Geo Metro XFI Convertible Project Finished

[SVOboy]

Great job! I love watching your progress.

[Coyote X]

I keep having other stuff to work on or I probably would have had the back end totally finished and ready for the new plastic panels. I figure a few more hours of playing with a plasma cutter will finish up the rear end

The front I will hopefully have an easier time of since it seems pretty simple compared to the back. I probably won't attach two of the engine mounts yet and wait till there is an engine in there to make sure they stay lined up properly.

Check out this patent: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6561575-fulltext.html

he device was formed from PVC pipe having a three-inch diameter, and utilized 
an air inlet having a six-inch diameter. After two consecutive calendar quarters,
a second air channeler device of similar construction was employed with the same 
tractor unit, in a similar configuration to that shown in FIG. 8. Gas mileage statistics 
both with and without the air channeler devices are presented in Table 1 below. 
TABLE 1
                Year 1          Year 2          Year 3          Year 4       Year 5
    Quarter Gal @ Mile/Gal  Gal @ Mile/Gal  Gal @ Mile/Gal  Gal @ Mile/Gal  Gal @ Mile/Gal
    1st Qtr.  38,837 @ 5.80   35,329 @ 5.71   38,125 @ 5.15   33,835 @ 5.05  28,588 @ 6.16*
    2nd Qtr.  42,594 @ 5.85   37,296 @ 5.60   37,519 @ 5.65   38,217 @ 5,78  33,068 @ 6.72*
    3rd Qtr.  36,281 @ 5.57   31,694 @ 6.06   29,781 @ 5.77   34,753 @ 5.75
    4th Qtr.  33,752 @ 5.94   36,841 @ 5.95   35,173 @ 6.00   31,600 @ 6.09*
    *Air channeler installed.

Those improvements were on a semi with 1 or 2 3" air ducts installed channeling air from the front with a 6 inch opening to the rear. I plan on making one that is 6-8" high by 2 1/2' wide with an opening as wide as the area between the signal lights so I should see a better gain

[SVOboy]

Interesting idea! Sometime we'll have to meet up so you can some me some stuff.

I'm seriously down for a Delaware valley meet sometime, lots of us live in the area!

[Coyote X]

I am prob 500 miles away from there so it might be a long trip in a metro that rides on the bump stops with 50psi in the tires

But then again I might leave some padding on the seats so it won't be totally impossible to drive it long distances.

[SVOboy]

Oh wow, thought you were a bit closer,

[MetroMPG]

1. Good progress. As an aside, do your neighbours think you're insane? :P

2. Nice find on the pressure reducing tunnel idea. Recent patent too - 2001.

[Coyote X]

I own all my neighbors houses so I don't care what they think I am sure they think I am a bit strange but not that unusual for the area really considering this half of the state basically has no rules and regulations holding it down.

If I had time and motivation it would be interesting to mess with the numbers on that patent. Like figure out from those mileage numbers what the equivalent reduction in frontal area would be and if that matches up closely to the two 6 inch diameter openings on the last number in that table.

As an aside I also will have to do some coastdown testing and figure out my cd after I have the car done but there is no way I will be able to get a baseline so I will have to find someone else with a stock bodied convertible willing to do a coastdown to calculate the stock cd. Guess I should have done that before I started tearing the convertible apart but I didn't think about it.

[SVOboy]

You can't be considered that weird when all you're neighbors are neo-nazis!

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Coyote X

As an aside I also will have to do some coastdown testing and figure out my cd after I have the car done but there is no way I will be able to get a baseline so I will have to find someone else with a stock bodied convertible willing to do a coastdown to calculate the stock cd.

Fortunately we have several members here with those. Like this one. There's another as well, but it's not in the garage.

Probably have a good chance of finding one on teamswift too.

Though I'm not sure how many people there would care much for running a coastdown test.

[dissimilation]

What's involved? The registration should be back within the next week on the little guy, and I'd be glad to help (I think). Hope the sunny days stay for a while, been an unusually rainy winter down here.