Dam, It works! (Air dam on Smart Fortwo: 3-4% MPG improvement)

[hawk2100n]

I installed a lawn edging air dam a few weeks ago as well as partial rear underbody panels to reduce the drag from the rear bumper and I have seen gains of about 2+ mpg on the highway. The lawn edging is very resillient. I accidentally left my car in neutral and walked away, it rolled forward and absolutely smushed the air dam on the curb. Backed the car up and the air dam popped right back into place.

I've got some pictures on my build thread. Like OP said, this should have been done a year ago; it was that easy.

[chumly]

Originally Posted by elhigh

If you have any edging left over, make some rocker skirts for your fortwo.

Anything that can get the mileage up on those is a good thing. Seeing an EPA rating of just 38 blew my mind, I thought, "surely these little things can do better? On premium, no less?"

When I bought the car EPA said 33 city and 41 highway. My 1st tank was 43 mpg. I've already gotten over 78mpg on flat ground with no wind for a couple miles . The smart does much better at 50 vs 60 mph, it seems to lose about 1 mpg per every mph above 50. I'm willing to try anything as long as it doesn't cost too much. I live in a rural area so the traffic is usually light which helps a lot. Chumly

[MetroMPG]

Chumly, has anyone put a Kammback or boat tail on a Fortwo, that you know of?

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by chumly

When I bought the car EPA said 33 city and 41 highway. Chumly

I misremembered; the 38 is actually in reference to the Ford Fiesta I was writing about as an alternative to the fortwo in a blog post. Yes, 41.

Still requires premium, though.

[ausias]

the airdam is a very good invention. IT works very good in my car. But I'm using a 45º airdam.

[chumly]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Chumly, has anyone put a Kammback or boat tail on a Fortwo, that you know of?

Not that I know of but it shouldn't be too hard to do on the coupe but I have the cabrio, it's not that I didn't think about it. I already have some vg's on the spoiler, if nothing else they help in handling on the rare times I drive faster than normal. Chumly

[Shortie771]

Originally Posted by chumly

Not that I know of but it shouldn't be too hard to do on the coupe but I have the cabrio, it's not that I didn't think about it. I already have some vg's on the spoiler, if nothing else they help in handling on the rare times I drive faster than normal. Chumly

I think that with how short a smart is, a boat tail could net you some great gains without sacrificing drivability and parking. The extra acceleration and higher top speed doesn't hurt either.

[MetroMPG]

From: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...aybe-8293.html

(More "practical" examples of aero Smarts in that thread.)

[101Volts]

Originally Posted by aktacoma

the air dam? or the grill block?

for the air dam I believe most people use the lawn edging, right?

I was referring to the air dam. I'm seriously considering putting one on the ol' "Box", Though I don't have tank-to-tank date for the car yet.

[mbarrus]

I took inspiration from this thread and made an air dam for my Jeep over the weekend. I'm planning on making one for our Sentra once my wife returns back from a trip with the car.

Pics forthcoming.