Front air blocker, anybody ever get pulled over?
 

I am considering a full front end block on my car as a temporary to see if it helps at all, but I am curious if anyone has ever got pulled over for their aeromods?

Plus I will need to be driving to college and back everyday next week, so any tips on how to NOT scrape the front end on the ground? :(

I've been pulled over 7 times so far, mainly by cops curious about my car. They'll pull me over for some trivial reason, then after going through the license/registration/insurance routine, pop the question they were itching to ask, "What's all the stuff on the car for?", or "What kind of car is this?" Never received a ticket after satisfying the cop's curiousity.

but you sir, are a professional.

Mine is cardboard held on with tape........... that's what gets me worried.

LoL!

You're too kind!!!

I'd say, "I'm from the planet Flatchgurgle. My mentor is Xenia 5. Have you seen her today?" :D

You made me LOL, and that's always good. Thank you!

bluesfan

A nice, clean block attracts attention also. This is my recent upgrade.............

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i3...etf/led006.jpg

hey sean i dont know if you recognize me from the TCCA

i think it helps if you show everyone the way you did it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...P1010180-1.jpg

I would pull you over in a heartbeat if I was a cop.

hi achang! i didn't know you were on here!

and johnny,....... crap. :(

Check your local vehicle laws to see if something like that is illegal. Getting pulled over is nothing more than annoying as long as you're not doing anything wrong and can prove it.

well I finished my mock body kit.... it will all be coming off except for the front. Sadly, the best pic of them all for some reason is really tiny...... :( :( :( :( :(

And I already took the sides off.....

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Hello,

What is your reasoning for doing this in the back?

First off, you're already breaking one big law and that is on license plates -- I can't see it from either front OR back. This is bad and easy pickings for a ticketer. Next is looking or the appearance of security/stability. If it looks flimsy and could come off at any moment, this could provoke a pull-over and some explaining to THE MAN. Plus with so much cardboard, you'll get attention like basjoo does.

For testing this is fine but make sure to do this on some light/no traffic area that gets little attention from the police and make sure you either cut out some spots for the license plates to be seen at distance or move them into the windows (check your local vehicle codes for allowability here). I would also slap on MORE MORE MORE TAPE. I'm a big fan of blue tape (:D) but under stress at speed, they suck at holding onto anything... at all. Plus over time, they naturally lose their adhesive qualities and forcing it to hold on to cardboard just means it will come off sooner than later.

(this is why I made my rear skirts and front grill blocks literally out of just tape -- I figured they were small and light enough that if it does come off, it wouldn't pose as much of a threat as if a piece of cardboard flying off at 55mph. Plus tape on tape isn't exactly forcing the tape to work hard holding on to the car and itself)

Wow when going through the pictures I didn't notice the plates thing but that is definitely a no-no if you want to stay under the radar. I would not rock that look, but if you continue to do so, atleast write that it is for FE on the cardboard. :D That will give an explanation to others looking at your car dumbfounded.

Like others say, that doesn't look to sturdy. It could fly off at any given time. That is a hazard in my book.

It really was just for laughs. The sides were just on in the driveway, and I knew they wouldn't be on long so I didn't bother to use a lot of tape on them.

As for the rear, the license plate is in the window, and MI doesn't require a front plate.

The rear was just for fun too, but it held up at 50mph and didn't pull any tape off. I'll be removing the rear piece tomorrow.

The front really has a TON of tape on it, almost half the roll, and it was a pretty thick roll of tape. I think I am going to leave it on for a week or so to see if it improves anything, but if it does fall off, I'm guessing it won't just flat-out drop off the front of the car, so I'll be able to pull over and remove it easily if it gets loose or starts dragging.

Also, if it rains, everything will be removed ASAP, bacause believe me, wet blue tape is NO fun to remove.

oh, and I was planning of writing something about FE on it, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'll probably do it tomorrow after I remove the back.

Most states require your license plate to be mounted to the vehicle without anything blocking it's view, including clear covers or windows, your public library has the entire state statues that you can read and find out first hand what the law is.

Michigan Vehicle Code Section 257.225 says that it must be "securely fastened... not less than 12 inches from the ground... in a place and position that is clearly visible... and in a clearly legible condition"

I did find out that it is illegal in MI to put your car in neutral on a down grade slope.... :(
(doesn't say anything about turning the car off though.... :D)

If it works out in the fuel savings department, you could always make a permanent one from truck mudflap material or coroplast.

