Better Aerodynamics for the Corolla
 

Here is my build thread of my 1997 Corolla DX with a 1.8L I4 with auto trans 4 speed with lockup.

Quick story about the car, my normal car was a 1992 Toyota Camry with 303k miles and the brake line went out for the rear tires (and tank rusty, other brake lines, fuel lines, fill tube). Everything but the tank is original! I have wanted a corolla since I first bought the Camry about 2 years ago, and I spotted a overly cheap corolla on craigslist. To make the long story short, I got it for $700, and needed brakes redone all around, struts all around, front end alignment was WAY off, been in several small wrecks (city beater), and a few other minor things (light bulbs etc). I have around $700 in parts and around 4-5 hours of work into it. Same car in fair shape sells for around $2500-3000 all the time locally.

Now for the mods...

First things first... the upper grill block!

A quick background story on this, my mom use to make home made soap, and used clear plastic to wrap them and a hair dryer to slightly melt and shrink it to seal it up. I ended up taking a trash bag and putting my OEM grill in it and wrapped it like a present. Using my solder rework station, I melted the overlap first and continued to "shrink" it till it was tight. Only thing I don't like with this mod is that I used a thin trash bag, so I had 2 layers instead of 1 which makes it look a bit odd when you get close. From a distance You can barely notice it.

I do not have ABA testing, since I knew the Corolla has oversized engine cooling abilities.

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/340/img2265ah.jpg

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/2271/img2266wb.jpg

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/8184/img2270bu.jpg

The last one is kind of hard to see, the back side is solid like the front, but looks bad due to the overlap etc. Cardboard is there since I don't have a lower grill block in yet.

Next mod is my hood seal since the OEM ones were shot. The last owner forgot to put the oil cap on the engine, and it spit oil all over under the hood... not good for that rubber! I removed the rubber strips and ran Camper Mounting Tape using as many layers as needed to see the foam hitting the hood when closing/opening the hood to check.

Lately I just noticed the back side of the hood isn't sealing (vibrates at idle), so I need to upgrade that one as well.

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/6954/img2268bi.jpg
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/5245/img2269k.jpg
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/2449/img2271mv.jpg

Planned mods:

Lower grill block (adjustable at some point in time)
Rear wheel skirts
Full belly pan (need to find a better supply of chloroplast)
Replace most lights with LEDs
Over sized tires for the front (guessing about 10% oversized would be good)
seal headlights, grill, etc. Silicone/Hot glue?
Warm air intake (since my current intake appears a bit restricted and away from the engine.
Kammback

A small caution about LED replacement lamps that there are a great deal (almost all) that are dimmer than their incandescent siblings. Compounding this is that most LEDs are directional, that means off axis they are much dimmer. This could be escalated by inclement weather. For things like licence plate lights is not much concern, but brake and signal lamps are a consideration for safety. If the LED replacement you are considering are double what a regular bulb would be you are losing out on all fronts of safety and cost savings.

If your radiator is in good shape and you have a scangauge, you can block up to 2/3 of the lower grill as well especially in the winter. I would use caution in the summer with a lower block. Up to ~86F you can keep the upper on as well, but a scangauge should be used to be certain.

Looks like an eligible car for pizza pan hubcaps as well.

Great start! Out of curiosity, where in Michigan are you?

@Leanburn

I understand the differences with LEDs, how my tail lights are setup, the bulb shines straight back into the colored lens. I ordered these LEDS (around 210 degree output) eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices. The main reasion for these LEDs is because Corollas and Camrys (my family has a lot of them) always have 194 bulbs blown out in different areas of the car, heater controls, trunk light, gauges, etc, so worst case, I will just use them for that. Some of my marker lights are 194s so I plan to do some "ABA" testing to see if they are fair. I can wire up my own LEDs if needed, I have some 165 degree CREE style 3 watt LEDs which I could run really underpowered to give a good brightness but not blinding. For blinkers, I will have to change my turn signal flasher due to the lower load (~20ma per led)

@Sven7
Mid Michigan, north of you (Detroit) 2 hours or so according to google maps.



