Just bought a honda fit to ecomodd need help

[parallelevan]

First off hello this is my first post outside of interductions
bought a used 07 honda fit with 100 on a little 1.5 vtech. The car is mainly for my wife but I intend to use it over the other vehicles so far after the first tank we are getting about 38.5 mpg but I'm hoping for 40+

I'm new and I have alot of questions so bare with me
1. Has someone done the math on a front air dam and grill resizing or will I have to test with cardboard so I don't overheat
2. I've done a warm air intake how much increase can I see from that? 5%?
3. I'm hoping to do an underbody pan. Best materials?
4. Vinyl tape over Unused panel gaps good idea?
5. Scan Guage mounting? Anything not ugly and obstructive

Any other tips are welcome I'm shure I will have more questions too

[backpacker3]

1. You pretty much have to test this yourself there are a ton of variables as to that and you should be comfortable with it as well for example plenty of people are fine with a full grille block but the local weather might make ok for that but someone in a warmer area might need a little more cooling. Since it sounds like you have a scan gauge take a few test runs of a certain route without a block and get a base line temp then block off as much as you want to or think you can to see what the difference is.

2 it depends on the intake. I will warn you though before I go on personally I'm not a big fan of doing any kind of intake for added performance be it horsepower or gas mileage so I usually don't take much stock in any claims about intakes. Why? Well as far as horsepower or torque go there have been plenty of tests done that all prove the same thing, best case scenario you'll get 1 hp or 1 foot lb of torque normally you lose up to 3 of either, for gas mileage the majority of times I see people who modify the intake that just started trying to improve there gas mileage so the "results" they see could just as likely be from changing driving habits. I agree you could probably get 1 or 2 mpg but I don't think it's likely. Here's why Im skeptical of that the claim of aftermarket intakes is that it frees up restriction over stock systems but especially recently and with cars like the fit that are supposed to get good fuel economy don't you think the manufacturer would get the extra 5% out of the intake instead of restricting it? Ok rant over

3 most people use coroplast cause it's cheap and works good probably a thin aluminum sheet would be the absolute best material but you don't really need it.

4 sure can't hurt to try

5 that's a personal opinion question so you'll have to decide on that.

If you want to get over 40 quickly though here are a few simple things to try.
Bump up your tire pressure around 40 psi is good and depending on where your tires are at now that alone could get you to 40 mpg next change your driving habits always adjust the nut behind the wheel they say.

Hope this all helps.

[Fat Charlie]

Welcome! It's a great little car, you're going to love it.

1. Not that I know of. I've got some coroplast that I'm planning on blocking the whole lower grille with. I'll watch my temps and adjust as needed.
2. % increase is affected by other things. But it'll probably help.
3. Honda part #74111-TM8-A00 is a belly pan for a CRZ. Apparently it will go on a Fit just fine, but it's behind the grille block on my to do list.
4. Great idea. Very low payoff, though. It's for after the big stuff is taken care of.
5. On top of the steering column can work well.

[jedi_sol]

Scangauge mounting:

1) Amazon.com: BlendMount Designed for ScanGauge II: Automotive

2) or make one by yourself. I made mine out of fiberglass and resin

[MetroMPG]

jedi_sol: cool!

[parallelevan]

Thanks guys got a game plan
I found a underbody panel for the front I'll have to crawl under it to figure out something for the back
Get the scanguage mounted so it stops sliding off my dash
Try to find a matching color of vinyl tape
Figure out the aero mods as I go

I'll throw up some pictures when I can thanks again guys

[PaleMelanesian]

Belly pan is a good addition. I made one out of abs plastic, but it was too flexible and started flapping at 60+ mph. It'll go back on "soon" when I figure out how to reinforce it.

Scangauge. I have mine kind of wedged between the steering column and gauges, with a little velcro to keep it from sliding.

Is it manual or automatic? Either way, it's not the most aerodynamic box. Wheel covers, boattailing, and/or just plain slowing down will all help. I do the last one mostly. I knew going in that it's not the best highway car, but my driving rarely takes me to high speed routes so that's ok.

[parallelevan]

It an automatic ... yes I know
I had to get something my wife could, and would drive everyday
My final goal I guess is have a great looking reliable car that I can coax 40 mpg or more out of. I don't think I'm going to be doing a boat tail anytime soon and I'll keep the spoiler and the mirrors on for the time being

I make decent money that I can buy parts with but I'd rather keep the price tag low and just tinker more

[UltArc]

Originally Posted by parallelevan

...
1. Has someone done the math on a front air dam and grill resizing or will I have to test with cardboard so I don't overheat
2. I've done a warm air intake how much increase can I see from that? 5%?
3. I'm hoping to do an underbody pan. Best materials?
4. Vinyl tape over Unused panel gaps good idea?
5. Scan Guage mounting? Anything not ugly and obstructive

Any other tips are welcome I'm shure I will have more questions too

1. If you do an underbody, it is usually not beneficial to do an airdam. Under some precise circumstances, it can- but usually not. Use your SCii to get baseline temps for your engine normally, and then just do the grille block. It's pretty easy to pull over and remove (scissors if you use cable/zip ties). Your vehicle will warn you of danger before you are even near damage.

2. No comment. I installed CA induction and it made it worse- check these out.

3. Best? Carbon fiber. Gets the job done well? Election signs. For <$200 you can do aluminum. My first designs (very effective) were misprinted signs, cable ties, and some electrical conduit pieces.

4. Some tests (I don't know the credibility) show no result. But every little thing counts.

5. Some excellent builds have been done, but I made a big mistake with my Mustang. I put it half way between my dash. I loved having it at the windscreen on my first Insight. Having it closer to the windscreen means taking your eyes off the road for less time- less [eye] travel, and less changing of focus for your eyes.