Looking to ecomod my Chevrolet Volt (extend its electric range)

[WindyDrew]

Originally Posted by mf70

Too bad on the folding idea. Vman's inside side mirrors look good - they take advantage of the modern gargantuan "A" pillars, and highlight the blind spot perhaps better than regular side mirrors.

Those wheel covers look GREAT! I would still advocate for wheel skirts for the rear wheels; the advancing wheel top PUMPS air into the car's slipstream, adding perhaps 20% to the air disturbed by the car. I don't have quick access to any data on drag reduction, however.

Exactly how did you fasten the wheel cover / pizza pans on? I see a single center fastener...

I'll be doing a short writeup on it since I believe any aluminum wheel could be covered this way. Basically I used a rubber expanding plumbing plug that uses a carriage bolt, which conveniently sticks past the wheel face. It's very solid.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by WindyDrew

Folding the mirrors was worse. I could hear the turbulence. Gm must've done a pretty good job in the wind tunnel. I got my wheel covers installed. Pretty easy actually. I'm going to do a step by step since this could be applied to any vehicle for less than $100 and 2 hours time. Enjoy

The fenders, lights and mirrors are positioned in such a way to reduce noise but not drag.

Having noise does not necessarily mean more drag.

[NeilBlanchard]

Have you considered video mirror(s)?

[WindyDrew]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Have you considered video mirror(s)?

Yes, implementation is my issue.

[MetroMPG]

Welcome to the forum, WindyDrew! (EDIT: oops, would I look at your join date?? )

It's great to see a Volt owner doing something interesting.

Does your Volt have the full depth air dam or the shorter one?
See: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...dam-19923.html

I vote for rear fender skirts as well. It's possible to make attachment brackets that "pinch" the wheel arch, so they're completely reversible and don't require drilling. That is, if the arch has a lip to pinch.
See: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...metro-103.html

[MetroMPG]

It's also worth checking the undertrays. I don't know about the Volt, but OEM ones I've seen (Mirage, 2g Prius, Insight) often leave a lot of room for improvement. And since they're plastic, there's no harm in putting screws into them to add more/smoother coverage with sheets of plastic (eg. coroplast).

Also: what's your tire pressure?

[WindyDrew]

Tire pressure is 52 psi cold (sidewall maximum)

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by WindyDrew

How tight would a hitch boattail have to be to the body to make the most effect without hitting the paint. Can somebody photoshop a 2 ft ideal boattail on a Volt?

For a boat tail to function it needs top-quality airflow coming to it.So a very tight,'seamless' transition is always the best.
Quantifying the potential impact of gaps would be problematic.

[WindyDrew]

Originally Posted by aerohead

For a boat tail to function it needs top-quality airflow coming to it.So a very tight,'seamless' transition is always the best.
Quantifying the potential impact of gaps would be problematic.

So maybe a vinyl extension on the front edge to smooth the gap to prevent contact?

[MetroMPG]

Or stick vinyl "wrap" material directly on the paint where there may be contact? Peel it off when you're done.

I had contact on the Insight between the tail and painted bumper:



http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...uft-25223.html

I stuck on painter's tape instead of vinyl, but even that leaves residue after a while.