Honda Element 2 front end mods

[hans2vt]

Well, nothing fancy - grill block and I blocked off 2 gaping big recessed areas where fog lights are supposed to go.

I used vinyl clear stuff from walmart $0.84

for the upper grill I took off a few plastic grommets under the hood and slipped the vinyl under folded it over so it aimed out the front, but the grommets back on and shut the hood. Then I used clear silicon to create a seal around.

then for the fog light holes, same vinyl and clear silicon.


I'll have no idea if this does a darn thing, but I'm going on a road trip next week, and I'll check my milage generally. previously with no modified driving style I was getting 24mpg going 75mph.

With driving 65 and with these 2 items, maybe 28 or 30? we'll see. I'll also have a bike on the roof, so that will be a big negative effect.

I really want the 6th gear! the element spins over 3000 at 60mph. Dumb!

[hans2vt]

While I was at it I put some black duck tape on the inlet on the VW. who knows that that will do.



I already get 40-45mph when I drive the Beetle to work 10 miles on back roads, just from hypermiling basics like DWB and pulse and glide. (I don't do Engine off coast).

[aerohead]

Work looks nice and clean! Let us know how it turns out at the pump.I have a friend with an Element,and she'll be eager to hear your results.Good luck!

[hans2vt]

well, seems I got 30mpg on a trip from VT to NYC. I also modified my driving with neutral coasting, and driving 65 or slower, and higher tire prewsue

so who knows if this helped or how much. wish it was more scientific.

[bryn]

next time if you can keep the bike on the back, or better yet inside. that would help alot, but you knew that allready

[hans2vt]

Originally Posted by bryn

next time if you can keep the bike on the back, or better yet inside. that would help alot, but you knew that allready

You're right! I actually ended up not taking my bike in part because I knew it would mess up my experiment.

I'm still happy with 30mpg on a 600 mile trip with some a/c running. Better than the typical 24 when I set cruise on 75.

Thanks for the comment

[moots13181]

My personal best with our AWD Element (non super-charged) was 26.5 over the course of a whole tank. Driving into and then with the minimal wind at 65+ MPH all highway miles. Hot weather and high humidity with A/C usage only on the downhills. This was a family trip so the vehicle was loaded as well.

[Cobb]

They make a supercharged element?

Originally Posted by moots13181

My personal best with our AWD Element (non super-charged)

[moots13181]

Yeah, they're badged with an "S/C". All Elements get the same engine with a lowered compression ratio regardless if it has the supercharger or not.

Makes me want to try a remote-mount turbo on mine and run 8 psi with no intercooler purely to get better highway mileage. The ROI would never balance though unless I could get a perfectly sized turbo for nearly free and a quality shop to tune it. The weight savings would be awesome as you could delete the resonator and muffler.

Another concept I've had is to disconnect the driveline to the rear wheels and put an AC induction motor in place of the spare powered by a pack of ultracaps/NiMH cells to re-capture and re-use energy during city driving. The rear motor would be controlled via a twist throttle on the e-brake handle. (The energy pack would be sized to re-capture a single full stop from say 70 MPH in the ultracaps, then bleed off that energy into the NiMH cells for longer term storage.) Again... FUN!! but the ROI would never balance.

[Cobb]

I know hondas 4wd is funky at best vs the other guys systems. Maybe you can just disconnect the front or rear depending on which one is primary and drive it as a 2wd? Then when you fall into a golf cart, use its guts to power the other axle to make a hybrid? I have a suzuki sidekick ljx thats 4wd and its an idea I like to think about.