I scored some coroplast today!

[Cd]

If I had a Scion like yours, I'd add personalized plates that read "X-BOX"

( You know ... to cut down drag... the fewer the numbers the smoother the .... )

[Cd]

Have you ever thought of opening the back windows and channeling air into the wake ( by opening the hatch glass. )
It would really be cool if you could just angle the glass at the appropriate angle - like a Kamm back of sorts.
Since previous testing on this site has shown no real effect with rolled down windowas, why not use that air flow to your advantage ??
The best thing about this would be that it would be toatally reversible in a matter of a minute or two.. just open the hatch and prop it up at the right angle, open the side windows and make some smooth channel to direct the air out the back.
Rain ? Kids need the back seat ? no problem - just close the windows.

Would it increase F.E. ? I don't know ... I'd sure like to find out

[whokilledthejams]

That would be really interesting. Opening the hatch isn't an option because it contains part of the roof. Actually hinging the glass to open would probably be an interesting bit of engineering, but if someone could make it work, that would just be the bee's knees. Besides, it would be really handy to have just the glass open, now that you mention it... the right-angle-sheet-metal strip i picked up today for this project is 10' long. It was about 4" too long to actually fit in my car, which annoyed me to no end. Needless to say, I just bent it a bit in the HD parking lot.

As an aside, I was under the impression that everyone was opposed to open windows. Of course, I have to wonder if anyone has studied how the amount of opening affects drag. Windows open all the way, I imagine, has to be worse than, say, opening them 2" or some other arbitrary amount.

[whokilledthejams]

Another quick update:

I drilled some holes and added some clips to keep everything secure. My fender liners were shifting around a bit, but that's a pretty minor fix. Other than that, it seems like what I built is pretty solid.

[Cd]

Originally Posted by whokilledthejams

That would be really interesting. Opening the hatch isn't an option because it contains part of the roof. .

Whoops ! I thought that the glass opened on its own. My Civic has a mini ' tailgate' that folds down and the glass hinges upwards.
There has been several times that it has come in handy.
One time I moved a 10-12' foot tree by having it rest on the shut 'tailgate' at an angle and stick out the back of the car. On most other cars with hatches, the entire hatch opens up and the stuff that you put back there just falls out .

As far as windows open being a bad thing, have you seen the windows up versus down video on this forum ? No real change detected on a scanguage with the windows all the way down.
You have to see it to believe it .

Does anyone have that link handy ?

[whokilledthejams]

Originally Posted by .Cd

Whoops ! I thought that the glass opened on its own. My Civic has a mini ' tailgate' that folds down and the glass hinges upwards.
There has been several times that it has come in handy.
One time I moved a 10-12' foot tree by having it rest on the shut 'tailgate' at an angle and stick out the back of the car. On most other cars with hatches, the entire hatch opens up and the stuff that you put back there just falls out .

As far as windows open being a bad thing, have you seen the windows up versus down video on this forum ? No real change detected on a scanguage with the windows all the way down.
You have to see it to believe it .

Does anyone have that link handy ?

I know what sort of hatch those Civics have. I'd really like a clamshell-type hatch. That would make the xB vastly more useful, actually. As it is, I can fit all sorts of crap in this car, but I'm limited to about 9'8" with narrow objects, apparently. I won't drive with the hatch partly open unless it's absolutely necessary, what with exhaust getting in and all (unless I some day slap together the custom exhaust I want, where it exits out the side).

[Cd]

Carbon monoxide BAHHH !!!!! I don't smell a thin.... ACKK . croak.

Yup. Yet another brain fart on my part. I seem to be having quite a few lately.

[whokilledthejams]

Another update:

My coroplast construction didn't give me huge gains, but at least a solid 1-2mpg. No hypermiling in particular, just conservative driving (the tank this weekend was almost all highways/open country roads). 33.4mpg! Actually, that's pretty good, as I usually top out around 32mpg on highway trips. My butt-dyno also tells me that I'm coasting slightly better, too.

On the downside, the fender well/front wheel deflectors didn't fare well. The left one rubbed through against the tire at some point, and I lost the right one about 60 miles into my trip. I have a bit of coroplast left over, so I can shore it up, and hopefully make it last a while.

[xbUser]

Wow.... you did a very good job. How do you put the coroplast on the grille? Using glue? It looks so professional...

[whokilledthejams]

It's just wedged in place. It's been in there for probably 350 miles now, and hasn't budged a bit. If it ever does give me trouble, I'll put some zip ties through it and the grille behind it.