Best height for airdam

[ConnClark]

This is interesting too Splitter or Air Dam – Which Design is Best? | Hancha Blog

[ecomodded]

Off hand I can think of suction being a issue with to low of a front air dam, I think you want some air flow to pass under the car instead of forcing it ALL around the car. I am unsure but "think" having a smooth underbelly pan straight off the the front spoiler , not tucked behind it , will help keep the air flow smooth. Its how they design the top side of the car anyways..

[UltArc]

I'd suggest making it ~161 inches, from the front bumper to the rear [bumper].

(For that kind of price tag, you can make a decent underbody <$40, for a completely wicked totally awesome one, <$130.)

[basjoos]

Originally Posted by GTR

seems best aeromods for return on investment are airdam, underbelly covers, wheel covers, and kammback or boattail. airdam and underbelly can be coroplast it seems, not too much $. Lawn edging is cheap, too, as Xist mentioned.

The best aeromod for return on investment is the cheap version of a grill block. 50 cents worth of black duct tape used to make a grill block will more than pay for itself in the fuel savings gained on one tank of gas.

[GTR]

Originally Posted by basjoos

The best aeromod for return on investment is the cheap version of a grill block. 50 cents worth of black duct tape used to make a grill block will more than pay for itself in the fuel savings gained on one tank of gas.

Ah yes, hah I forgot the most basic one. Thanks for pointing that out.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by WagonyGuy

Is there a "right" height for an air dam? I am going to put one, plus side skirts, on my Honda Fit soon. But what is the optimal height? The car has about 7 inches of clearance on the front and sides.

There is a possibility that HONDA has already 'optimized' the airdam in their wind tunnel.
Hucho illustrated some of VW's airdam development and the 'right' airdam was very conditional,depending on attachment position,inclination if any,and depth.
Same for Chrysler's Daytona Charger.
You could easily eat up $4,000 in a wind tunnel experimenting with different configurations.
Here's my 2-cents:
*Build a 16-degree cardboard template and shove it into the base of your front tire.Nothing may go below this template.
*See if you can do a perfectly vertical,or slightly rear slanting dam,dropping off the bottom of your bumper, which is 7" off the deck.(if you go lower you add frontal area and will add drag back unless ridiculously low (racing only!).
*See if this respects your 16-degree template.
*If not,move the location rearwards until it just agrees with the template.
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For the side skirts,
*Build a 10-degree cardboard template for behind the front tires,front of rear tires,and rear of rear tires.
*This template will show your lowest points for the side skirts which won't rip off on a driveway ramp.
*You'd like the skirts to be as low as the airdam if possible.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by basjoos

The best aeromod for return on investment is the cheap version of a grill block. 50 cents worth of black duct tape used to make a grill block will more than pay for itself in the fuel savings gained on one tank of gas.

Will you still respect me if I waste $1 on duct tape and make it two layers?

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by WagonyGuy

Thanks for the link. 40+ pages is a lot to read. I'm going to have to mull it over and do some more measurements. Putting $150+ of parts is going to have to be sure to give me a decent ROI. The rubber belt at Tractor Supply is kinda pricey.

I have used conveyer belt I can sell fairly cheap.
I think to buy belt from tractor supply you can easily spend 70 to 100 dollars just to do an air dam across the front of a car.

I am going to put an oil pan 4 eco mod, renovator junk shop in the for sale section, I have collected a lot of stuff I dont think I am going to use.

[WagonyGuy]

@Aerohead, yeah I am thinking they (Honda) probably have the height about right. There is some flat-pan parts on the underside. Putting more air dam would increase frontal area a lot. I think I can easily do a top-grill block since that looks to disrupt a lot of air, and see how that goes, it's easy and can be super cheap to test out in cardboard/plastic.