help ecomodding a saturn ion
 

the car: a 2007 saturn ion. currently, with some engine mods and a tune, I get 37-44 MPG highway as opposed to the EPA estimate of 34. I do drive on the slower side of things as long as I am not fighting a deadline, but am looking for more MPG for my buck. this car cannot be drilled into for any of my mods, as most of it is polymer, and I do not want to accelerate chassis rust (I lived in the rust belt, and plan on doing so again in the future). the car is relatively clean underneath, and has an air dam, but was wondering if anyone sees the need for a belly pan/deflector anywhere. I am also looking for ideas to keep the rear bumper from being a sail. as far as the rest of it goes, I was thinking of fairing the headlights, somehow filling the grills to make them aerodynamically clean (at least except summer), fairing the rear wheels (and front wheel gap a little?), and somehow filling the large body gaps. I am looking for ideas on how to cheaply and effectively accomplish all of this, what materials to use and what might make a difference and what most likely will not. if it is cheap/ easy to do, but might or might not make a difference, I would still like to try it and receive suggestions.

I have included pictures for reference.

Just judging by the number of slats on that grill, a piece of coroplast and some zip ties would work. With the size of that upper grill, it should be an improvement right there.

I do not just want to patch over the upper grill, I want to drive this without it being too obvious at a glance (except the wheel fairings, of coarse). I would like to simply fill in the holes of the upper grill. also, the way I want to do it, it will block blowing snow from packing my engine compartment so much as it did last year. any ho;e it can find, it will pack in. where do I get corrugated plastic?

If you don't want it to be too obvious from a distance you can always try using plexiglass instead. Just cut it to fit the grill, and poke holes for the zip ties to hold it on. It will have the same effect as coroplast, but will be clear.

You can find coroplast at most home improvement stores, and if that fails a quick google search can find you just about anything that you can get shipped to your home.

A front undertray would be a big help, and allow your radiator to work more efficiently.

Patch it from behind - that's wat the car manufacturers do.
Use whatever will withstand the rain, and paint it black.

When the upper grille is done, block part of the lower grille.
If summers are hot, make the blocking removable.
Always keep an eye on coolant temp when doing this sort of mods.

Remove the mudflaps.
(Replacing them with a boattail will be better, but that's very obvious.)

If the gaps between the front parts (hood, lights) are big and are letting air slip into the engine compartment, use some self-adhesive rubberised draught strip to seal them.

Extend the air dam sideways to also cover part of the wheels.
You can make it a bit lower in front of the wheels.
If possible, you could also curve the air dam to match the bumper's curve.


When tyres need replacing: buy low rolling resistance tyres.


Fairing in the lights wouldn't help much I'm afraid.
They're already curved and angled.

Contrary to popular belief, bluntness on the front is not that much of an aerodynamic problem.

If you're not coasting yet, look it up and try it ;)

#44 on the hypermiling tips in the "Braking" department, but it really deserves a better place higher up.

I would do a belly pan (at least from the front bumper to the front axle).

A grill block is also a good idea, an upper one helps more with aerodynamics than the lower one. A lower one will reduce the snow packed into the front. If you make it the same color as the OEM grill it will by less noticeable. YOu could also make it on the inside side of the grill. This will reduce the aero benefits somewhat but will be stealthy.

Wiki links for mods:
Car Modifications Main - EcoModder
Belly pan - EcoModder
Grill block partial or full - EcoModder

no one in st. louis knows what I am talking about. I would hate to have to use all sheet aluminum. I guess I will have to get it from the internet (I can't even find a decent vendor online)...

thanks, I do coast , my car has a Cd of about .32-.33, I reckon (coupe is .31, I have mud flaps and a different nose), and coasts like a dream. it also shuts off the engine while coasting in gear, and has engine braking (manual trans, and saves further gas).

I like/kinda need the mud flaps (see: snow and rain), but actually plan to let them help me fair over the rear wheels down to the rocker panels (the only challenge will be attaching/detaching them for tire changes). the belly pan (to the air dam) is in my plans, but if I go to the axles, I fear lack of cooling airflow for my particular car. I plan on testing blocking the lower grill both completely and half way, while watching my intake and coolant temps (as I said, these are concerns, especially in conjunction with the belly pan). tire fairings and airflow managing devices in front of the front tires is on my list. all this just requires some creative thinking not to void any part of my warranty and facilitate safety/emissions testing.

