Clear-cut instructions on how to create mods?

[Cryptinox]

I am curious if there are any simple instructions for some of these aerodynamic and other eco-mods that don't make your vehicle look like total trash (air dam, kill switch, grille block, belly pan, front splitter, etc.) I would really appreciate it if I could find some clear-cut instructions (e.g. Step 1, diagrams, etc.) instead of having to scroll through many threads. If there aren't any, I'd appreciate it if anyone doing these mods could make such a thing or at least a video if it isn't too much of burden. I am totally new to this stuff and don't know much about mechanics as of now. I wouldn't risk doing something such as a kill switch with just a rough diagram and one thread. Thank you all in advance.

[freebeard]

For one thing 'look[ing] like trash' is a matter of build quality. Do you attend car shows and/or show-and-shines? Most people can't discern a quality build.

Beyond that you have here people sharing what they have done to the best of their ability. Maybe you are looking for Instructables?

Instructables
instructables.com
Instructables is a website specializing in user-created and uploaded do-it-yourself projects, currently owned by Autodesk. It was created by Eric Wilhelm and Saul Griffith and launched in August 2005. Instructables is dedicated to step-by-step collaboration among members to build a variety of projects.Wikipedia

Have you looked at the Wiki? https://ecomodder.com/wiki/

edit: I looked at Instructables, and did a search on 'car airdam' which returned the null result. But there is section called www.instructables.com/workshop/cars/projects/ and they have ferinstance an Instructable on a smoke machine, in case you want to ro smoke trail testing.

[Cryptinox]

[QUOTE=freebeard;663665]For one thing 'look[ing] like trash' is a matter of build quality. Do you attend car shows and/or show-and-shines? Most people can't discern a quality build.

Beyond that you have here people sharing what they have done to the best of their ability. Maybe you are looking for Instructables?

Yes, I am looking for instructables. By "look like trash" I mean stuff that is too extreme for your average driver (e.g. boat tails). I have read the wiki a bit. I'd appreciate instructables if it isn't too much of a burden for someone doing one of these mods to do.

[oil pan 4]

I remember reading a thread on a wrx form. It talked about a lawn edging air dam. The consensus was that the $14 for 20ft plastic air dam looked as good if not better than the $250 aftermarket one being sold. The only person that said it looked like trash was the forum shrill pushing the $250 one.
Also there is no 1 size fits all. Some vehicles you can just toss a bit of lawn edging up under and you're good. Others have uneven surfaces that need structure added to bridge the gaps. Other vehicles a 4 inch bit of black lawn edging won't do anything because the vehicle is so high up off the ground.

[freebeard]

By "look like trash" I mean stuff that is too extreme for your average driver (e.g. boat tails).

I've known owners who'd never consider deviating from the vehicle as delivered, since the mass market manufacturer had perfectly captured their use case. There is an average driver, but half the drivers are below that. At some point you have to stop caring.

What do you think of this?


jacg: The daily driven back bird of Copenhagen

[oil pan 4]

Yeah the only mod most people do to their vehicles is put cheaper tires or other cheaper replacement parts on them.

[Cryptinox]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I've known owners who'd never consider deviating from the vehicle as delivered, since the mass market manufacturer had perfectly captured their use case. There is an average driver, but half the drivers are below that. At some point you have to stop caring.

What do you think of this?


jacg: The daily driven back bird of Copenhagen

Not bad at all. Looks good.

[freebeard]

Airdam and hood louvers.

Now, what about this?

[Blacktree]

I'm going to make a series of eco-modding videos for my youtube channel. But the videos will be specific to the 2nd generation Prius. Not sure what car the OP is using.

Also, there's a guy on youtube called Julian Edgar. He has a bunch of videos talking about aerodynamic mods for reducing drag. You might want to look into that.

[freebeard]

Julian Edgar is an excellent suggestion, despite his history here.

www.autospeed.com: DIY Tech Section/ contains many of his articles.