I'm wanting to do the lower grill block next, but I'm not sure how I want to go about it. I would like to make it flush with the front of the bumper and still have abilities to adjust a flap some time down the road (no pun intended). I'm thinking of using some small chunks of 2 inch high density styrofoam where the zip ties would mount it, and leave the area I plan to have the hole at empty behind it. Only thing that kind of stinks is my chloroplast is white and only 3'x2.5' (10 sheets).

I currently have my radiator blocked as much as I could get cardboard over it with the upper grill block. Since I installed a 192 degree thermostat my temp went from 166F to 200-204F. It likes to stay around 202F and sometimes goes up/down from stopping and going. I have never heard my fan run yet, so I'm not even sure if the motors are good. I think I will be safe to block off 100% of the grill for winter driving (currently mid 20s to 40s, normally down to -5F this time of year). Summer time I'm thinking about 1/3 opening on the bottom would be about perfect and have ~5 inches of it that can be closed off from inside.

For the adjuster, I'm thinking a cable with quite a bit of pull distance (5 inch?) would be my best bet and make it a slider with a spring return.

FYI- If I pull off crazy mileage (50mpg+?) my dad said he would buy a corolla and do all of my mods and a boat tail. Not sure how truthful that is, but an interesting challenge :). Last trip home I had 44.7mpg out of the blue, hoping I can figure what happened and continue it :).

I'm pretty sure I have seperation at my rear window, so I wonder how much of a benefit I would get with a kammback vs full boat tail.

Here is a side shot of the car (ignore the rusty car lift :O).

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/9372/img2273fg.jpg

I don't know if I would be comfortable blocking off the radiator with pieces of cardboard right up against it like that. If the fan did come on, it wouldn't be able to draw air through, then engine overheating could be an issue. No aero benefit either. You could always use some tape and mock up a 2/3 - 3/4 lower grill block and remove all the cardboard directly in front of the grill, this would allow the air to be drawn up from between the gaps between the bumper and the radiator...resulting in aero and faster warm up, much smaller chance of overheat with the upcoming warmer temps...and you would have a template for when the color of chloroplast comes along that your like :)

It would be good to find out how much block you can do safely, then work up to a movable type if you wanted to.

Wheel spats and mudflap removal is another area that helps.

The only reasion for the cardboard is because my thermostat was stuck open and was running around 160F, with the cardboard it could get to 166-170 and about 174 in town. I forgot to remove it when I installed the new 192F thermostat, but watching my scangauge closely, it has never gone over 204F. I do plan to remove it once i make a grill block though.

I do plan on removing the mud flaps, they actually have a slot at the top of them to allow the air to go though, so I'm not sure how much of a difference it would make.

I was thinking about a mirror delete, but state law prevents me since it requires two OUTSIDE! mirrors.... Might look at folding in the passenger side since I rarely use it/need it and it would still be there... just not adjusted well :).

The steel rims appear fairly smooth, would smooth wheel covers really make much of a difference? I thing lighter is better for wheel covers, so I would be looking to use chloroplast besides the fact I don't want the flashy hubcaps. Should be fairly easy to cut a circle in chloroplast, make holes for the lugnuts (4) and one for the valvestem. I have an extra set of Camry hubcaps that should go on this just fine, but I was thinking the extra weight would offset the small aero benefit. I'm thinking I could fill the indents in the hubcaps to have a good look yet aero. Ones I have are like these:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ry_1992-94.JPG


I'm also thinking a whiper blade aero deflector might be a fair benefit as well.

So many mods, so little time! I work 8 days on, 6 days off, so in a few days I'll have to play around with some mods :).

We have the same engine/trans and yet I can't get out of the thirties... 31avg.

