Going aero ('05 Scion XA)

[MTXA]

I picked up a decent mpg gain with the engine block and oil pan heaters that I installed on my XA. Last weekend I got a 46.7 mpg short range trip from a 45 mile drive with just pre-heating the engine and using DWL & engine on coasting. This week I made a few more changes. First, I pizza panned my wheel covers.

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The pans fit the rim lip perfectly. I cut the outer 1/8" from my hubcaps and used stainless rivets to secure them. Painted with Valspar Massey Ferguson gray. End result is a good solid fit and they look almost good.

Next up was the bottom of the car. It looked like this:

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The red spot is the oil pan heater. I did a bunch of research into under trays. During the research, I came across a decent deal for an aftermarket Japanese import under tray. Prefabbed, solid construction, $99 - sold! Installation time of about 1.25 hours

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Much more aero if I say so myself. It should also be kinder to wayward possums in the middle of the road. Pretty soon, I'm going to craft a trap door into it to facilitate oil changes.

Coming soon is a set of side view mirrors from a Suzuki GSXR 600. My eyeball micrometer says that I will reduce the exposed mirror surface about 50% plus I'll retain decent side view.