Belly pan or vortex generators?

[teester9484]

Well that's great you're getting 32+mpg. What did you get before you started the belly pan? I've read pages of this thread and NOWHERE have I found any idea of what % mpg gain you've made. Government estimates are not viable references I've found as it depends on individual tendencies. So did you start out at 28, 30mpg or what? I've got a few vehicles I'm considering this for.

[Joenavy85]

Originally Posted by edbso

Underhood temperatures often exceed 100 degrees. The cold line of the air-conditioner and the cool return lines from the evaporator pass through the hot engine compartment. They are often wet and covered with condensation.

It occurred to me that these lines would benefit from insulation so I went to the Home Depot and purchased some insulation for 1/2 inch copper pipe and insulated my pipes. I think that this will increase the efficiency of the system.

Anyone else do this?

being an AC&R tech i'll let you know that it will work better if you insulate only the piping going from the condenser(cooler) to the cabin. the piping going from the compressor to the condenser contains a "superheated" liquid under pressure, once it goes through the condenser it is a subcooled liquid under pressure and then is slowly bled into the evaporator, the drop in pressure causes a large drop in temperature which is where the cooling effect comes from. the piping from the compressor to the condenser will be hot and will be able to lose some of that heat to the engine compartment without the insulation being in place, letting that heat out will improve the efficiency, though it likely won't be a whole lot

[Joenavy85]

Here's a basic diagram. it had never crossed my mind to do this, good idea. as for the return line from the eveporator to the compressor, insulating it will make little difference if any since it get compressed after that. the main areas to gain efficiency are the lines to the condenser being exposed and the lines from the condenser being insulated

[Joenavy85]

AIR WAVE VORTEX GENERATOR from Aircraft Spruce

Vortex Generators for above the rear window??

[BraveHeartCalif]

good post

[UFO]

Originally Posted by Joenavy85

AIR WAVE VORTEX GENERATOR from Aircraft Spruce

Vortex Generators for above the rear window??

Hard to beat that price. Once I make my bonneville-type spoiler, it might be worth experimenting with the vortex generators to improve the airflow attachment.