06-02-2011, 11:14 PM
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#11 (permalink)
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Cyborg ECU
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Coastal Southern California
Posts: 6,299
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Thanked 2,172 Times in 1,469 Posts
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean in Milwaukee
I have to say other than airing up the tires, this has to be one of the easiest mpg mods you can make. It took me all of 1/2 hour to do, and would have been easier if the grill opening wasn't vaguely trapazoidal. I used cardboard to play with the shape till it fit well and then transferred to the coroplast.
When I finally get the final size decided, I am going to make a new one from black coroplast and use black zip ties. The mod will be all but invisable then.
Dean
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Exactly what I did, and I actually think it made the car look cooler.
__________________
See my car's mod & maintenance thread and my electric bicycle's thread for ongoing projects. I will rebuild Black and Green over decades as parts die, until it becomes a different car of roughly the same shape and color. My minimum fuel economy goal is 55 mpg while averaging posted speed limits. I generally top 60 mpg. See also my Honda manual transmission specs thread.
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06-03-2011, 05:58 PM
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#12 (permalink)
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EcoModding Apprentice
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Nashotah, WI
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just wonder if mine would run hotter
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"The Stone Age did not come to an end because we had a lack of stones, and the oil age will not come to an end because we have a lack of oil" ; His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (Saudi Arabia Oil Minister from 1962 to 1986)
https://ecomodder.com/forum/em-fuel-...ehicleid=10608
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06-03-2011, 08:48 PM
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#13 (permalink)
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Cyborg ECU
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Coastal Southern California
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Quote:
Originally Posted by guudasitgets
just wonder if mine would run hotter
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Easily reversed or changed. Try and see.
__________________
See my car's mod & maintenance thread and my electric bicycle's thread for ongoing projects. I will rebuild Black and Green over decades as parts die, until it becomes a different car of roughly the same shape and color. My minimum fuel economy goal is 55 mpg while averaging posted speed limits. I generally top 60 mpg. See also my Honda manual transmission specs thread.
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06-05-2011, 10:30 AM
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#14 (permalink)
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EcoModding Lurker
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: milwaukee
Posts: 34
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Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts
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Just got back from Chicago yesterday with much warmer weather, 85ish and hot enough that I needed to leave the air on a higher setting all the way home, and the temp gauge still sat right in the middle like it always has.
Clearly I can block more than " just " 2/3rds of the lower grill without overheating or even running any warmer at all.
Just how much extra cooling capacity did mazda provide for this car anyway?
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06-05-2011, 10:58 AM
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#15 (permalink)
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Cyborg ECU
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Coastal Southern California
Posts: 6,299
Thanks: 2,373
Thanked 2,172 Times in 1,469 Posts
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean in Milwaukee
Just got back from Chicago yesterday with much warmer weather, 85ish and hot enough that I needed to leave the air on a higher setting all the way home, and the temp gauge still sat right in the middle like it always has.
Clearly I can block more than " just " 2/3rds of the lower grill without overheating or even running any warmer at all.
Just how much extra cooling capacity did mazda provide for this car anyway?
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Remember that the fan may be switching on if airflow itself is insufficient. And the fan draws power from the battery and the battery gets power from the alternator, which gets it from your engine. If the fan runs all the time, your aero gains turn into alternator losses. Monitor the radiator fan.
__________________
See my car's mod & maintenance thread and my electric bicycle's thread for ongoing projects. I will rebuild Black and Green over decades as parts die, until it becomes a different car of roughly the same shape and color. My minimum fuel economy goal is 55 mpg while averaging posted speed limits. I generally top 60 mpg. See also my Honda manual transmission specs thread.
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06-05-2011, 11:05 AM
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#16 (permalink)
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EcoModding Lurker
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: milwaukee
Posts: 34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by California98Civic
Remember that the fan may be switching on if airflow itself is insufficient. And the fan draws power from the battery and the battery gets power from the alternator, which gets it from your engine. If the fan runs all the time, your aero gains turn into alternator losses. Monitor the radiator fan.
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I understand. Thing is though, in five years of ownership I've never heard the fan kick on, and now finding out how oversized the cooling system is, I'm starting to understand why. 
When I finally do hear it kick on, it'll probally startle me!
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06-05-2011, 01:39 PM
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#17 (permalink)
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EcoModding Lurker
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Joliette. Québec
Posts: 79
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean in Milwaukee
I understand. Thing is though, in five years of ownership I've never heard the fan kick on, and now finding out how oversized the cooling system is, I'm starting to understand why.
When I finally do hear it kick on, it'll probally startle me!
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Manufacturers design cars to be used in ''almost'' every circomstances, so it has to start in winter in north alaska and has to have enought cooling to whistand pulling in a mountain in desert.
You could also be ''complaining'' that your battery and starter are too big for your car, because you'd never use them to their full capacity.
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