bumper.

Cutouts for hot spots: Face those edges with aluminum foil tape or wide electricians tape?

[Sven7]

From the looks of it you could use some new tires and an alignment as well

I hear Nokian snow tires are quite LRR, and would probably work in the, uh, snow.

[myrefugeisintheLord]

Otto, your BMW is several inches wider then the RAV. Your plan sounds like a good one.
I had to redo the left rear suspension piece, it's better, and I'll show how. Also I got the right rear suspension redone too. but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to get those pictures.

Last night I tried out the fog lights. I think I can get them to work with different bulbs. They have a nice top cut off. And with no other lights on, I could easily see the road with them pointed at the road RIGHT above the hood. And it was dark. We have lots of fires in our area and with it so smoky the moon was a blood red color.
One thing I did notice was the heat. They got pretty hot in a short amount of time. So I definitely will be using some aluminum tape. I had them on all the way into town this morning from 5:45 (an hour drive), and the fuse burned out before I got 3/4 of the way in. I'll need to read up to know what is the best way to avoid burn out. The wiring is 14 gauge, with a 15A fuse. ??? I'd rather not just upgrade the fuse, as I don't want to just put a band aid on the situation.
Rocks, etc, shouldn't be a problem, one iota. I don't follow close, and we don't have a lot of traffic.

Sven, I'm SO curious! Which picture made you think RAVadoodle needs an alignment? She just had a 4 wheel alignment done this Spring.
These tires/wheels are new to me, I got them a month ago for my Summer set. I couldn't bear covering up my other rims that I took a lot of time custom painting. I don't mind putting pizza pans on these. But yes, I could use some LRR tires. I'm waiting for a tire sale, and I also haven't figured out what to get. I've heard good things about Michelin Defender, but the only size that fits, means the tire will be wider then stock, and smaller too. Both things I want to avoid.
I have "Winter" tires, so the LRR ones can be slick!

I will look up the tires you mentioned. Thank you!

[myrefugeisintheLord]

Otto, I just HAVE to ask.... does your BMW have angel eyes???

[Otto]

Originally Posted by myrefugeisintheLord

Otto, I just HAVE to ask.... does your BMW have angel eyes???

Nah. Too riceboyish for me.

Besides, in the lighting department I have too much to worry about keeping fog lights installed and working: Between thieves in the Seattle UDistrict making a very good living swiping such stuff off parked cars, and the low-down mounting of those lights as a magnet for rocks, the fog lights have a very short life span.

So, I bought some uber-cheapo Chinese crap fogs off eBay, to plug and play, or so I thought. Lasted, oh, 20 minutes before the cheapo Chinese crap pivot mount broke, dropping the lens assembly to bounce along the road secured by its tether (the wire). So, the cheapo Chinese crap fog light cost me about $1.50 per minute of its short life. More if you figure in my time to replace it with something that actually might work. Not from China.... You'd think those people, having pirated the whole concept, would have the decency to at least use less flimsy plastic. But, noooooo.

Probably (esp. since the fog nights are basically cosmetic and add nothing discernible to night driving visibility--turned on or off the view ahead seems the same) I should either just plug the fog light holes with flush covers or use them as brake cooling inlets or to feed an "air curtain" like the latest BMWs do. This is a slot of ram air fed from the forward (10 o'clock position) of the wheel well/fender, which blocks or attenuates the turbulent air thrown forward by the tire rotation, the tire being a crude turbine and turbulater. This air curtain reduces aero drag. The ram air inlet could also be a handy place to feed an oil cooler, etc..

[freebeard]

I had them on all the way into town this morning from 5:45 (an hour drive), and the fuse burned out before I got 3/4 of the way in. I'll need to read up to know what is the best way to avoid burn out. The wiring is 14 gauge, with a 15A fuse. ??? I'd rather not just upgrade the fuse, as I don't want to just put a band aid on the situation.

I won't be much help with the amps and wire gauges, but generally you either need a switch that will handle the current (if the fuse didn't blow, the switch would probably be next) or else use it to control a relay that will. Is the switch a separate toggle switch? That would be a good start. If you don't know how many Watts the lights consume, that can be measured with an ammeter.

[myrefugeisintheLord]

Yay, an update. Finally!

This last weekend, I was at Wal-Mart helping my Grandma do some errands. I had just dropped her off and was parking. I backed in to a spot and no sooner had I stopped, a young man came over and asked about the political signs under the RAV. That was a very fun conversation!! But had to be cut short, because I didn't want Grandma worrying about me!
He also thought I had done some interesting projects, and said he'd check out EM. I hope he does!! I was SO glad I had the EM sticker on!

Alright, here's from the right side:



And a closer view:

I thought maybe using a small bungee cord (red cord), for the coro part that is closer to the suspension would be better then nonadjustable zippies.

Edit: This side will be picked up to the right angle when I add the side piece.



I tried to make the wheel well piece one piece like the other side, but it was bigger due to no fuel inlet stuff. And the final cut piece didn't fit behind the strut like the paper template did. Looks like it will be 3 different pieces. Not what I was expecting, but it works. And I'm not going to bother painting this side.



The back view looks more frumpy then I was thinking it would...




I think the opening there is too big, so I may close it up later.

The lighting is bad, but my camera died today.... So from now on it will have to be phone pictures. I'm not finished with the diffuser angle. I need to find a level cement place to finish the last adjustments. Getting the angle right is not easy!!

Pretty little RAV!

Which would be worse? Having the angle slightly higher towards the back, or slightly lower? I'm thinking the latter would be worse.

I'm going to close the right side in, make final diffuser alignment adjustments, then it will be time to finish the little loose ends here and there.

I'll get some better pictures later, after I've finished the alignment. My Grandma's Jeep was in the way to get a good picture angle.

[Weather Spotter]

Lower is worse.

[Gealii]

slightly higher or lower

make it higher in the rear think of the normal aero template we use for boat tails and kammbachs, now copy and flip it so u come to a point in the rear that would be the optimum option for FE that's why when you look at boat tails they tend to angle upwards on the bottom