Help with my aero mods: 1.8L 05 Auto Toyota Corolla

[blackjackel]

Originally Posted by cfg83

blackjackel -



Here is what Binger is talking about, the doodads on the sides :



They look cool, but I agree with Tourigjm that they are not appropriate for MPG.

CarloSW2

Ugh, not only do I think those look downright ugly, I agree with you both that this would negatively impact fuel economy... why on earth would anyone want to install those things?


Today I was on the freeway and I took a glimpse at a corolla S

Now I've seen em plenty of times before but this time i happened to notice the back little plastic things that they have:



Those thins apparently serve a purpose... they close up the curve gap at the bottom of the wheel, making the air go flush to the very back of the car... perhaps I could just buy these and not have to worry about making an additional extension...



Good Idea, bad idea?


you can see how this thing eliminates the curvature at the bottom...

[azraelswrd]

Those doodads on the red car look like canards to redirect downforce for stabilization at higher speeds. If that's the case, most definitely not FE friendly.

The rear fairings couldn't hurt but how much do they cost? Are they even puchasable entities? I never noticed the side and rear fairings on the Corolla S before but wow, there they are bigger than life.

Magnets.... I'm also looking for ways to attach without drilling. Adding that to my homework list.

[cfg83]

Hello -

I just found this site :

D.R. Antique Car Parts & Accessories

There are lots of parts that are intended for wheel skirts :

Fender Skirt Mounting Clip


I wish I had detailed wheel-well dimensions of some of the old cars, because there are "ready made" skirts out there :

1937-1939 Fender Skirt Trim


At a similar site I found this catalog :

car -> 001C @ Chevs of the 40s Store

There's even a catalog on CD. I wonder if it would have *dimension* details in the catalog?

CarloSW2

[blackjackel]

Ok guys, I've started on my underbelly mod!

Currently I'm using a sheet of corrugated plastic and im using 10 VERY STRONG neodymium magnets to attach the sheet to my car. I'm using JB weld to glue the magnets to the corrugated plastic, and again jb weld to glue the other magnets to my car, so its a magnet-to-magnet attachment.


My question is, should i run the corrugated plastic over parts of the exhaust or should i stop right as the corrugated plastic reaches the exhaust and do the rest of the mod with a metal sheet?


Maybe i could run the corrugated plastic over my exhaust if i buy some sort of insulation? But would this damage my car or catalytic converter?

[Daox]

I'd use metal. Exhaust components get a few hundred degrees hot. Plastic melts around the high 100s normally.

[blackjackel]

Here are some pics of my under body panel that I'm currently working on. I'm using 20 neodymium magnets to attach a sheet of chloroplast to the bottom of my engine.

This is the sheet im laying down, I'm going to cut the part of it thats behind the 5 magnets at the bottom because the exhaust starts right after those magnets and I don't want to run my chloroplast over the exhaust.


Note, the 3 magnets on the top are glued to the coroplast because they will attatch to the top part of my bottom lip of the front bumper (pics later), the 5 magnets shown below are magnetized to 5 magnets that are glued to the other side of the coroplast (they will stick to magnets glued on to the underbody of the car)

The holes in the sides are for the wheel arms to go through.



This is the top part of the bottom lip of the bumper, I will stick my magnets here where I point.



You can see the magnet glued to the bottom of the coroplast, I'll have another magnet glued to the part of the bumper i pointed at earlier.


car :: IMG_0346.jpg picture by blkjackel - Photobucket

Here you can see me gluing the 2nd magnet, a piece of paper is between the magnets to prevent them being glued to eachother. The magnet you see at the bottom is not being glued, its just magnetically drawn to the one being glued to "clamp it" while the glue sets.





These are 3 of the 5 magnet points in the back, these magnets will attatch to the magnets on the corogated plastic. I couldnt get a shot of the center one, in the shot, it was directly above me. Magnets are marked in red.



This is the center magnet (right behind the hole), you can see the exhaust behind it, this is where Im going to cut the coroplast, i think if i have it going back further it will melt.




heres a shot of the wheel arm action with the cutout for it to go through.




The coroplast didnt go through both wheel wells, you can see this here, I'll add a small piece and duct tape it to the body and original coroplast piece when im done.





angled shots of the sides, I really dont know what to do here, air is going to get in there :/



FINAL MOD LOOK! (minus the pieces i will attatch on the sides later)



heres a shot showing how big ive had to open up my front grill, in california its still too hot and i need to open it up even bigger than this soon!

[blackjackel]

here are some more pictures, I think im pretty much done with my underbody panel.



This is the completed side panel held on ONLY with duct tape, going to duct tape it to the original panel when the glue is done drying.



heres the other side, same thing.

<a href="http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e93/blkjackel/car/?action=view&current=IMG_0359.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e93/blkjackel/car/IMG_0359.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

wheel well gonna stay open like this.



Completed project (minus the duct taping of the side panels)

[ChrstphrR]

Here's a tip regarding the coroplast and any hot metal bits like your exhaust:

Use spray contact glue/cement, and hefty aluminum foil.

Shiny side up toward the hot spot.

On a coroplast mockup of my front skid plate below the engine, I had the same concerns with my car, since right behind the oil pan was the exhaust downpipe, and a turbo ...

I foil lined the back half of the coroplast "plate" to shield it from the heat from the oilpan, and from any of the exhaust bits hanging down immediately behind.

The only reason I'm not using it now... a raccoon carcass that I spotted last minute at the crest of a hill on the highway knocked the whole works off. But I had no issues like melted plastic, nor the car spontaneously combusting after a long run on the highway in summer.

Mind you, I did not have my car completely sealed up from down below, so ... you may still want venting in around the exhaust, yet.

Even the heat shielding my Jetta had above the exhaust wasn't terribly thick ... maybe a bit more sturdy than the tin-foil trays you can get when you don't have a roasting pan for a turkey. So, in my opinion, and in testing nearer hot spots, heavy aluminum foil should prevent firey-commuting-and-hypermiling.

[blackjackel]

Im thinking of buying this:

Amazon.com: Exhaust Wrap, 2" Wide, 50-FT Roll, Natural: Automotive

I would completely cover the exhaust from head to toe, all the way 100% coverage, even the muffler. Then I'll simply cover the entire underside of my car with giant corroplast sheets, I don't think I should have a problem.

If anyone thinks ill run into problems please let me know

[some_other_dave]

Note that header wrap is much better at holding moisture against the exhaust pipes than air is. Mild steel (or cast iron!) exhaust parts tend to rust significantly when wrapped. Might be worth checking that your exhaust is made from stainless if you want to do that.

-soD