Daox's 1997 Paseo Build Thread

[Daox]

Nothing as of yet, but working on a few things. The -5°F weather prevents much work from being done.

The very first thing I am going to do is get the stock underbody paneling back on (pictured below). It had been removed when I was doing engine and exhaust work on the car and I just never bothered to put it back on. Last night I got my box of stainless fasteners from mcmaster.com, so the panels can be put back on this weekend. Those bolts on the underside rust SO fast in Wisconsin's salty roads in the winter! Unfortunately, two of the 4 mounting bolts had the heads snapped off while removing them the first time. Hopefully I don't have to drill and tap extra holes to hold it on.




The grill block is an idea that I am looking into. However, the Paseo is known to have odd occasional overheating issues, so I'm weary of doing any work in that respect right now (yeah, even with the cold weather). I need to get my scangauge back from the friend I lent it to before I go ahead with that. But, it'll definitly be done.

[MetroMPG]

Have you lowered the car?

[Daox]

Yes, it has TRD springs on it. Roughly a 1.5" drop IIRC.

[Daox]

Step one (baby step that is) is underway. This weekend it was actually warm enough to work. I'm really getting cabin fever with all the new stuff I'm reading, and I wanna go get some stuff done. So, at 25°F this Sunday, I went at it.

I got my package of stainless fasteners from mcmaster a few days before. I went with the bulk route due to the price. This order cost me $28 for 100 M6 bolts, washers, and nuts. It would have cost me around $10 to buy just enough for this project alone! So, I have extras for more work down the road.




These are the panels that were removed quite a while ago while doing work on the car. They will be going back on.




Here is the car without the panels on it. There is a lip down there for deflecting air, but I'm sure the paneling helps as the lip does not extend the full width of the car. Yes, I know I'm missing a vent.






This would be the underside of the engine bay without the panel on it. Lots of stuff for air to get caught up on and go around eh?




A few nuts and bolts later we have a nice cover over some of those protruding transmission parts. Still not the smoothest thing around, but a definite improvement.




I'd really like to do some coast down tests with and without the panels on the bottom to see if there is any measurable difference with them. However, until it gets warmer out I won't even be thinking about that.

[Silveredwings]

maybe:
engine block heater?
mud flap delete?
spoiler delete?

[Daox]

I'd love to do a block heater, but that'll need to wait until its warm since it would be a freeze plug type. So, maybe this summer.

The mud flap delete probably won't happen. If anything, I'd like to do small boattails with them.

Spoiler delete was discussed a little bit in another thread. Its hard to say if it would decrease, or increase drag with taking it off since it is so low. Once I get enough other things done I'll probably look into it.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Daox]

Well, I took this morning to take off the underdrive crankshaft pulley that was on the car. I wasn't having any problems with it, but have heard problems with their lack of vibration dampening shortening engine life. I expect this will actually hurt my economy a bit as it slowed down my alternator and water pump and was quite a bit lighter than the stock pulley. However, the engine only has 72,000 miles on it and I wouldn't mind it lasting quite a few more.

Along with the stock crankshaft pulley the car got the other underside panel put back on. I purposely left it off because I knew I was taking the pulley off as soon as I had sold it. So, a few bucks in my pocket, and my battery should be a little happier too.

Oh yeah, I also just pulled off my 2nd 50+ mpg tank in the car. This time it wasn't all highway driving either so I'm pretty psyched to see what I'll be getting when its actually warm outside!

[Daox]

Interesting discovery. I've finally gotten my scangauge back from being upgraded, so I put it in the Paseo. Water temp was a big thing I wanted to monitor with the vehicle so I could see how far I could go with grill blocking. To my amazement the car is running at 190-200°F already! As far as I know it has a 185° thermostat. I'm not sure what temp the fan kicks in. I'll have to look that up in the service manual tonight and double check the thermostat temp.

So, it doesn't look like I have much room to work. However, I plan on making room to work. How? By improving the efficiency of the stock setup. Currently, air enters the front bumper through the main opening, and two small side openings. It then goes wherever it wants and runs into many different things. I'm thinking that I will add some deflectors inside the front bumper to direct airflow directly over the radiator. This would stop air from going around the radiator and thus provide more consistant cooling. The image below is a top down view and kind of shows what I mean. The two small outer vents will eventually be covered.

[MetroMPG]

Elegant idea. I like.

[Otto]

Why not just use taller tires on the rear? This is much cheaper and easier than changing a tranny or differential, esp. if your existing unit is good, vs. unknown condition of a used replacement. TireRack et al have online data on tire circumference, traction, noise, longevity, etc.. I'm sure folks here also have anecdotal info on fuel economy of various tires. Easy to change if you don't like them.

And, as far as the fairings in front of the tires, use curved ones that are somewhat wider and taller, placed closer to the tires. A small plastic bucket of the approximate size and shape that Cool Whip or ice cream uses, cut longitudinally, would work fine. Reinforce with fiberglass, Great Stuff spray foam, or simply make a double layer. Spray it black.