Hey everybody! Check out my Corolla 'Insight'! Any tips, comments, or suggestions?

[AaronMartinSole]

There's a great overlap between speed and efficiency. I see two main schools: the ecomodders and the street-racing modders. But we don't need to be at odds with each other. I could see eco-modded cars at racing events and shows. There ought to be an alliance, an open discussion, an exchange of ideas, and we'd both be better off for it. I think the biggest difference is that we're just really frugal and make modifications out of, heh, cardboard and corrugated plastic.

But yeah, there are so many things in common with speed and efficiency. It's interesting, it's kind of poetic. I wish I had a beautiful analogy for it. Two groups of people you would think didn't have much in common or wouldn't possibly like other, being able to talk about things in common. I could imagine Team Ecomodder! with a fleet of the most hideous, ridiculous looking cars made for pennies. And on the other side, Team Street Racers, with their body kits and fancy colored lights and loud engines and so on. And you'd think these two groups would have nothing in common. But we have so much in common. I don't know my point, I just find it poetic somehow.

I know nothing about that side of modding, but I was looking at some body kits for my 2001 Corolla, because I never knew people modified this car like that! I always saw my car as an old, beat up, unappealing, just simple, basic, vanilla, fuel efficient, sensible car for an old lady. But then I see this 2001 Corolla all souped up. It's weird. But yeah, I was wondering if those body kits offered aerodynamic benefits. Lowering a car definitely improves fuel economy, and so do side skirts, which these body kits have. And just as you mentioned, I was really curious about the design of these body kit front bumpers, since I'm trying to design a front bumper/air dam right now. So I definitely might try doing a front bumper design something along those lines, with a cow-catcher kind of design at the bottom if I can. My driveway up to my garage is an upward slope though, and even at the height of my cardboard prototype it scratches the concrete a little. I'm probably planning on trying out and testing a cardboard hammerhead pointed shark front bumper, with a belly pan covering up to just the front axle. We'll see.

Oh man, I would love to see a Ecomodder vs. Street Racer competition. They'd all have their cars parked and lit up and revving waiting. And we, like a triumphant army, out of nowhere, will march in 5 cars side by side, going 30 mph and 1,500 RPM, blocking all traffic behind us, all in slow motion of course, while the entire crowd stares at us in silence. All in the glory of our yard sign coroplast and cardboard and duct tape. And all in the glory of our fuel efficiency. What a contrast! But with what dignity in our eyes, without shame would we exit our vehicles!

This could make a movie, I kid not. All the ridicule and stolen wheel hubs and skirts. The dramatic scenes and overacted crying. When the whole world called us crazy, and said we could never do it, and that we'd never make it. The group with cardboard modifications versus fifty thousand dollar modified cars. What odds, when the entire world is against us! The car failures, then heartbreak, the friends and family who too called us crazy and told us to quit.

And after all the ridicule, all the naysayers, the entire world calling us crazy, and that we could never do it, there would one event, one day, one final run that would prove once and for all, while all waited with abated breath, if what we had was gold, or just base metal.

The first event would be a one lap around the oval track. We would modify the cars just before the race, and make some last minute changes. Finally the cars meet at the start. Everyone is laughing and scoffing. What a waste of time! The light turns red, yellow, green! The street racer takes off! The ecomodder considers not even participating in this particular event. Is it not their strength, it is not what they were made for. But he goes for it anyway. He finishes, losing, but not so badly, though still quite badly, heh. The crowd mockingly cheers.

Another two ecomodders run the lap. They all fall short. But then the third one comes so close, only a second off! The crowd dismisses it as luck. Though now the atmosphere has changed. The street racers were overconfident, slacking in their driving and car. Now they wake up a little bit. Finally, the last ecomodder. A Honda CRX comes to the line. They rev their engines. He looks straight ahead. "This is for our Ecomodder brethren, every brother who suffered ridicule for what we have believed in." Red. Yellow. Green. The cars take off. The Honda CRX... wins. The crowd is silent. The announcer: "And the winner is.... Team Ecomodder? Is this a mistake? Show the replay!" We welcome our MVP with cheers and celebration! Smiles all around. The other team scoffs.

Then comes the final event. A X-mile city course where the winners are, you guessed it, whoever has the greatest MPG and the greatest percentage over EPA. Ten cars compete. The street racers have no idea how to hyper-mill. They just try to drive really slow. One guy in defiance and disgust races through the track, and is the first to finish the race, with an impressive MPG of 15.

The CRX is on a miracle run! Only a mile left to the finish line, and the ScanGauge shows perfection. On an engine off coast, something happens. The car refuses to restart. He can see finish line. Panic sets in. Was it all for naught, all because of this? He radios in with his team-mates. "Guys guys! I just did an EOC and now she won't start up! I need a jump! Tell me someone has a pair of jumper cables!" Radio silence. They are all in shock. Finally someone pipes in, "I've got a pair! But I'm about X miles from you right now! Give me X minutes!" Every second passes like a century. The CRX sees cars passing him, finishing the race. Will his team-mate make it? Will the car even start? Or will he be disqualified?