I have plastic rivets and bolts around my wheel well liners at the fender line, but I need to figure out how to do all this the right way, and have it all be easily and quickly reversible. the first step will be (once I have the time), find some corrugated plastic and cardboard (have this part), then mock all this up. testing will likely take up a whole day, and I can only see making the wheel fairings out of aluminum (even the mock ups) the way they need to attach/detach (this aught to be fun). there doesn't happen to be anyone in the area who has done this before, is there? I would love to have a gas only car beating out a stock prius on the highway with only a couple visible mods.

right now I am looking for additional ideas, suppliers of materials, and ideas to attach the wheel fairings to the rear. also, anyone in the area, please speak up, I can't wait to get started on this project.

also on my list of must dos is filling the body gaps, they are large on this car to facilitate the polymer expansion ratio. I need an idea that will allow for constantly changing gaps...

and, food for thought, my mud flaps are actually in an interesting position, I would think they would aid in transitioning the air on the tail end of the tires (assuming the side profile was aerodynamically smoothed out).

I think that you can do a "gear swap" and get a much taller fifth gear. I have a tall fifth gear as the XFE package on my Cobalt, which is also a GM Delta-platform car.

Labor is a factor: if your car had high mileage already, perhaps 90,000 miles, the car would be due for a new clutch anyway, so the labor expense is somewhat accounted for. There is a thread about a Saturn S-series gear swap on Ecomodder.com. I don't know if it is the same transmission as the Ion, but it is worth a look.

Is your engine a -LAP? Can you find the transmission part number??

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...swap-2779.html

As for over heating issues, my matrix has a belly pan just past the front axle, upper grill block and an movable lower grill block. I watch the scangauge temps and have not had any issues. The belly pan should help force air going through the grill to go into the radiator.

As for colorplast, look for used election signs (free) or find a sign shop (you can buy whole sheets).

I have a 2007, so I only have 30K on the clock. I have the same trans as you, because your car was built off my car's platform. I rather like my 5th gear, and do not feel like digging into a barely broken in transmission. I also hear our clutches should be good well past 100k, since they are actually meant for more like 300HP (fact).

these cars seem pretty aerodynamically sound from the factory, so I am wondering what I can get, but even the prius has gains to be had, so I have hopes of 50-55MPG driving conservatively.

[QUOTE=

these cars seem pretty aerodynamically sound from the factory, so I am wondering what I can get, but even the prius has gains to be had, so I have hopes of 50-55MPG driving conservatively.[/QUOTE]

There is always room for improvement! .32 is not bad, but the aero civic can get it down to .17 so we have a ways to go :)

Ok, try this
 

I would infer that it is the same Getrag transmission that is used in the 260 horsepower Cobalt-SS.

I don't have any experience with aeromodding, yet. On the last time I change oil, I did it myself and used Mobil 0w-30. ($25 / 5 quarts) Mobil says you can save a few tens of dollars per year with the high efficiency synthetic oil.

I bought 12.6 pound aluminum alloy wheels at Discount Tire Direct for $100 each. Saved 5 pounds/wheel and saw an immediate 2 mpg difference. I had to buy TPMS modules, too. Maybe you want new low rolling resistance tires. There are some new designs out there, including one by Goodyear.

nope, that transmission is much more capable, a that car makes over 350hp with just a tune. 0w30 improves cold weather starts, but I don't live in the cold anymore. I do run full synthetic oil and transmission fluid, though

Does that mean the clutch lasts longer?

it lasts the same. it's appropriate to the output of the engine. and no, the transmission and clutch cannot be put in our cars.

What transmission?

so, found a place to get the plastic (at $25-$30 per 4x8 sheet), and even thought up how to mount my skirts in the rear, now I just need some aluminum brackets and lots of cardboard to mock all this up.

