Hang on, this'll be a strange one...

[color0]

Originally Posted by dirtydave

That is a nice looking car. Good luck with the project. I Subscribed.

I live in Baltimore too. what track do you go to?

Missed this post. I'm a Cali boy, just about to move to Baltimore. All these pics were taken at the Streets of Willow Springs circuit in Rosamond, CA.



As far as taller tires go, I am a skeptic. I already get better mpg's in 5th gear rather than 6th sometimes, so I actually opted to go shorter to shorten up the rollout ratio marginally. And no, the stock car can't fit 285's, they poke about 5/8" inch even with pulled fenders F/R. But with fender flares you can fit anything.

The closest I'm comfortable with going to a Kammback would be those little black bits below the hatch spoiler on the CX-5, but besides that I'm not confident enough in my skills to DIY something so design-critical.

Edit: Yes, the stock 205/55/16 all-seasons let me hit 40mpg all day long haha, especially after the diffuser went on. But I'd like to write my goal as achieving 40mpg with the stickies on, just for bragging rights.

[UltArc]

Welcome!

Kill switch will get you there.

Personally, I'd take the front splitter off. That will hurt your aero if you've done the underbody, I would think your grip is fine without the extra downforce up front. I want to pull mine off, but man it looks good...

A lot of work can be done in the rear. I am in the same boat (no pun intended), because I don't want to do a boat tail on my Mustang. It has been great on my Insights. A friendly VW beetle on here has used just a flat portion on the rear, and it made a difference. I used it and it seemed to work, but I have no ABA testing to prove anything.

When I do it for the Mustang, I MUST do ABABA. It won't be pretty, but it won't be a boat tail, either.

[UltArc]

Ah, quick search found it. Thank you, Google.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post389454

[color0]

Thanks for the Beetle link haha.

The splitter actually helped out with fuel economy as far as I could measure. The stock front end fore of the Skyactiv undertray is pretty crappily designed, so the splitter actually filled in all the gaps and left just enough room for the Sky undertray to slot in. This pic of the splitter bracketry should explain my case:



The splitter covers up all that gap BS and lines up cleanly to the Sky undertray. Between those two parts the entire front end is flat to the front subframe.



From the front subframe back, there is room for improvement as you can kind of make out from the previous pic. The floorpan actually has flat cover-panels from the factory, but the exhaust tunnel and fuel tank area are exposed and that's where I have gains to make.



Aft of the rear subframe I'm also in pretty good shape as I homebrewed an Evo IX Voltex diffuser and aluminum "subframe" that covers everything up to the exit. (There's transparent Lexan in the empty space, may not be visible)





So that's where I stand at the moment, hope that clears up what I've already tackled/thought to address and what I have yet to do that I should. Again somehow the car is consistently reading 37mpg highway and it had not done that before the diffuser AND splitter were installed. Since they both make usable downforce, I'd like to keep them and refine them for lower drag rather than remove them entirely.

[UltArc]

Looks good. Makes me jelly I don't have access to a lift...

Without a full underbody the splitter should help- at least it seems that way. Increasing your tire pressure for daily driving would help, too. Lower it for traction when at the track. Of course there will be slightly more wear in the center, but when the tire pressure is back down grip should be the same, and I would guess your corner crunching is wearing down the outsides faster than the centers now.

I'd hazard a guess it would balance out fairly well. Hopefully others will chime in on that thought process, if it makes sense or if I am missing something on it.