What speed do you travel at? I'm driving in almost perfect conditions with very few stops, long drives, and at low speeds. On the highway I have gotten 34ish with my dad driving, but I got 38 on the way back and at 55 I get around 37-40 (instant). I think tire pressure really helps these cars. One thing that I can think of that would result in around 31mpg would be having the over drive button off, or your lockup not engaging (45mph under light load up to about 55 on light throttle). If you don't let off the gas, it might not lockup, my old cutlass ciera did that when on the highway.

It could be possible my car has a "problem" that somehow helps my MPG, but I know the MPG figures are close since I fill up about the same number of times to work, but is $22 cheaper than my Camry (9 gal vs 15).








Yesterday I took out the cardboard from my radiator and noticed something very very odd..... my temp ran HOTTER! Instead of around 202F it would be 204-206F. Intake air temp went up by around 10-15F than before too. I have never heard my fans kick on yet, and idling won't get the temp high enough for the fans. Very strange engine/cooling system.

Take a hard look at temperature and wind direction. I get anywhere from 30 to 42 MPG on a particular 60 mile highway route depending only on temperature and wind. That's with identical speeds and driving style.

The 42 MPG was on a 75 degree day (no AC) and a direct tailwind about 15 MPH.

I have been able to steadily average 41-42mpg since then with little effect from winds (70% of my driving is wooded area). See http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...mpg-20699.html for more talk about that trip.

If you have an Autozone up that way, I'm from down south, see if you can find the small size mirrors. I paid around $10 a piece for mine and mounted them below where the originals were. My passenger is currently removed and sitting in my floorboard. I picked up about a 5-6% increase just by decreasing the size of the mirror. Also, Home Depot down here carries coroplast by the 4' x 8' sheets. They call it corrugated plastic. Just a thought. Otherwise, I'll be following closely. Looks great :thumbup:

Here is my 94 with disks on it and when i did my lower grill.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...001_183644.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...001_182736.jpg

I'm thinking about the smaller mirrors, thanks for the tip that auto zone has them. For the Chloroplast, the Home Depot in my area don't carry it... largest size they have is 30x36 inches and I asked the store manager if they could get any larger sizes, he called around and didn't have any luck.

@deathtrain

Is that all of your mods? lower grill block and the moon caps? 50+mpg is epic mileage for a corolla :D. The moon caps look pretty good on the corolla when painted black, might have to look into getting some of them, or making them myself.


I have been throwing the idea around about a manual gear selector switch to over ride my ECU to be in any gear I want at any speed with lockup on or off. If I'm thinking it out right, I would basically be driving the car like a stick with a few tricks I'll have to figure out about shifting it smoothly. Of what I read for another Toyota, it only has two solenoids that control which gear it is in.


Have not tested the LF1 yet, might be able to tonight though.

homedepot.com and have it shipped to store, or your house. Be careful with the manual gear selector for auto tranny's. It's not bad, just be careful. If plausible, you may consider a manual swap.

no I got the upper done now. but I got the standard so thats what gets my higher mpg

LF1 didn't work on my car :-/.

If your getting 60mpg with such little mods on a 1.6L and a manual trans, I might have to keep an eye out for one of them :). That would give me a ~30% savings nearly instant, or just keep modding this corolla, either way very interesting stuff to learn and do.

Another thing is my location. I live in the flat lands of south texas and we dont know what snow is. and my driving is 2 miles to the freeway with two stops signs then it 30mi highway @55 mph. I have an exit for my work and i can EOC from the freeway into the parking lot.

I'm driving a 1995 Geo Prizm 1.6L with a 5 spd and AC. With no mods I get 36 mpg at 65mph. The airflow around the rear window is smooth judging by the water left after driving in the rain. I am looking at a 6 in. front air dam, grill mesh, fog lamps, rear wheel skirts, wheel fairing splash guards, belly pan, and a rear deck spoiler. I need a strip across the roof above the rear window to keep the snow from blowing onto the rear window. The belly pan may be in sections for easier access when doing maintenance. I have thought about moon wheel covers but I am rather fond of the aluminum wheels I swapped from an Escort GT.

