Fr3AkAzOiD's Cobalt XFE Aero Mods

[rmay635703]

2009 chev cobalt Gas Mileage (n6yvy) - EcoModder.com

[gone-ot]

...4766.48 mpg?


...uh, somebody's "fudging" the numbers somewhere.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...4766.48 mpg?


...uh, somebody's "fudging" the numbers somewhere.

I am wondering if we need a police officer to remove strangness like that.

It appears he just puts in what his odometer says at each fillup resulting in him going 38k on 8 gallons.

[Fr3AkAzOiD]

Bump from the grave.

Set higher goals for myself this year and while I was running 1.5 mph higher this year then last through Jan and Feb I haven't been beating last years records for March.

I have been so hung up about how the car would look and spending money on anything other then my daughter that I haven't done anything to the car for some time.

Well i nailed a pothole and it threw off my alignment so while I had that fixed today I had them bring in the total front toe down to 0.04 degrees total so hopefully that will help reduce my rolling resistance a tiny bit.

With a solid rear axle they couldn't adjust the rear so I have an Ez Shim kit on the way and plan to lower my rear toe from 0.34 degrees total to around 0.10 degree total.
Alignment checks are free so luckily I can get it checked after I'm done without spending any more $.

I then headed over to the home improvement store and picked up some foam tubing insulation and cut it down for a grill block. Right now it is set up with a 3.5 inch by 9 inch opening but if that proves to be not enough airflow I can open it up to 3.5 by 19 inches on the side of the road in a matter of 20 seconds.

For $6 I got enough to do it twice and it didn't take long to set up, the foam is large enough I just cut it to size and stuffed it in the grill. It's in there pretty good so I'm not expecting any problems with it falling out unless I go through a car wash or something.

Not sure how long it will last before the elements start breaking it down and I have to make it over again, but hopefully at least 6 months.

Not the prettiest sight but it should provide results.



Update: Closed off too much of the grill as the coolant got to 217F 4 or 5 times on the way to work with it being 72F outside. Fan kicked on and took the temps back to normal fast. I opened up the middle grill section to 3.5 inch by 19 inch so that should help. Glad I did it in small adjustable sections so I can easily keep engine temps under control.

[cfg83]

Fr3AkAzOiD -

Intereseting way to squeeze the foam in. That stuff normally doesn't degrade, but I don't think it's designed for UV light.

Maybe you should cut the void to look like a Chevy-logo.

CarloSW2

[Floordford]

Im thinking a belly pan would help the Cobalt the most. My wife has an 05 4 door and ive been under there to see how much it really could benefit. Those mud flaps definitely could go like you already did. And those mirrors are huge. But a mirror mod is easy to detect and you said that you were trying to keep a low profile with easily reversible mods. Fortunately for me as soon as I started trying to watch my fuel mileage my wife did too. Funny thing is though that my 2000 Mustang GT with performance bolt ons is getting 25mpg and her stock Cobalt is getting 23mpg. She says I can mod her car to get better mileage "just don't make it look stupid".

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Floordford

Funny thing is though that my 2000 Mustang GT with performance bolt ons is getting 25mpg and her stock Cobalt is getting 23mpg. She says I can mod her car to get better mileage "just don't make it look stupid".

Wouser, and I am averaging 45mpg with my 010 base cobalt and I don't think I am even doing very well.

Is she driving pure stop and go every block? What distances does she drive?

Anyway Even my father when driving in town in the middle of winter (around zeroish) gets about 28mpg in the cobalt base. Not sure how you get lower in a Cobalt base as he is by no means an ECO driver. Must be idling a lot and sitting at a lot of stop lights.

To improve My first thoughts are that, maybe she needs to consider an alternate route (less stops), learning EOC at stoplights, learn to start watching her throttle and fe once up to speed and learning to keep her top speed lower.

Just to start anyway.

Also What oil are you using? When the local Lube place changed my oil last winter they put in normal 10w30 non-synthetic despite my providing 5-30 synthetic. My mileage dropped at least 6mpg after that and bounced right back when I put in the proper oil a bit early (I couldn't top 50mpg after that oil change which really burned me up). Needless to say even when my ass freezes to the pavement I am going to try to make sure I always change the oil myself. This car must be like the old geo and the old Kias in that it looses massive FE if the oil isn't light enough.

Good Luck
Ryan

[Joenavy85]

Originally Posted by Floordford

She says I can mod her car to get better mileage "just don't make it look stupid".

That's what my girlfriend said, so far her Focus only has a partial front grill block, and the front belly pan (as i posted the "build" of), and pretty soon it(the belly pan) will be permanant.

[Floordford]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Wouser, and I am averaging 45mpg with my 010 base cobalt and I don't think I am even doing very well.

Is she driving pure stop and go every block? What distances does she drive?

Anyway Even my father when driving in town in the middle of winter (around zeroish) gets about 28mpg in the cobalt base. Not sure how you get lower in a Cobalt base as he is by no means an ECO driver. Must be idling a lot and sitting at a lot of stop lights.

To improve My first thoughts are that, maybe she needs to consider an alternate route (less stops), learning EOC at stoplights, learn to start watching her throttle and fe once up to speed and learning to keep her top speed lower.

Just to start anyway.

Also What oil are you using? When the local Lube place changed my oil last winter they put in normal 10w30 non-synthetic despite my providing 5-30 synthetic. My mileage dropped at least 6mpg after that and bounced right back when I put in the proper oil a bit early (I couldn't top 50mpg after that oil change which really burned me up). Needless to say even when my ass freezes to the pavement I am going to try to make sure I always change the oil myself. This car must be like the old geo and the old Kias in that it looses massive FE if the oil isn't light enough.

Good Luck
Ryan

Well thats what her stock instrumentation is telling her. She runs 5w-30 and yes she has alot of stop and go in TN where we have quite a few hills. And most people outside EcoModder.com do not over exercise their ignition switch at every stop. Im tring to get used to it myself. I dont do it that much because im worried about the instant drain on the battery of the cranking . It might put undo stress on the battery and starter. My Mustang has long tubes and to replace the starter it would take all day. The starter is under the header. To get the header off I need to take the whole front suspension down while supporting the body and engine.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Also What oil are you using? When the local Lube place changed my oil last winter they put in normal 10w30 non-synthetic despite my providing 5-30 synthetic. My mileage dropped at least 6mpg after that and bounced right back when I put in the proper oil a bit early (I couldn't top 50mpg after that oil change which really burned me up).

All manufacturers are switching to lighter engine and gearbox oils for FE reasons.

Especially in winter, when cranking a very cold engine into life, you're FE is going to take a hit when switching to a heavier oil.