Ecomodding a Cobalt SS/TC

[AeroModder]

I'm another one of those guys making performance and economy in one. ^^

Except I'm working with a '91 Ford Tempo, which doesn't offer much of either.

[cfg83]

armygreywolf -

Originally Posted by armygreywolf

Ohhh I forgot, I removed the wing entirely and opted for 5 roof mounted vortex stabilizers since then even though they don't do that much at the speeds I drive cleaning up the air movement over the roof in even a small way helps.

Cool. I think that makes sense. In another thread I think we tried to emulate the 240SX + spoiler with a Cobalt + imaginary flat racing spoiler :





CarloSW2

[AeroModder]

Wouldn't you still get the recirclating airflow from that? It looks to me like it will just be able to reattach to the trunklid and still not stick to the bottom of the glass. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[armygreywolf]

Obviously I do not have the access to a proper wind tunnel, so I have purely academic knowledge of what if anything the vortex stabilizers are doing for the car. A couple of the EVO guys in another forum suggested I scrap the 5 for 7 slightly smaller but longer ones. These are not stabilizers at all, theyre the shark finned VORTEX GENERATORS, they work great on cars generally of the coupe or sedan type, not nearly as well on wagons or hatches unfortunately since theyre entire purpose is to eliminate that low pressure bubble and get the air past the car smoother and faster. ( at least thats what I've read.)

Anyways, I've been doing ten tons of research before I spring for an ultra fugly urethane stick on vortex generator vs my paint matched quintuplet group of miniature shark fins.

[cfg83]

armygreywolf -

Originally Posted by armygreywolf

...

Anyways, I've been doing ten tons of research before I spring for an ultra fugly urethane stick on vortex generator vs my paint matched quintuplet group of miniature shark fins.

Ha ha, that's why I made mine magnetic. Totally reversible.

CarloSW2

[armygreywolf]

Come to find out they do make "fake" carbon fiber urethane stick ons that at least have the uv resistant coating so it wont yellow after a summer in the sun. It actually looks decent as well...we shall see where that goes.

Maybe it would help in the very high end, I do enjoy participating in the "Texas Mile".

[Istas]

motogp34, there are wings, and there are spoilers. Wings generate downforce, paying the price for that in drag. Spoilers are designed to smooth or alter airflow. In this case it's my guess that the spoiler on his trunk is where the airflow from the roof (and possibly sides) of the car is reattaching, providing a clean separation point from the car, which is desireable. Removing a well-designed spoiler can indeed drop the mpg.

As far as the vortex-related add-ons for the edge of the roof, there's been testing on this board that, at the very least, has indicated that it's very likely one needs the accuracy of an electronic MPG readout and cruise control, plus plenty of A-B-A-B testing, to determine if they do anything at all. I'd recommend getting one and hooking it up, like the ScanGuage II, or the MPGuino which is more hassle but far less price. It'll help you test each and every mod you get in a more accurate way than is possible by keeping track of fill-ups.

[Dust]

I would be interested in knowing about you tuning, and some pics of the car. The SS/tc is my #3 pic for my next car, behind the ecotec cavalier, and a ls1 t56 f-body

[armygreywolf]

there are older pics on the first page I believe.

I'm actually doing hand porting on the head so the car is in pieces, I have also modified my goals. Having achieved 40mpg highway, my new goal is to achieve 30 mpg in a heavily modified car. I have at present had issues with flow through the intake, a turbo upgrade isn't the answer, instead I am going to smooth the flow as best I can so I do not have problems with overspeed/overpressure and cracking the ring land on a piston.

On a side note I gained 1mpg on my Dodge simply by doing what's called the "kegger mod" to the intake manifold on my Dodge Ram with the 5.9 v8.

Anyways, I've been busy, shopping for land and working, so time is limited, sorry for the lack of updates or substance of the update.

Ohh and the spoiler delete/vortex generator mod worked well, I gained slightly more than .5 mpg from it on the highway with zero difference below 50 mph.

[Mifunego]

Army,

I'm jealous. I also wanted an "economical performance" car, but I was interested in the carrying flexibility of a wagon too. The HHR SS wasn't quite doing it for me at the time I needed to buy, so I opted for the pocket-rocket favorite Mazdaspeed3. It's fun, for sure, and the livability with two kids (and a lakehouse 200 miles away from home) is great, but man does it love gas. I haven't had it tuned yet, but for a commuter, at commuter speeds, I'm still lucky to break 26 mpg. That's with minor, easy tweaks, mostly driving style (i.e., grandmotherly). All I need is a couple hot stomps on the go pedal and my mileage heads south quick. I currently bide my time commuting, waiting patiently for autocross and track season to start though. The car does run circles around my last modified TT. But as far as FE goes, 40mpg is a total pipedream. I'd be lucky to hit 30. We'll see what happens after a tune. Anyway, glad to see it's working out for you.

FWIW - my cousin is down at Ft. Polk too. Recently back from building bridges in Iraq.