looking for ideas 86 Subaru XT

[Sorrow Six Star]

I had wanted to do an EV very badly. fact is I won't be able to afford that till about 2019 haha so for the time being I am going to focus on my particular vehicle's strengths and hone the aero.

it's already light: 2300 pounds
has a small motor (1.8)

and a factory cd of 0.29

I read a a few things about determining real CD and I am going to work on that

definite plans include an undertray and some things that I see in old JDM cars that I would like to test for fun like hood wings and the like.

edit: moon discs probably too.

ulitmate goal is to fine tune the wonderful job Subaru did with this car in 85...

anyway here's a pic.

[Sorrow Six Star]

[Christ]

The XT is a decent car, but it's got too much motor. That's about my only input on it, only having driven one a couple times.

[Sorrow Six Star]

1.8 liter with 100 hp big??
feels kind of small to me
It gets about 40 on the highway with a bit of hypermiling

did up a tear drop template like I have been seeing on the forum


looks like a roof extension and rear deck might be in order?

[eco_generator]

Maybe close up the holes in the bumper? I don't how much that will help, but there might be some turbulence created there.

[Sorrow Six Star]

there are 2 bumper styles
I thinking they might be different enough to make aerdynamic differences
newer style:
older style:

the new style bumper if nothing else has some good sized fog light holes thta would take a headlight nicely... then I could seal the hood up.

I prefer the looks of the older style bumper... and I think it's more aerodynamic looking.

will look into blocking the grill once I put in a new radiator.

[RobertSmalls]

Vehicle Table
Vehicle Table
... hopefully you got a 2WD with the 5MT.

Looks like you've already got it primered, so the next green step is to paint it white. At least paint the roof and doors white to reject heat and reduce the need for AC or windows down.

Definitely add some instrumentation, work on your technique, and add a kill switch. It shouldn't be too hard to get in the high 30's, mpg wise.

[Sorrow Six Star]

yes it's the DL 2wd 5MT and already had the passenger mirror delete from Subaru

manual steering rack

yes high 30's (maybe low 40s hwy) with out the kill switch and stuff

air conditioner is broken so I'll likely remove it (it was optional anyway)

I wonder if vortex generators would have an effect? truth is I wil probablty try them cuae they are cool looking and I want to be thorough.

[RobertSmalls]

Metros and Astros come with old-style sealed beam headlamps recessed in buckets. You can cover the bucket with a piece of polycarbonate for better aero.

I wonder if you could move the headlights to the "open" position, bolt them in place, remove all that heavy hardware and the motors, and build an aerodynamic shell out of fiberglass and polycarbonate that doesn't look awful.

[Sorrow Six Star]

or do this to the front end... haha


that's a hill climb car from down under.