Front Air Dam ABA test results: 7.49% increase in MPG at 60 mph (2003 Honda Civic DX) - Page 4 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

RunningStrong · 05-17-2015, 11:13 AM

Can anyone provide any advice of whether a front air dam would benefit my Fabia?

My Skoda Fabia has a very small OEM damn (no more than an inch) which sits just ahead of an OEM undertray that seals off the bottom of the engine bay nicely. The car also sits on stock suspension so the ride height is typically hight of a eco hatch back.

Would a front air dam only increase the frontal area of the car? My understanding is you want to decrease the flow of air through the turbulent underbody, but would that need to be a balanced trade off with frontal area, no?

Sorry, many questions, and no pics at the moment.

aerohead · 05-18-2015, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningStrong

Can anyone provide any advice of whether a front air dam would benefit my Fabia?

My Skoda Fabia has a very small OEM damn (no more than an inch) which sits just ahead of an OEM undertray that seals off the bottom of the engine bay nicely. The car also sits on stock suspension so the ride height is typically hight of a eco hatch back.

Would a front air dam only increase the frontal area of the car? My understanding is you want to decrease the flow of air through the turbulent underbody, but would that need to be a balanced trade off with frontal area, no?

Sorry, many questions, and no pics at the moment.

I looked up your car online,here's a technical drawing:
http://autoautomobiles.narod.ru/auto...koda-fabia.gif
I don't see any measurable benefit that you'd derive from a lower airdam unless you were going to race it only.It looks as if it's already optimized for drag.
A number of aerodynamicists who've done wind tunnel and CFD investigations found that as length was added,the drag benefit disappeared,reversing the trend,unless very close to the ground,which won't work for a daily driven car.
Volkswagen tested about 18-different air dams for their VW do Brasil 1600 fastback.There was nothing intuitive about the lowest drag configuration tested.Location,geometry,and size all contribute to the interaction.

Arragonis · 05-18-2015, 06:48 PM

RS's motor is a 'combi'

Would that change anything ?

Arragonis · 05-18-2015, 06:49 PM

P.s. my Fabia had a lower rubber air dam.

whatmaycome14 · 05-27-2015, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddie25

what is the current ground clearance of your airdam? also how far does it extend from the bottom of the bumper? out of all these air dams your one looks like it would suit my car best!

Unfortunately I removed the air dam a while back and have no way of answering this questing exactly. However, if I recall correctly, I had about 4" between the bottom of the dam and the ground.

The air dam is just using the standard lawn edging from Lowes or home Depot. I might suggest that you go and measure what they have before installing anything on your car. Just to play it safe.