Lurker, My '96 Saturn SL1 with premium gas, tires at 40 psi and no mods maxed out at 45 mpg driving a few mph under whatever speed limit was posted. In the last 6 months, I've added a K&N filter and an air dam and am up to 49.9 mpg on the freeway keeping it under 65 mph. The air dam is made of black plastic landscape border ( $.50 a foot at Home Depot) and is pop riveted to the small chin spoiler. It does get scraped up on speed bumps but it is cheap. SEDesigns

2007 ion2 -

When I've been car hunting, I've been thinking about an Ion. I've always been fond of the functional-cool spoilers on the Bonneville racers :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...99-spoiler.jpg

When I apply the teardrop shape, it looks like it fits pretty well :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...ces-fusion.jpg
* - In the above picture, the fins of the spoiler are larger than the flat spoiler, so the tear-drop shape appears to "cut into" the spoiler.

With that in mind I looked at your Ion :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...n-2-camber.jpg

And made a spoiler :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...-2-spoiler.jpg
* - The horizontal white line in the spoiler is where the flat spoiler would be.

But this is just one example. From what I (think I) have learned here, the idea is to make a spoiler that "meets the tear-drop shape". Now, a Kamm-spoiler is better, but this is a compromise that can look "normal" to non-Ecomodders.

CarloSW2

So you are getting 40 mpg or about 6.5c/mile. You drive 10,000 miles a year or 650 dollars a year. If you get to 45 mpg avg you will save 65 dollars per year. Keep that number in mind before you consider your modifications.

If I get 50 mpg, I will save 125 dollars, and if it only costs 30 to 100 dollars, I see no reason not to.

also, wouldn't the air dam null the effect of any belly pan placed within a couple feet of it?

Mobil 1 0W-30
 

No, the original 5w-30 crankcase oil is fine for cold weather "starts". Mobil 0W-30 is specified for low friction and high efficiency.

$25/5 quarts at Sprawl*Mart. That is as cheap as any other synthetic oil, so there is no reason not to use it. (Except if you don't want to change the oil yourself. Good luck finding a shop that will provide 0W-30 for your car.)

Check your owner's manual to see if this is the oil specification: GM 6094M

0w30 reduces internal friction within the engine as well, and so it slightly improves your mileage.

0 (cold "weight")W 30 (hot "weight"), the 0 is only under certain conditions, and when it warms up, 0W30, 5W30, 10W30, and straight 30 weight oil, all have the same properties (all other variables eliminated). I am a mechanic, went to a university for it and everything, most of the car driving public would believe as you do, but you are mistaken.

to quote "how stuff works" HowStuffWorks "Measuring Motor Oil Viscosity"

"At cold temperatures, the polymers are coiled up and allow the oil to flow as their low numbers indicate. As the oil warms up, the polymers begin to unwind into long chains that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. The result is that at 100 degrees C, the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number indicates. Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot. "

once again, this is fact, not something I came up with out of the blue. now I'm going to really upset everyone and tell them to stop running their tires at max sidewall pressure (or even above manufacturer's recommended), because it actually leads to improper tire wear and handling characteristics, on EVERY CAR. once again, this is FACT, not a guess. on aircraft (and cars), the same tire is used for multiple vehicles with different weights and sidewall loads depending on the width tire and vehicle it's on. how can anyone figure that the same tire pressure can be used on a 4000LB car as it can be on a 2000LB car. the 4000LB car will squish the tire more, making the tire's tread want to go concave, requiring more pressure. a 2000LB car, under the same pressure, will force the tread convex, wearing the middle of the tread every time. if you want to make a difference in this department, run nitrogen in your tires, and run them about 5PSI over recommended (if you want to be most accurate, run them at the pressure air is when the tires are hot, as in right after a drive). nitrogen has the science to back it up. in street cars, it is dimensionally stable to the point where it does not expand (it does on aircraft, but the temperature difference is a hundred degrees plus), and leads to more consistent pressures, and should be reduced temperatures, and thus friction.

Amsoil Website
 

0W-30 means that the oil still has the viscosity of 30W oil, even when it has reached operating temperature.

0w30 was developed as a low(er) friction oil to reduce fuel consumption and for quicker lubing on engines built to ever tighter tolerances - especially when starting from cold.