Yeah, I'm thinking that if it works, I will go get a scrapyard bumper and bolt some coroplast to it or something. That way I will be able to remove it and put on my original bumper if something happens to the coroplast and I won't have a bunch of holes left in my bumper.

Representin' from the 313 (almost)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...omodder/13.jpg
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Hi,

How will you get any cool air in to the radiator?

Sean T -

That is a most egg-salad plan.

CarloSW2

Hmmm... now to determine if you like egg salad or dislike egg salad.....

personally i love egg salad. but i agree with NeilBlanchard. umm... air?

everyone on the taurus forum says that they breathe from underneath, so I'm guessing the air that goes under the air blocker should be enough... I know I'm going to need to keep an eye on the temp gauge though. If it gets high, I'm just going to remove it.

Sean T -

I think if the temps go up, you just have to start cutting holes in the cardboard. If your Taurus breathes under, then maybe that means trimming off the bottom (which helps those pesky clearance issues).

[ egg-salad => excellent, ;) ]

CarloSW2

Thank you!!! :thumbup:

This is totally useless - except for pointing out some sort of mental defect...

when the guys at tcca said it breathes from below, it means it gets cooled off more from the bottom grille hole. so you're gonna need a hole. also dude did you think about the transmission cooler? the extra heat will surely kill the AX4S even quicker.

AX4S + heat = dead trans.

That's illegal here in VA too but does it stop me? I would say it's pretty hard to get caught doing this unless you have the misfortune of being unable to restart and/or re-engage drive when you are in the immediate vicinity of a municipality-armed revenue generator.

For you my concern would be your transmission's ability to survive EOC in neutral. Most autos require that the input shaft be powered by the engine to run the fluid pump to circulate ATF for lubrication and cooling. My 5spd manual spins gears in a bath of motor oil and ropes/splashes itself lubed. That's a world of difference right there...I would neutral-coast in an auto (most pumps turn in N but not P btw) but only EOC in a manual.

letting some air end up underneath the car is not always a bad thing some of the most streamiled cars have a "tunnel" underneath so some air can pass under the car.

even with a less than perfect underside i think there's a point where de added frontal area will be worse than letting some air get under the car and escape that way... especially if this is used for cooling etc.

i'm quite sure that sort of thing would be illegal over here, but you can't do much to your car where i live. still the basic shape doesn't look to odd, so maybe a little cleaner tape job and a quick coat of black paint can make it seem less like cardboard...

given the color of your car perhaps just a black strip at the bottom of the dam can make it seem as if your car has more ground clearance than it actually has.

camouflage is a great survival strategy

Well, I have driven almost 100 miles with it on, and the temp gauge has never risen over 1/4-1/3.

Mom and Dad said it had to come off this morning but I snuck out of the house with it still on, but I'll need to take it off tonight most definitely....

Hopefully I will get an acurate reading from the couple of gallons I used with it on. :-\

sooo, ask your parents why they are so down on the economy?
Tell em, you are trying to save them and everyone else money.

They just don't understand... They say "but you'll get pulled over" "you're going to cause an accident" blah blah blah...

I drove past at least a dozen cops today (close range too) and none of them even cared.

It did pour rain today though... while I was in class too... so now it's ruined. :(

I overheard my mom talking about the 55 mph nation-wide max speed limit proposal... "If people want to save gas... they should do 55 by themselves, and the people who don't care can go faster." Next time she goes over 55 I'm going to ask her for gas money and use the backup that she obviously "doesn't care" about gas prices. LOL. :D

Well, the fuel log doesn't lie :)

It's a 0.9 mpg increase but your fuel amount was less than half of what you normally use. I'd keep testing again later and see if it was really the cardboard OR the placebo effect of the cardboard on your driving habits. I'm not even sure if +0.9 MPG is even significant with 5 gallons of gas.

(this is why using a Scangauge/MPGuino for instanenous data feedback for testing is more convenient than tank refills)

LOL!

I would love a scangauge.... *hint hint, christmas is coming...

I can't afford one though... and Mom and Dad said no to the cardboard, and I wasn't even able to get away with it for 2 full days.

Maybe if I go away to college next year or something?

sorry to burst your bubble but those gains are negligible. keep trying though. :thumbup:

I think your parents just don't want to be the parents that the neighbors talk about saying, "the parents that bought their kid a cardboard car." :D