Yesterday I installed a lower grill block (about 85% blocked off), deleted the mud flaps, and folded in the passenger's mirror which should have been done a month ago >,<. First trip today with the mods with the typical wind from the west, and had a new trip record of 45.3mpg. This is with lights on, traveling at 45mph for about 36 miles to work. The last record was going home in the morning (no lights), traveling at 45mph. So far that is a 4-7 mpg gain (before I averaged 38-41) or a 10-18% gain (only 1 trip to base on so far).

Things are looking up, had a few times I was able to maintain speed at 45mph and have the scan gauge say 60mpg on fairly flat ground :).

The only draw back so far is the water temp is a bit higher than before. Normaly while driving it rides around 202F (max 206F spikes), Today 80% of the trip it was 202-204F.. not a prob, but the last bit (best mpg as well) was higher, jumped to 212F pretty quick, then steadied off at around 215F. Max was 216F. Keep in mind I have a 192F thermostat, factory was 180F. I also have NEVER heard the fan kick on, when my dad changed the thermostat, he couldn't get it to open while idling to burp the system.

My intake is well away from the engine (front left corner up high) and intake temp was going up the entire trip, ended up around 96F nice and warm! I have been throwing the engine blanket idea around, but not sure how hot I should allow the under hood temps to get to before worrying. Besides quicker warm up times, I won't see much of a benefit since after I get to work, the car sits 10.5 hours.

I think the belly pan or some wheel covers should be next. Got to get a 50mpg average trip :D.


_______________________________

EDIT:

Woot new record again!

47mpg on the trip home.

Before I was around 42-45 mpg at 45mph and averaged 38-41mpg per tank, so if it is relatively close to the difference now, I should be getting close to a 45mpg tank average (didn't check scan gauge).

Couple things to note, wind was low (less fight for the first 1/3rd trip home), when I got home my pc said the weather is 55F outside (seems closer to 50 to me but w\e), and finally peak water temp hit 224F, it stuck around 213F for a while and bounced around 220F a bit after that. When I had to stop at a stop light the temp went down!


I think an adjustable lower block is a MUST for any warmer of weather. That way I can have it 100% closed when I first start the car, and once it gets up to temp (around 200-210F) I can open it up some, and if it starts to get too hot, open more. Currently it only has about a 5-6 inch wide opening by about 4 inches. I think I'll make the opening around 12 inches wide (license plate width) and have it adjustable from 0-12 inch opening from within the car.

I'm really excited, I can't wait to fill up (another 200-250 miles to go ....). If I can hit 45mpg on this tank, my latest goal will be met O.o. When I bought this car I never dreamed it could even get close to 50mpg, was guessing max 40-42 (prior research).

My Geo has more streamlined mirriors. You could possibly switch or go to an aftermarket racing style mirror on a stalk. Make sure your battery and other components don't get too hot. I have been thinking about how to vent the engine compartment either just above the engine or some other low pressure area.

So far it only gets up to a max of 92F which I would think the battery should handle fairly ok. Relocating it, or just venting it to the fender and sealing on the inside might work. Not a large consern currently since the battery came with the car and has lived its life already (5+ years).

I'm thinking about going for a tiny mirror that I was told autozone has from another ecomodder for the passenger's side. Not sure about the driver side, I drive at night a lot so being able to adjust it would be a large help (it is electric).

Most people I talk to are completely shocked at my mileage and I have been pushing ecomodder.com and what they can do help their own mileage. When people see results, they want part of it. My dad talks about making a grill block for his car now, guy at work claims I can mod his car for better mpg (not sure if he is joking or not). Another guy I work with is looking for a better base car to start with, then going to aero mod it some. Spreading like wildfire :). Once I get 50mpg+ I'll be throwing one of them "I get xxMPG" and a ecomodder.com sticker on the back. Might try to copy an idea that was for the anal probe about being a "MPG test car, please pass".

Can't wait for the 50mpg+ tanks with the help of spring/summer and more aero mods, wonder if I'll ever be able to join the 60mpg club with out a boat tail.