I don't really qualify as general public, I used to work for an oil (lube) company ;)


Running my tires at higher than (car) manufacturer's recommended pressure, has actually helped to even out the tyre wear.
The Volvo S40-V50 range is notorious for eating its tyres unevenly.

They won't even use the same tyres.

There's little point in keeping oxygen and moisture out of a tyre, as they are immerged in a bath of oxygen and moisture on the outside - combined with UV and whatever the road throws at them.
The inside of a tyre is hardly a problem aera for wear & tear - physical nor chemical. Tyres wear and chemically age on the outside.

Too little pressure however, will ruin your tyres.
Regardless of what they were filled with.

Temperature reduction and pressure variation is neglectable in a tyre used normally on the road. If you go racing, it may well become a factor.

Not all tyre fitting places get the air out of the tyres before inflating them with nitrogen - introducing 30-40 % regular air into the tyre.


It's mainly a cheap revenue-booster for tyre fitting places, compressed N2 being as cheap as it is. Well, until they pump it in your tyres that is.

like I said, 0W30 is for better cold starts, I do not need to worry about that anymore. the only time you see a boost in efficiency is when the engine is cold, and I mean really cold, my 5W30 stopped being effective around -10 to -20 Fahrenheit, that's where 0W30 would have been necessary. I can actually tell when my car has trouble with an oil, because of other mods I have done to it. it starts to shake at idle when it doesn't like the oil situation (like 5W30 at -20F, or older oil). it hardly ever gets below zero, here, so I do not foresee needing 0W30.

if your car is known for uneven tire wear, then by all means run the tires at a higher pressure, but most car manufacturers go to great lengths to come up with a tire pressure that is ideal for wear and efficiency, especially on cars like my saturn, where it is obvious they care about efficiency. my question is why didn't volvo release a change to the recommended tire pressure for that vehicle?

yes, nitrogen is stable enough to make a difference. I drove my saturn (with a proper nitrogen fill in all 4 tires, from the factory), from -40F weather down to tennessee (I think it was 30F), and didn't see a difference in tire pressure, no need to stop and bleed off built up pressure, or on the way up pump up my tires, just drive. nitrogen also stays filled longer, leading to less need to check the pressures (mine went about a year at a time without needing more). it does this because it has physically larger molecules. it will also help protect TMS equipment and alloy rims commonly found on modern cars because of the lack of contaminates.

and yes, tires are used on a wide variety of vehicles weight wise. maybe not to the extreme I said, it was an example, but they are.

2007 ion2 -

I think this is the best thread on tire pressure :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ires-2582.html

CarloSW2

so, I have some results to share. I mocked up the upper grill block and nose under pan in one go, then the lower grill block (on top of the existing two mods), then a rear under pan transitioning air from the under side of the car just behind the torsion beam to the bumper cover. all of this yielded some interesting (to me, at least) results. first, I picked my road, forget about flat roads anywhere around here for a perfect coast down test, so I picked a run that gave me a decent distance out for an MPG comparison, and a decently flat run on the way back for a coast down test.

these numbers were obtained by my scangauge 2 (which everyone should know is only good for comparing two runs from the same tank), and a stopwatch on my phone (always lit for the least distraction). the first set of numbers I will give you were from early tuesday morning, the second set was with proper representations of the mods early this morning both mornings were 73 degrees (as measured by my scangauge before the first start up) and mildly breezy. all runs were made as close together as possible, and with the car configured the same every time. the scan gauge got changed twice (fill ups to calculate actual mileage), so only the first two and last two runs can be compared together

ok, as a base, I got these results: (remember, for these first couple mods, overheating was a concern, not so today).

*76F intake temp at 60
*83F intake temp at 40
*warm up time of 6 minutes in 2.9 miles of city driving (40 MPH, a few stops and gos, no lights) to 188F (warmed up for my car)
*MPG test (about 5 miles at 55MPH, using cruise to eliminate human error) *38.7MPG
*70-40 coast down 41.03 seconds
*maximum engine temp was 193 sitting at a stop light during this drive.

second run (front under pan and upper grill block)

*76F intake temp at 60
*85F intake temp at 40
*MPG test (same spot as before) 38.8MPG
*coast down test (same as before) 41.34 seconds
*max engine temp 193 (same spot as before)

I ran it with the upper and lower grill block in place, but had to abandon it after a couple blocks due to excessive heat buildup. for ions and cobalts, this is to be a 40 or below mod ONLY the radiator and fan kept the engine temp down (sort of), but what alarmed me was the huge spike in intake temperature that most people cannot monitor, but will cause detonation.