Finally he shows, rushing and struggling to pop the trunk. Shaking and trembling, he takes out the cables and hooks them up. "Crank the engine!" The engine does not start. "Give it two seconds! Crank it again!" The car refuses to turn, like a stubborn child. "I will sacrifice my MPG for you!" The other car revs his engine mad, burning valuable fuel. "CRANK IT!" The car... starts. "YES! GO GO GO LEAVE ME!" "I WILL NOT LET YOU GO WITHOUT ME!" "I SAID GO!" The CRX takes off, and finishes the race.

The announcer, "Ladies and gentlemen, now for the moment we've all been waiting for: the winner of the Fuel Efficiency Race and the overall team winner of this event! First off, finishing with a staggering one hundred and thirteen miles per gallon, Team Ecomodder with their Honda CRX!" Vindication. Redemption. And the overall winner of the 2012 Red Kap Event... TEAM ECOMODDER!" Many in the crowd now cheer, now believe, now understand. Some still scoff, but inside they are amazed. Team Ecomodder wins, and every member cheers. "You saved me back there." "I love you."

At the end, a few members from the street racer team comes over. "Hey, good race." They all shake hands sincerely. "Hey uh, what can I do to increase my gas mileage?" You laugh, and pat your hand on his shoulder.

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...also, take a look at the "air-splitters" used on race cars (NASCAR, F1, etc.), they're typically raked down and forward (like train cow-catcher), with a flat-bottomed plate at their front edge (hence, the "splitter" terminology).

[AaronMartinSole]

Trip 1 - No Air Dam or Grill Block (not on purpose) - 28.26

Previous Trip - With Snow Plow Air Dam - 37.62mpg

I just went 28.26mpg, 9.36mpg less than my previous of 37.62mpg. Can someone explain this?

This is with a removed air dam and 0% lower grill block! And the two removed dummy caps on the lower bumper as well! That also means slower warm-up times in this cold winter weather!

9.36mpg less than with the air dam, running basically the exact same route! I filled at the exact same pump too. Perhaps it is something with the air dam and the cold engine. Maybe driving or something else. But most likely not.

I removed the air dam after testing it and getting 37.62mpg, because it was a hideous cardboard template meant just for testing. I'm working on making a permanent coroplast one. So this reading would just be for curiosity's sake, or for knowing a more un-modified mpg reading.

Though surprisingly low. Maybe I underestimate the impact of a grill block or a front air dam. No different driving really, I've driven that route many times before. Maybe it's something else. Thoughts?

=========================================
Trip 2 - New Shark Nose Air Dam, New Kammback, New Wiper Deflector - 35mpg

The Hideous Shark Nose Air Dam

Oh, just for the laughs I've given myself over this cardboard hammerhead shark head has been worth it. And the laughs I have given children on the street.

This time it was with a very poorly-made, shark nose, pointed air dam, instead of the flat snow plow air dam which covers more of the bottom. This shark nose air dam leaves the bottom of the car very open and vulnerable, and I have no belly pan, which was recommended by a fellow eco-modder.

This time I had more cars behind me so less coasting, and it was night with my headlights on. Not as much engine off at red lights this time.

35mpg with the shark nose, new kammback, and new wiper deflector.

Definitely better than the 28.26mpg without the air dam or grill block, but not as good as the 37.62mpg with the snow plow air dam. I project a better reading than 37.62mpg with the old snow plow air dam back on, hopefully 39+!, with the new kammback and wiper deflector.

Two other new mods:
-Cardboard beta testing sedan kammback!
-Cardboard beta testing windshield wiper deflector! (Thinking of doing the under the hood version of this)

I'm going to keep those two mods, remove the shark nose air dam, and re-install the snow plow air dam and test that. I'm definitely leaning towards the snow plow air dam now, now only for better mileage, but for less hideousness as well.

As always, any tips, comments, or suggestions? Or laughter, I deserve laughter as well.

[AaronMartinSole]

Introducing... The Corolla Insight beta V.3 (everything black is final and permanent, and so is everything cardboard. lol jk, the cardboard is all prototype test beta templates for temporary testing and development and such and things of that nature.)

IM KEEPING THE CARDBOARD YOU CANT STOP ME!!!

Oh okay fine, I'll take it off after a mpg reading. BEGRUDGINGLY.

Sedan kammback and spoiler idea stolen from Varn's 1986 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Oil Burner. We have full use of our trunks, and it. is. awesome. Thank you Varn for your innovation! http://ecomodder.com/forum/emgarage....vehicleid=4331

Oh man, I can't stop laughing. "Your car looks ridiculous." It does indeed, it does, in, deed.

[euromodder]

Good thing you've cut back the width of the front spoiler / air dam, and put it far more vertical.

It doesn't need to be too wide, as the air will be pushed out well beyond its edges anyway.