Quick update on this, I got energetic and made some quick coroplast smooth hub caps. The rear ones went on great, but the front ones (different rim) isn't as smooth but should help. I took it for a really short ride and didn't see a huge difference, but hopefully in the long run I see better averages :).

The hub caps went on via zip tie though the rim. Works well and I based it on another design of hub cap that used zip plugs.

I think next on the plate is rear wheel skits. I better buy some glossy black paint first though :P.

First trip with the wheel covers looks like a for sure gain! 52.6mpg average to work (night time, no wind that I could feel). My last best to work was around 47!

If temps hold out and I'm not fighting the wind, I might be able to pull this tank off near 50mpg and meet my current tank goal, that is nearly 100% over EPA ratings with not many mods!

Reread the MI law on mirrors... mis read it about the passenger mirror, so it is now DELETED!

Also took some new photos. Currently all mods stick out like mad since it is white on black :D.

Got to see the first person laughing their ass off looking at my car :), it is starting to get the odd look.

It really needs a belly pan, went over some dusty roads and it really kicks it up yet.


http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/1029/dscn0019u.jpg
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/2323/dscn0020v.jpg
http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/8150/dscn0021fk.jpg

Let 'em laugh. I personally quite like your trash-bag upper-grille block. A little rough up close, but hey, you didn't buy the car for beauty.
Besides, isn't 50MPG the most beautiful thing anyway?
Nice job, looking forward to whatever else you do to your car.
:D

Yea the car is an eye sore, the white mods stick out way too much on the black :D, someday i'll paint it. The trash bag is pretty stealthy since the other mods stick out so much lol.

I'm planning on a belly pan and wheel skirts over time, not sure on the boat tail, maybe a partial one.

50mph on the scangauge is great, just wish the tank averages would get up there. 52+ mpg would give me over 100% of epa ratings (and my old mpg on the camry). 1/2 priced gas anyone? :).

I think you are making great progress!

these winds are driving me nuts. its calm on the way to work and 30 Mph head winds on the way home :(

Glad you reread the mirror law, I was going to send you the link, I was the one that added that wiki section. I wanted to be very sure it was ok before I did it :)

I made my lower grill block adjustable, open and closed by a switch in the car :) :) :)
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ose-14328.html

Do a boat tail. YES YES YES YES

it will help about 5-6 mpg. more at higher speeds.

I get lots of looks and questions but its fun. I never have to search for my car in the parking lot :)

Yes these winds are KILLING my MPG like mad. Last trip home was something like 43mpg on the scangauge, disgusted... but that is what is also pushing me forward (I have been lazy lately lol)

If I did do a boat tail, the trunk is 100% a requirement to use. I use this car as a small truck when I get computers in to recycle. The last time I had a load I got 38mpg vs around 18 for my dads "little truck". You can see the front of it in the last photos somewhat.

More on safty and people that don't like to watch what is going on now... Going 45mph all the time, most people just come up behind me, slow down, see I'm slow and pass. Some don't slow down until the last second and tailgates closer than I normally accept (can't see their front end in my review mirror). I never did a good check, but if I can't see their headlights, they are pretty close.... Anyway, I'm interested in seeing if it was be legal to put one of the slow moving vehicle signs on the back of the car to warn people well ahead of time I'm going slow. Maybe I could get some semi trailer reflective tap and mock one up?! Besides that I would like to put my mpg figures on the back so people can understand what I'm doing better and maybe make an impact on them like my parents.

I wouldn't mind throwing an ecomodder.com sign on the car too, but the shop's photos make it look like it is about 3 inches tall and a foot wide. I would want something larger for people to see (about double the size). Of course besides the great looks, it would give me a few MPG :).

Really wishing it was a manual now, but seams no deals can be gotten for a stick corolla :-/.

Also for reference, I have another thread about this car. It has some odd "mode" that gives about a 20% FE gain instant and is a huge reason I'm over the high 30s in mpg. Still have NO CLUE what is so special about the mode, but ever mod I do gets me staying in it more and more. Currently the only thing really killing the mod is during warmup and fighting the wind.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...mpg-20699.html

Looking good. Too bad you didn't paint those mods black before putting them on, because you wouldn't be able to see them. With just zip ties it'll take about 30 minutes to take them all off, paint them and put them on again!

