Fender Skirts & Low Profile Headlamps (87 Accord)

[justpassntime]

My first ecomod project was the fender skirts. I made them out of the sheet metal from the top of a S10 cab. I pounded them out on a sand bag with a rubber mallet. They are held on with two 1/4" rods, one at the top and one at the bottom. The bottom rod slips through metal clamps and is drilled and pinned in place. The top rod is held at the front buy one screw in a bracket and in the rear slips through a bracket. So it is only held by two pins and one screw. I only needed to drill one hole on each wheel well for these to mount. I did notice that the car is quieter with the skirts on. My dad says I need to stop watching American Chopper.

I have people ask me "how are you going to change a tire?" I always tell them I have airless tires.

The second mod were the headlamps. After driving at night and realizing I was losing 4 mpg I decided to change them. The headlamps came from a 1996 Grand Prix, cost was $17.00, they are mounted to brackets made from the arms from satellite tv dishes. The lights happened to be the same height as the turn signal/side maker. I am going to weld the light doors on to the hood and put lexan over the lights. I think it already looks better than the pop ups. I did have to also modify the radiator support slightly to make room for the lights. I also used diodes from a bad alternator in the wiring so the low beams would stay on with the high beams. I didn't gain any noticeable mpg but I won't be losing any either.

Geo Storms have the same lights but the bucket was made of plastic. The ones from the Grand Prix are metal so are much easier to work with. Some years of Camaros have them also.

[FastPlastic]

Nice job on the metal work The wheel skirts look good.

Originally Posted by justpassntime

I also used diodes from a bad alternator in the wiring so the low beams would stay on with the high beams. I didn't gain any noticeable mpg but I won't be losing any either.

Are the grand prix headlights dimmer then most? One of the big things that some are addressing is electrical load. Running both would add an extra 70-110 watts or the equivalent of about 1/7hp if I'm not mistaken. Which could be why you haven't seen noticeable results.

I think they look good by the way.

[justpassntime]

Thanks. I have had cars before that if the high beams were on the lows were too, I thought they were all that way. You are probably right about the hp loss. But with the original headlights up I lost 4 mpg, so that won't happen now.

This weekend I got the headlights doors welded to the hood and completed the lexan covers for them. Will post pics tomarrow

[Xringer]

I had those flip-ups on my last car. (1991 Plymouth Laser RS) At 70 MPH, I could feel the car slow down a little when I hit the raise button.
But, in 1999 I got my Honda CRV and a big load of drag that's always there!

[i_am_socket]

Nice headlight swap

I've never liked flip-up headlights and always thought "how much easier would it be just to put properly shaped headlights there?" No complication with extra motors or having them get stuck up/down. Simplicity rules.

[justpassntime]

The results with lexan and doors welded to hood corners. The only thing left would be to make filler panels under the headlights to give it a more finished look. But all in all it turned out good for a $17.00 mod and a little bit of time.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by i_am_socket

Nice headlight swap

I've never liked flip-up headlights and always thought "how much easier would it be just to put properly shaped headlights there?" No complication with extra motors or having them get stuck up/down. Simplicity rules.

For decades in the US,DOT laws forbid carmakers from doing aero headlights,so pop-ups were kind of a compensation.Glad those days are behind us.

[metromizer]

I had the exact same car, and wondered about FE night versus day from the headlights popped up. Word from a Honda tech I know is the wiring goes bad and the so do the drive motors on the pop-up doors.

Your new lights look great, same with the skirts!

I sort of checked it during this bonzai run from The SF Bay Area to Wendover UT (Bonneville). I left at 3:am, and I thought I measured about a 1.5mpg decrease because of the lights. But the more I think about it, my test was far from scientific. I was speeding the entire way and going over the Sierra-Nevada mountain range. I can't conclude anything other than at 90mph most of the way, popped up headlight should have decreased my FE :-) LOL

[RiseAbove]

Any ideas on skirts for a '99 Cavalier? I am contemplating this mod.

[justpassntime]

Originally Posted by metromizer

I had the exact same car, and wondered about FE night versus day from the headlights popped up. Word from a Honda tech I know is the wiring goes bad and the so do the drive motors on the pop-up doors.

Your new lights look great, same with the skirts!

I sort of checked it during this bonzai run from The SF Bay Area to Wendover UT (Bonneville). I left at 3:am, and I thought I measured about a 1.5mpg decrease because of the lights. But the more I think about it, my test was far from scientific. I was speeding the entire way and going over the Sierra-Nevada mountain range. I can't conclude anything other than at 90mph most of the way, popped up headlight should have decreased my FE :-) LOL

I checked mileage one time with lights popped up vs daytime with them down. Weather conditions were the same and the pop ups sucked a whopping 4 mpg. That's when I decided to change them. Plus it looks better too.

I think I could actually gain a bit more if I made some flares for the rear doors to smooth the air flow to the skirts. I am sure I will get to that eventually.