If the air dam is angled to the rear (i.e. bottom more aft), you'll still let air be pushed under the car - which is what you should be trying to avoid.

[AaronMartinSole]

Hey, thanks for the advice! I had to look up the word aft. It's kind of a beautiful word. I'd like to try to use it in everyday conversation, in talk unrelated to cars and boats. "That man is aftly daft as Robert Taft doing crafts in a raft! So I suppose my air dam is aft, with the bottom angled back towards the engine.

Should the air dam be more flat, at a 90 degree angle, rather than the downward slope it is currently at? I think that's what you're saying, and I agree. I'm so glad you brought that to my attention. It's just going to be a little hard to do... I'm trying to think how I'm going to attach it... I'm so bad at this, which is quite evident. Though I have to admit, my carbon fiber rear spoiler is amazing. Oh and by carbon fiber, I mean cardboard fiber. It's a little cheaper. Still a fiber.

Any ideas on I might attach my air dam to make it 90 degrees? Oh, my bottom bumper grill has these four skinny top to bottom stick connectors. I could maybe cut a strip of cardboard and wedge it into that metal stick, like a puzzle piece. Then, zip ties! That's all I've got. If anyone has any better ideas, I'd be grateful.

I'm probably not going to keep my rear spoiler , heh. And I want to attempt a windshield deflector underneath the hood, like other ecomodders have made. I want to keep the front wheel deflector, but make it round and coroplast spray painted black of course. Hopefully it'll be really inconspicuous. Though no one hardly notices me in traffic as I am. Hah! Kidding! I am the laughing and gazing stock of this town. A man in a very nice Mercedes today honked and smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Another guy walking the crosswalk did the same. Made my day. Just to bring smiles to people's faces is a nice side benefit. The cardboard is just for testing!

I like the kammback pretty good. But it definitely needs some refinement. I'll work on it.

Can't wait to get a mpg reading tomorrow at the G-Station. WILL I ENTER THE 40+ MPG CLUB? UPSIDE: POSSIBLE NEW HIGH SCORE! DOWNSIDE: THE MOST INCREDIBLE WOMAN REPELLANT VEHICLE KNOWN TO MAN. I never had a chance anyway.

Originally Posted by euromodder

If the air dam is angled to the rear (i.e. bottom more aft), you'll still let air be pushed under the car - which is what you should be trying to avoid.

[GRU]

about your trips...testing is very hard to do because of different conditions....when you said you gained about 9mpg with the mods, was the engine warmed up? was the trip and engine about the same for the 2 trips?

[AaronMartinSole]

You're absolutely right. I hadn't quite thought about that. That 37.62 mpg run was definitely warmed up. It was all city, with traffic, and a lot of engine off at red lights. The 28mpg run included cold morning start ups and without the mods and stuff. So that explains it! The mystery is solved! Must have longer runs! I most prefer long runs of a couple hundred miles. It's more mixed and even. But I guess I was just so eager to get some readings, and I can't drive around much more with all this cardboard on. Not just because of the rain forecast this weekend, but the shame man, the shame! No I kid. It's been so much more fun than I could have ever imagined. Random people honking and giving me thumbs up, laughing on the street. Girls smiling. The first girl smiled at me today in a very long time. And that alone was worth it. Just to put some smiles on people's faces. But oh, the rain will come. And I've had enough fun with it. For testing and curiosity and all the wonderful laughs I've had over this thing. That alone made this ridiculous thing worth it. But I ought to learn some shame, really, heh.

I've been learning a bit about ECTs and IATs (electronic coolant temperature, intake air temperature) about how basically cold = bad for fuel economy and warm = good! Kind of interesting, but not really, heh.

Anyway, I've got to take all this cardboard off, put on some coroplast, and go back to 200+ mile trips. Which will take me half a month or something, because I barely drive. Thank you GRU for solving this 9mpg simple mystery!

Originally Posted by GRU

about your trips...testing is very hard to do because of different conditions....when you said you gained about 9mpg with the mods, was the engine warmed up? was the trip and engine about the same for the 2 trips?

[PaleMelanesian]

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...bums-3541.html

[AaronMartinSole]

That is incredible. I take it the -14% cd low nose is the best configuration. Still have questions but, that is a fantastic graphic.

On another note, you are inspiring me. I think the next step for me is to discover trickle charging. I think eco-modding is like a drug. Once you get a taste, you just want more and more.

[AaronMartinSole]

Just did a 48 mile run, half city, half highway. Probably one of the worst city runs I've had. Ran into road repairs and traffic. Highway I went a little faster than I wanted to. But nonetheless, with all the cardboard glory, with the spoiler removed on the highway, I got 41mpg. EPA combined is 30, I before got about 32, beta v2 city alone got 38. I'm sure I could get 43+ pure highway alone.

But for now, all the cardboard is coming off, and it's back to the drawing board. I want to design a full kammback that hinges so I can still have full access to my trunk. That may be over my head. I am very interested in trickle charging, and will look into that.