List of aero mods you can do to your vehicle

[nwbabybronco]

For lack of a better place to put it

[Jethro]

^^ I bet that was an expensive "Oh sh*t!"

The belly pans on most higher end sports cars are definitely amazing. I was under my buddies Corvette the other day, I was amazed how much work they did under there. Funny, it still floats around 120ish.

[mikeemans]

From I understand, Cd is calculated using the front squared area alone. How does one include things like underbellies, wheel arches etc in the equation? Then, BIG question, what is the correct formula for calculating Cd?

Mike
Kuwait, 1990 Chevy Van

[MetroMPG]

Cd is calculated independently of frontal area.

CdA, however, is the product of the two and is the total drag force on the vehicle.

To calculate Cd by itself, you need a wind tunnel, computational fluid dynamics or controlled coast down testing.

... or you could estimate it by fiddling with the other parameters using this tool: http://ecomodder.com/forum/tool-aero...resistance.php

[mikeemans]

Awesome thanks.

[bgfshrcr]

hi all,

been checking this site for a while now. on a 01 chevy blazer: removed roof rack, folded pass. mirror in, tires at 44 psi and partial grille block = 23.6 mpg (up from ~21 mpg)
lots of good ideas here. thinking of doing some more. this is our only car and my wife's baby so mods need to be more or less invisible.

[Sparkchaser]

Originally Posted by Randy_the_Hack

Fellas...

It would be nice to have a sticky out here that broke things out in a quick reference manner:

• Car mods
  • Prioritized list of aero mods
• Truck mods
  • Prioritized list of mods

Realizing that various mods deliver different percentages of improvements per vehicle, these might be somewhat general. For example, with a truck, the likely top few mods might be a) lowering the truck, b) less aggressive tire tread and size, c) aero bed cover, etc.

So... unless there is some data out there that indicates smooth wheel covers are a huge saver, I would expect to see these generally at the lower end of the spectrum. I realize that this might be too precise, so grouping in general categories of top mods, middle mods, and everything else, might suffice.

Breaking this out by cars v/s trucks would be quite helpful...

Just my $0.02...

Yes! There are more folks out there whose commuter car is a truck! I am trying to find out what mods are most effective for trucks. I drive a 1999 Dodge Ram 4x4 Quad Cab Cummins turbo diesel with short bed and a canopy. I was thinking of trying those smooth wheel covers, slight mods to wheel wells using spray foam or??? and mudflaps (to be like the SVO mustang ones) ,as well as those NACA duct looking stick-on airfoil thingys. And blocking off grill area, and perhaps belly pans. Suggestions? I'll keep reading more now....

[Laurentiu]

what you need the posts for , wanna post a photo ?

[NeilBlanchard]

I stumbled across this page today -- is it done by someone who is also here on EM?

Car Aerodynamics 101

[crx driver]

has anybody considered replacing their hood and fenders with fiberglass? They're a lot lighter to begin with and from what I understand it's easy to sand them and add more fiberglass to create what you want from it so it looks more "whole" and not pieced together. Plus it erases all the little edges that catch the wind when you slap on pvc. Or does it not flow with this site's mantra since you have to put up more money than to just slap on the pvc?