I then mocked up a hasty rear under pan and got some shocking numbers

*38.6MPG
*47.25 seconds

I doubted the coast down number's accuracy, so I went again

*39.7MPG
*46.6 seconds (starting to get traffic)

and one more coast down test a little later when traffic died down

*47 seconds

then I got a sheet of choro plast yesterday and made the under pans up. I decided to do one more test of without then with the rear under pan.

first run 73 degrees outside, slightly breezy, both front mods in place

warmed up in 5 minutes, 2.4 miles, same rout as yesterday

*40MPG
*41.35 seconds

second run, proper front and rear under pans, and upper grill block

*40.8MPG
*46.3 seconds

now, while the two front end mods do relatively little for aerodynamics (guess saturn did it's homework, here), they seem to keep the car cooler while it is moving (this will possibly reverse in the same magnitude in severe stop and go traffic), so, they stay. the real shock (because of your pessimism on here, and how the rest of the car is, aerodynamically), is how dramatically the rear under pan increased coast down time and still decently increased measured fuel efficiency.

can anyone take a guess what my Cd could be if it started at .32 given the measured coast down increase?

I have a few questions about your testing, nothing too big but I want to check before I add your data to the wiki.

1 warm up times.
How many miles did you warm up the car before testing? I find that on my car the engine is warm after 5 miles but the drive train takes 20-25 miles. I found this out as I did my first set of steady state ABA testing A runs, they did not level out until after 25 miles.

2. Winds.
I found that winds are ok (not preferable but ok) if they are steady, any gusts really mess up cost down numbers.

3. Number of data points.
It looks like you only have 2 runs for A 2 for B and none for A2. for the data to solidly show something (statistically) you need a min of 3 data points per run (3 for A, 3 more for B). you also must do ABA not AB.

After all that, I like the limited data's results, they hint at a rather large gain from the back bell pan. I bet the grill block is doing more than you can see, it tends to be a small gain so it takes a lot of testing to prove what it does.

that's why I ran my last coast down yesterday after I ran the car for hours, and ran the other tests in the order I did, to double check everything and ensure the results weren't tainted by something not being worn up, ect... if you notice, the results depend on what mods are applied, not where in the order I perform them.

as far as why I have no second, or third "A" is because "B" was so close to "A". I was more interested in "A" to "C" , or "B" to "C". as far as that goes, "B" is so close to "A", I am considering "B" my new "A". plus, it is hard to remove and reinstall the under nose belly pan.

It helps all cold engine starts, not just cold weather starts.
If one lives in a very cold climate, 0W30 may be required because of the low temperatures - but that doesn't mean it can't be used in warmer climates for its fuel economy benefits.

Dunno.
I originally started running a higher pressure in my 17" wheels to improve handling - based on reports from other users - as steering felt quite mushy, wandering all over the place on.

I'd expect to see a small pressure difference, based on a 33°C / 70°F increase in temperature.
The laws of physics don't change because tyres are filled with another gas.

Making people forget about it even more ...

While true, rubber tyres aren't exactly molecular sieves that differentiate between O2 and N2 ...

Is corrosion on the inside if the rim a problem at all ?
It's pretty much a shielded environment.

Intake temps rise high when you're sitting in traffic and the air intake is in the engine compartment
There's far less air being forced into the engine compartment, so what's inside heats up - a temporary warm air intake.

I expect you're going to see some nice improvements in everyday driving.

I am talking about while moving at 40MPH, it was at 116 and climbing when I shut it off and yanked the block off to keep from killing my engine. ecotecs do not take very high intake temps very well.

and I, also see getting some nice improvements about all of this. my next day off, I will be trying various tire aero mods. this should prove rather interesting. at this point, the thing damn near refuses to slow down below 50 by wind and rolling resistance alone.