Belly pan how-to

[COcyclist]

I used ramps on the front end and a jack and jack stands to lift the rear of the Golf. I used a low profile rolling mechanic's creeper to slide around under there.

[Geo Metropolis]

Not sure how to add this to the wiki but I did a thorough belly pan how-to on:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post219175
for the Metro today. Cost about $7, took 3 hours. I used jack stands because I didn't have ramps but then was glad I did because it allowed me to lay the whole sheet of coreplast under the wheels for the initial shaping.
I did not have to build a frame and feel good about the not crazy amount of holes I had to drill.

[euromodder]

Only 3 hours ? That's quick

[Geo Metropolis]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Only 3 hours ? That's quick

Thanks, yeah I was stoked to see it go so quickly. I was prepared for a much harder time than I had. I think I just accidentally stumbled on a good method for doing it and mounting points happened to be easy. Also by cutting generously and trimming down it saved me the trouble of making templates.
Now I just have to decide if today I want to do the other 2/3s of the belly pan or make a camback. Hmm

[ECONORAM]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Only 3 hours ? That's quick

WOW! I can't even figure out a set of brackets in that much time. I've got 20 feet to cover though...

[darcane]

Here's my thread:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ado-11135.html

The links are temporarily down, so I attached them here. The framework is steel strapping from Homey Depot (just steel strips with holes). It is fastened with 1/4-20 screws, fender washers, and spring nuts.

I did the first version of my grill block and partial belly pan at the same time and saw a 3.5% improvement (no A-B-A, but I compared data with as few changed variables as possible).

Mike

[Geo Metropolis]

Originally Posted by darcane

Here's my thread:
The links are temporarily down, so I attached them here. The framework is steel strapping from Homey Depot (just steel strips with holes). It is fastened with 1/4-20 screws, fender washers, and spring nuts.

That looks really good mike. I think that steel strapping is called plumbers tape. I have a roll of it that I keep around the boat for securing large hoses or wires in the bilge. I'll keep that in mind if I have to do any framing around the rear when I make it into a complete belly pan. Nice gains man, that's really good.

I obviously see the benefit in true A-B-A testing for proving the affect of each mod but half of me thinks tank-tank is just as important. If it helps you tank to tank then it definitely is saving you real and measurable $. Obviously it's subjective and will vary with the conditions and driving you subject it to with each tank so there are lots of factors but I still like seeing my miles go up and my gallons go down at the pump every time I slap some aluminum, screws, and plastic on my car

[Joenavy85]

when i put the belly pan on my jeep i'll be using a jack and jackstands, mainly so that i'm keeping in mind where the jacking points are and where the stands go

[wdb]

Just finished scanning this thread and wandering off into several of the linked threads as well. Nice work! I love how some folks painstakingly shape every inch while others more or less just "git 'er done" by whatever means.

I bought an aftermarket front undertray for my Fit shortly after I bought the car. It helped gas mileage incrementally, but the biggest improvement by far is that the car no longer gets pushed around by the airflow coming off semis or by high winds in general. Before the undertray the car was kinda squirrely in those conditions, no question about it. Now it's far more stable. Win-win.

My next under-car foray will be a rear diffuser. Nobody makes one so I'll have to fabricate, so thanks everyone for the tips and pics. I hope to have the same thing happen; better stability at speed, plus MPG improvement.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by Geo Metropolis

That looks really good mike. I think that steel strapping is called plumbers tape. I have a roll of it that I keep around the boat for securing large hoses or wires in the bilge. I'll keep that in mind if I have to do any framing around the rear when I make it into a complete belly pan. Nice gains man, that's really good.

I obviously see the benefit in true A-B-A testing for proving the affect of each mod but half of me thinks tank-tank is just as important. If it helps you tank to tank then it definitely is saving you real and measurable $. Obviously it's subjective and will vary with the conditions and driving you subject it to with each tank so there are lots of factors but I still like seeing my miles go up and my gallons go down at the pump every time I slap some aluminum, screws, and plastic on my car

Mine is actually thicker than the rolls the plumbers use. I think it's still called strapping, but it's... maybe 1/8" thick? Thin enough you can bend it, but rigid enough that it will hold the weight of the corex sheet without sagging. I like this stuff since it makes a good frame work and the spring nuts just snap on so I can bolt it together without having to get a wrench on the backside.

Plumber's strapping is mostly intended for holding a verticle load. I don't believe it would work they way I built this frame.

Between aero tweaks, other simple mods, and driver re-education I've gotten my mileage from 15mpg combined to ~20mpg combined in my normal commuting.

Mike