Ecomodder a ATV/MUV?
 

Has anyone attempted to aero mod a quad, three wheeler, or a MUV for better fuel economy?

My dad has a large Honda Big Red MUV that has the same engine as his 680 Honda Rincon. The MUV is working like mad to just move, granted it is almost 3 times the weight, but it also has a huge frontal area. The Rincon blasts though the trails and seems the engine is bearly working at all.

I ride mainly three wheelers (250es big reds) and wondered if I could gain performance by ecomodding them some. I'm thinking along the lines of sealing up the body to allow the air to flow over it better, wheel covers, and maybe some sort of belly pan mods. Maybe Wheel skirts?!

I'm not really trying to get great MPG out of these, since lets face it, they are not designed for that, but I would like to have better performance with out major mods. Of course having the engine running in tip top shape should be the base line.

I figured this might bring an interesting discussion, so lets have it! :thumbup:

Once you are moving, the weight shouldn't matter much other then rolling resistance and for that pumping up the tires should help, unless of course you are on soft mud or sand.
So my guess is that the engine is way out of tune, making it feel like it's working a lot harder, that is unless it has an automatic transmission, then your big problem is the automatic might be eating all of your gasoline.

The MUV is brand new basicaly. Something like 400 miles on it. We live at a sand belt, so the trails are all loose sand for the most part. My dad has researched about the MUV's lack of power and he isn't the only one, there are people at higher elevations that say they have problems going up a hill, and had to be pulled by another braned MUV. Honda is pretty big on safty since their three wheeler issues, so they really cut back on engine power. The honda 680 MUV's top speed is something like 40mph, the Rincon 4x4 is 60mph granted the Rincon is higher geared, and finally the polaris rzr 700's top speed is 60mph.

Just to point out, both the rincon and the big red MUV are fuel injected engines, so there isn't much tweeking a home user can do.

Just to give you an idea of the size difference... The Rincon's length is about how wide the big red MUV is... my dad's Mazda truck is the same width as the MUV... and it weighs around 1500 pounds. I suspect that it kind of like putting a 1.8L corolla engine in a Ford F250, but with a 33% gear reduction, it should do ok.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...nder/001-2.jpg

http://www.dirtwheelsmag.com/Media/D...Rincon_003.jpg


Anyway, does anyone think aero mods would even benefit a three wheeler/quad in normal riding?

But what is your average speed? Aero mods won't help much if your average speed is 20 MPH.

I say have fun or slow down and ride less. :)

I'm not sure of my own speeds, since I don't have a mph gauge. When I rode my sports quad, most of the time I was in the highest gear at about medium throttle. The three wheeler is slower, so it is always in high gear. Most of the trails are constant go, no stops needed, one place I go to ride sometimes does have stop signs and such and is loose sand as well.

Trying to ecomod an ATV of any kind is pretty pointless. They are made for offroad use and the rough, soft, sometimes muddy, or sandy terrain will render aeromods useless. Plus, as someone mentioned, aero isn't as big of a factor at low speeds. The rolling resistance is what is going to kill you on your 3 wheelers. The weight is killing the MUV. Its just not designed for performance, its a worker.

It seems like you are trying to get more performance from the ATV's, not MPG, so your only real option would be weight reduction or motor mods. The best option would be to ditch the big, heavy MUV and buy a trx450R if you want fast fun.

I had a Honda 200x three wheeler a long time ago. Extremely fun! My brother had a Honda 110 three wheeler as well.