Front Air Dam / Lowered Vehicle

[PAFirefighter11]

Thanks a bunch! The mud flaps should be removed, correct?


Also, is there a proven MPG increase from damming up the open grille areas up front?


I know it's ugly but I got a great deal on it!

[NachtRitter]

Looks like a great little car!

Yes, removing the mudflaps and blocking as much of the grill as feasible will both help aero and (therefore) FE.

[UltArc]

One point on the grille block-

There is a bit of controversy on why the grille block works. Yes, aero should help, but one thing that can't be argued is the temperature increase. Operating around peak engine temperature is more efficient than cold- in this weather, that faster warm up time and ease of keeping a warmer temperature will definitely help- just monitor your engine temps, even more so as the weather (eventually) gets warmer.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by PAFirefighter11

I took care of the fart pipe tip for now:

Any change in volume because of that?

On my '01 Civic, the muffler fell completely off due to rust. With no muffler at all, it is quieter than the ricer Civics with fart cans. I have to assume that the typical fart can actually amplifies the exhaust note.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by PAFirefighter11

Thanks a bunch! The mud flaps should be removed, correct?

Also, is there a proven MPG increase from damming up the open grille areas up front?


I know it's ugly but I got a great deal on it!

Doesn't look too ugly to me.

Remove the mudflaps.
Block the upper grill
Block most of the lower grill. Leave a hole on passenger side of the car (radiator should be only half wide on your car, the other half is the AC condenser). Black coroplast should be nearly invisible.

I haven't been able to notice an improvement when I lowered mine, but the temps have been plummeting since I did it, so it's hard to quantify.

[PAFirefighter11]

Thanks for all the aero info help guys! Need to get these flaps off ASAP. Trans is being swapped back to the OE one on Sunday morning, yay! Lower revving will be nice on the highway. I checked on the way in to work this morning and it's at 3200 at 65 MPH.

I may remove this front lip and design something that's better. This one goes upward towards the center. I want it flat/level for the full length.

Originally Posted by darcane

Any change in volume because of that?

On my '01 Civic, the muffler fell completely off due to rust. With no muffler at all, it is quieter than the ricer Civics with fart cans. I have to assume that the typical fart can actually amplifies the exhaust note.

There's definitely an increase in noise with the top removed. My theory is that the tip was preventing some of the sound getting to the cab. Now with the tip off it's able to travel a bit more freely towards the cab. This muffler definitely amplifies the sound and really makes me mad. But it's stainless so it should last. I need to look into getting a stock style replacement and selling this. I do worry that I'll need somewhat of an adapter due to the larger size. Downpipe area looks to be 2" or 2 1/4" max. The new stainless pipe goes all the way from the downpipe to the muffler and it's about 2 3/4" or 3" it seems. I'll cross that bridge when I get there though.

Originally Posted by darcane

Doesn't look too ugly to me.

Remove the mudflaps.
Block the upper grill
Block most of the lower grill. Leave a hole on passenger side of the car (radiator should be only half wide on your car, the other half is the AC condenser). Black coroplast should be nearly invisible.

I haven't been able to notice an improvement when I lowered mine, but the temps have been plummeting since I did it, so it's hard to quantify.

Thanks! All on the list now. I just raised the back end up 1". It was riding on the bump stops prior to that so my back was killing me! I'm not sure what coroplast is but I'll be Googling it right now.

EDIT: Got it! That advertising sign material. Should be able to drag my fiance to Michaels or some craft store for that lol.

I assume it's better to put on the outside of the grille holes than on the inside? Inside might act as a minor parachute?

[bobo333]

I had an even bigger fart can on mine til a couple of days ago, after cutting it off completely and just having straight pipe its much quieter and more bearable inside the car but my housemate said its louder outside the car than it was, especially in the upper rev range (>3-4krpm)

The grill block on the inside of the factory grill is better than nothing but on the outside will be best if you dont mind the look of it

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by PAFirefighter11

I may remove this front lip and design something that's better. This one goes upward towards the center. I want it flat/level for the full length.

There can be benefit to the design that is on there now. If the sides come down where the lower-hanging suspension and the wheels/tires are, then the lip is helping reduce the amount of air flowing over those components. The middle area under the car is usually higher than the suspension, so there may be no benefit in having the lip go down as far as the outsides... in fact, you may end up blocking more air than necessary, thereby increasing the drag.

Notice I say "can be" and "may" ... this is theoretical and would require some testing on your car model to confirm.