I would start off with a basic grill block to experiment. You can even use cardboard and/or tape and run a couple tankfulls and see what works before making something permanent. Always be sure to monitor your temperature when experimenting. A Scangauge would be another great investment since it will monitor MPG's along with whatever data you wish.
I'm with Johnny on the SG for temp monitoring and grill blocking as a reasonable place to start. The SG is a great investment anyways and the grill blocks can be provisional at first to see if they're worth doing for MPG (and it's probably the easiest/most immediate spot to clean up aero). Cardboard, plastic, tape... whatever is lying around. At this point looks aren't a priority so much as performance to me (says the blue tape guy ).
As for wheel covers you can even use venerable tape again just for testing although you do have more gaps so would require a bit more tape coverage.
Hey everyone, yes I do already have a scangauge. I've had the instant mpg gauge set to water temperature this week. Looks like once my car's up and running the temp stays between 190 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Now my question would be, if I started blocking the grill, how high can I let this temp go before it's too high? I've heard the built-in temp gauges on cars work where the needle stays in the middle of it for something like a 40 degree range, and then anything a little bit above pegs the needle at the top.
Also before when I read about grill blocks back when I started the hypermiling stuff, it seemed like people were just using them to get the engine to warm up sooner. Seems like I hit my 190 water temperature pretty quick here, so I'd say the grill blocking would be for aero purposes for me.
And one last question about ecomodder, would it be ok if I linked to my mileage log on cleanmpg in my signature?
Now my question would be, if I started blocking the grill, how high can I let this temp go before it's too high?
I believe you want to block it to the point that you cooling fan doesn't kick on any more than usual. OEM put the big grill up front for looks mainly, more than needed to cool the engine.
Your machine is regulating itself to stay under 200, and should continue to do so. If it gets above that, it is not getting enough air. Do you have an electric fan? If it starts coming on much more, that is a sign that the air is being too restricted. Beware of just drawing air in through many leaks while blocking the direct path. The best setup is a duct and diffuser sealed to the rad.
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There is no excuse for a land vehicle to weigh more than its average payload.
For a car like that I wouldn't even do reversible mods. Only invisible ones. Like a clean, hidden grill block, change the intake as suggested, add a belly pan and then use your SG and adjust how you drive. You saw you can get above 30 pretty easy, well once you do this more and more or really get used to a particular route (like your commute) you will start to see other places you can take advantage. Like start coasting further back or just get used to going a bit slower, etc, etc. I realize that's not the same as Aeromods but it can be just as rewarding.
I still want a controlled grill block/HAI that based on engine demand opens up and allows cool air. It'd be almost like displacement on demand when it comes to fuel packing and VE.
For a car like that I wouldn't even do reversible mods. Only invisible ones. Like a clean, hidden grill block, change the intake as suggested, add a belly pan and then use your SG and adjust how you drive. You saw you can get above 30 pretty easy, well once you do this more and more or really get used to a particular route (like your commute) you will start to see other places you can take advantage. Like start coasting further back or just get used to going a bit slower, etc, etc. I realize that's not the same as Aeromods but it can be just as rewarding.
I still want a controlled grill block/HAI that based on engine demand opens up and allows cool air. It'd be almost like displacement on demand when it comes to fuel packing and VE.
Well before I started hypermiling, the only method I knew to do was driving without brakes. I averaged about 26 to 27mpg then. Now that I've been doing the hypermiling stuff since about January, 30mpg is an absolute piece of cake to get now. Anything higher gets harder, but the school commute I got right now I should be able to get at least 38mpg on those segments pretty easily too.
It's all freeway driving for that, I just do p&g between 60 and 50mph. I just want to do some aero changes so I can coast further.
It seems like the trick with this car is to get it out of gear as much as possible.
Sounds like you`re getting some good advice so far if you`re aiming for hidden aero mods. Partial grille block, belly pan, clear wheel discs or skirts, etc.
I know this thread is about a year and a half old, but after reading it, I wanted to chime in. I'm also a WRX owner (2004) and I'm planning on some aero mods to my car, but I didn't want them to be ugly. I did some work in Photoshop to show what I would like it to look like.
There will be an upper and lower grill block that is made of Corocel (by Coroplast) that blocks about 75% of the openings. It may eventually be adjustable or even automatically openable.
There will be foglight covers that smooth out the foglight holes. I might cut out an opening and line it with acrylic so the lights can shine through.
Then there will be rear wheel covers, also out of Corocel. I may paint them silver to match. I haven't decided which look I like better.
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