You could definitely get some wide white tape and write "45MPG" big on the hatch. Stick the tape onto wax paper, draw the numbers on it and cut them out with an XACTO knife, then peel and stick like a regular sticker.

I've also been thinking about those reflective trailer stickers. I'd cut the red halves off and put them on the back bumper, saving the white halves for the sides of the boat tail.

Anyway. Set aside a half hour and paint those mods black (maybe psychedelic spirals on the wheels) and it'll look great. Get some R/C car window tint for the in-bumper turn signals and it'll look even better.

If you're worried about the trunk opening consider something like Bruce Pick is doing- a Kammback that attaches outside the trunk so you can still open it. Maybe the top of the Kammback is hinged to get out of the way.

Cheers!

I'll probably just paint them while on the car, just need a glossy black paint. I'm not huge on looks, but a little paint that don't match perfectly on the body don't effect me much, of course i'll tape it off. For the wheel covers I though about painting the Camry hubcap shape on them and paint the rest black so it would "almost" look like hubcaps lol.


I'm slowly changing to LED lights, I changed my right marker light to led and is about 1/4 the brightness (at 20ma draw). I think I'll need to build my own LED lights, I can't see spending $5 + each when I can make them for under $1 + a lil time.

I have been planning on a Kammback, just havn't messed around with one since I'm pretty sure a belly pan would be more benefit for time invested, since the Kammback requires a bit more testing like a tuft test :).


Did a lil research on the slow moving signs, seems it wouldn't be allowed for a car that can travel over 25mph. Looking further at model t forums, found this:

Caution Slow Moving Vehicle Magnetic Sign Decal Sticker

Might mimic it and reword it like....

CAUTION
Slow moving vehicle
45 MPG

Another good one for the back of the car if you worry about other people's safty

SAFETY FIRST Don't Take Chances

Already had 1 car that would have been in a head on wreck if I didn't hug the shoulder of the road so 3 cars could go by. People passing directly behind someone else with out looking is death.... That is why I want some sort of signage.

I could just do this as well lol...
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets.../500x_slow.jpg

ps2fixer
 

good job so far! feed your intake cool air from in fornt of the vehicle then try some very light water injection (distilled) a percentage of the spray of a personal comfort mister - make sure your crankcase ventilation is operating well!
and of course a 195 F deg thermostat the mist should allow your ecu to bump the timing back up and it will allow you to run cheap (<octane) gas to boot!

I have read a little on water injection. I think i'll focus on other mods first since that is fairly advanced. Should be possible to use an engine injector to mist the water?

My coolant runs around 200F when it warms up fully (takes a long time lol). When we hit 70-80F outside, I ran around 230F. Coolant and seals/hoses must be good since my dad worked on the car while I was sleeping (midnight shift) and ended up having the coolant hit 267F and have had no problems yet. Seems the corolla likes a nice warm engine since I get better mpg when it is > 200F compaired to 180F

Also I already run the lowest octane at the pump, pretty sure it is 87 which is called for in the owner's manual.

I'll add water injection to my planned mods :)

I have read a little on water injection. I think i'll focus on other mods first since that is fairly advanced. Should be possible to use an engine injector to mist the water?

here in the desert when folks get hot they use lil air misters to stay cool as simple as running it off low pressure compressed air. but even such a small amount of water will drown my 1.6l diesel engine which is why i say use part of the mist. solenoid injector, no. also it would rust in no time.

My coolant runs around 200F when it warms up fully (takes a long time lol). When we hit 70-80F outside, I ran around 230F. Coolant and seals/hoses must be good since my dad worked on the car while I was sleeping (midnight shift) and ended up having the coolant hit 267F and have had no problems yet. Seems the corolla likes a nice warm engine since I get better mpg when it is > 200F compaired to 180F

if you run it that hot make sure you have as much coolant as the lable on the bottle allows or you will have localized boiling in your cylinder head. better yet run evans coolant - NO water! also you might need a fan controller with a higher temp setting or your fan will run incessantly trying to cool your engine to OEM temps.

