The Integra Project

[jedi_sol]

I think you should keep this project alive. I've got a 1994 GSR motor and im getting 43-44 tank mpg with it, so i know the motor is capable of more. Granted, its with Engine off coasting/pulse and glide/underbelly tray/front grille block/side mirror delete/rear wheel skirts/front wheel covers. Before aero mods, i got about 37-38mpg just based on pure driving style alone (EOC/pulse and gliding, MPGuino)(and this is with a del sol, which has a worst coefficient of drag than your car).

Instrumentation (scanguauge, ultragauge, mpguino, at minimum a vacuum gauge) IS A MUST, if you want to get noticeable mpg gains because having real-time mpg readings help keep your right foot i check. Simply driving slower wont always guarantee better mpgs, you need to drive slow AND have a light foot.

[The Rooster]

Thanks for the motivation jedi sol. Because I do drive the car over 100 miles every day, I will definitely keep trying different things, but at this point, I think the best mod I can make is swapping in a lean burn engine from a Civic VX. Don't get me wrong, an MPGuino has been a thought several times, and I'll very likely do that, but I'm not willing to destroy the look of the car. I even removed my grill block because it looked pretty bad...and it didn't change my mileage appreciably. In fact, going back to stock tire pressure, no grill block...basicly reversing nearly everything I've done to the car, I got my longest fuel tank ever, and nearly my best fuel economy ever, so my particular car, for whatever reason, seems to care mostly about driving style than anything else.

[The Rooster]

OK, I'm starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I actually have all my parts prepped and IN THE PAINT BOOTH, but I ran out of time Friday to actually shoot them, so they'll have to wait until Monday morning. Then, I may have jury duty Tuesday and beyond, but I won't know until Monday. So hopefully that won't kill my progress.

Anyway, I have in the booth the hood and both fenders, ready to edge, the mirrors, the door handles, the rear upper valance, spoiler and both bumpers.

[The Rooster]

Parts painted first thing this morning. I got out of Jury Duty so I should have time to get the car done on...I'd say...Thursday, maybe Friday.

[Deezler]

You are really going to put the rear spoiler back on ?!?! I don't understand that whatsoever. Hopefully you painted it just for resale value enhancement... right....?

The car looks cleaner and better with off anyway. Nice mods otherwise, keep 'em comin!

Suggestions:
Plexi / lexan covers for the headlights (smooth the bumper out).
Belly pan / undertray / rear diffuser

[The Rooster]

Originally Posted by Deezler

You are really going to put the rear spoiler back on ?!?! I don't understand that whatsoever. Hopefully you painted it just for resale value enhancement... right....?

The car looks cleaner and better with off anyway. Nice mods otherwise, keep 'em comin!

Suggestions:
Plexi / lexan covers for the headlights (smooth the bumper out).
Belly pan / undertray / rear diffuser

Well, theres a bunch of big holes in the hatch where the spoiler goes, so yeah, it goes back on. And I like the spoiler anyway. As I mentioned before, I undid all my mods, because none of them did anything. So I doubt leaving the spoiler off will have any real effect. The only mod I think I'll make in the future will be a Civic VX lean burn engine swap. I'm not willing to butcher the look of my car by leaving open holes in it, putting on goofy looking lexan covers or wheel well covers or whatever.

I'm a single guy, and on occasion I'm lucky enough to have a girl in my car. I doubt they would want to get in if it looked like I was taping milk cartons to it, or if half the car was missing so I can get another half a mile per gallon.

So...anyway I do have a small update for the day. I had a couple of cars to paint, so all I could get done on my car today was getting it clean, bolting on the fenders and hood, and I repaired and primed a dent that I didn't see when I did the body work the first time around.

[Deezler]

So... this has gone from an eco-modding thread, into a paint and body resto thread. Perhaps posting on an integra forum would make more sense?
You are skilled in body work... don't tell me you wouldn't know how to fix those holes in the hatch.

Just because you didn't go far enough with the eco mods or test your fuel consumption carefully enough doesn't mean they weren't working! Aero mods on my Jetta took highway mpg from 47 to 55, with the car looking like the lil' pic in my sig. Aero mods and good styling aren't mutually exclusive, despite how many threads on this forum show us otherwise, haha.

IMO you really just didn't do enough to get an obvious benefit. While the spoiler-delete alone could show noticeable gains (seriously), combine it with a single mirror delete, the front grill blocks, and undertray / diffuser, and it's incomprehensible to me that hwy mpg would not improve noticeably.

Your single / dating / milk carton quote is hilarious though.

[The Rooster]

Don't give up hope, I can be like a chick and change my mind a lot.

When I get to my engine swap, that'll be in this thread too. I'm just showing the paint and body work here because I have nothing else to show right now.

[jtbo]

If driving is more in city and at low speeds, lot of stopping and acceleration, aerodynamics are not giving much benefit, then it is only driving which can lead to great savings, so driving like you would not have brakes would help a lot.

My 50mph speed is perhaps bit low to see really a lot of effect either, but grille block for example has given me some advantage, but my driving is purely on highway, hundreds of miles at once, so engine warm up does not play big part on my driving either.

Lowering rolling resistance and adjusting driving are important bits if you are not driving on highways, also planning driving ahead so that you take longest leg first and combining several driving needs for one should show up quite well as in short driving engine is in warmup mode and fuel economy is horrible during that.

So to judge if aero mods help or not, how one is driving must be in equation too, it can be perfectly possible that doing steady 70mph your mods might have shown slight improvement, but if your driving is in city or slower speed, shorter trips, then of course aeromods are not much of use and savings must be looked elsewhere.

That said I don't really see a lot of change in fuel economy when I add 200kg to my car, but weight savings are perhaps bit better when doing lot of stop and go traffic, which I don't never do, so it is important to note how one uses car to be able to see if mods will do good or not.

[The Rooster]

No turning back now!





In the booth and ready to go. I'll be getting her painted first thing tomorrow morning. I'm so excited!!!

Sidebar: For those of you that know about paintwork and are saying to youselves "Green tape and brown paper? Expensive AND cheap?" I know, I know. You shouldn't mask a car with priming paper, but it's all the owner will allow us to use, but why I get to use the most expensive tape...I don't know, ask him...so...I get around it by slightly damping the paper down with a towel then tacking the paper to eliminate any loose fibres. Ideally, you would want to use white paper, though I've seen some painters using the new blue coated paper, though I don't like the blue stuff, but hey! You'd be hard pressed to find a tighter masking job. No B/S foam tape either, I edge tape everything.

Oh, and yes, that 2x4 is there to hold the doors closed...and yes the doors open to the INSIDE of the booth. I just work there man.