Also I already run the lowest octane at the pump, pretty sure it is 87 which is called for in the owner's manual.

the water mist *should* allow your computer to increase timing beyond the 87 octane gas which is essentially what the extra octane does, but water has many other benefits and is almost free.

have you tried feeding your engine high pressure cool air yet. if not give it a try..

Some use windshield washer tank + pump and oil burner 'injector' (those that are warming houses; burning oil, heating water) Some alcohol in mix is good for cold areas.

Simpler method is to spray water to radiator or intercooler. With intercooler and turbo motor it is not the most clever idea to put water before intercooler, but I have seen that done too, now how do you drain intercooler of water then? :D

Old times when engines got carbon buildup easily, water was used to clear the engine, 3000rpm or so and then water to intake, not so much that engine stalls, but enough to effect running and that did bring back missing ponies, but some managed to cause hydro lock destroying perfectly good engines, so too much is too much, too little did not clean engine. I remember that glass or bottle was 'injector' so it is quite hard to cause serious problems with injector put to intake manifold.

If my intake would be any way sensible, I would do water injection, but as my intake is behind the motor, below intercooler, it is real pain to remove it, I think removal of cylinder head was needed to be able remove intake manifold, so I don't think that I will do it.

yea, this corolla is definitely tops.

this thread is the shizzy.

i'm thinking when i get back to america i'd like to get an old corolla like this one.

I just put on a front belly pan portion that goes from the chin of the front bumper to the bottom of the radiator support. My car comes with some strategically placed pan pieces directly below the engine and transmission, so this new piece helps the air flow into those without swirling around between the bumper chin and the radiator by closing it off. I will update my findings.

Make sure your radiator fins are clean and not bent. I just washed out the fins of my other vehicle and was surprised at the grime and bugs that were in there that I couldn't even see. It seemed to run cooler while towing too. With all the blocking you are doing it helps to have everything running as well as it can.

Bumping this post up again. Only thing really changed to the car since the last post is new rear tires and wheel covers. It is getting cold FE is falling down, and I need to do more mods :).

Woo made some progress for the first time in a long time. Installed 1 panel of a belly pan yesterday. It only covers 1/2 the width of the body, and back to about the back of the engine bay. The other side I'll have to work with as I get time, it has the exhaust pipe, oil plug etc.

I got more of a feeling for the odd high mpg mode I found in my car today on the way to work, pulled 46.7mpg instead of the usual ~39-40mpg. Only big difference was 45mph for 100% of the trip insteast of ~40% (rest at 50mph), the belly pan work, and I kepted it in the mpg mode for a good % of the trip.

Update!

I have an Ultra Gauge since I have been wanting a 5/6th gauge and it was cheaper than a scangauge e to piggyback. Also... since the temps have dropped, the corrolla is acting up, giving poorer mpg and such :(. One day I drive eco friendly and bearly get 40mpg, and the next I race to work @ 10-15mph faster and get nearly the same mpg. Of course it goes the oppsite way, just kind of depends what it wants to do, have had trips as low as 35mpg when before I never gotten under 40, even racing to work speeding, no coasting etc.

Things I have noticed when it is acting up...

High Idle while coasting in neutral
Low efficency cat code has poped in a couple of times while getting the poorer mpg
seems to be running richer than before at any given rpm including the "high mpg mode" which I can\'t keep it in when it is acting up
DFCO only works in lower gears at higher rpm

Betwen a little research and a wild guess, I\'m targeting the O2 sensors, and/or a dirty IAC valve, to maybe dirty fuel injectors. Really hoping the cat isn\'t plugging up....

It does seem to work better when the temps are above freezing, and it acts up at and below freezing, maybe water/mist related in some way.