My new econobox! (2000 Kia Sephia 1.8I4 16V DOHC 5 Speed)

[silvermazda]

Originally Posted by dirtydave

I also have a little 1.5watt solar panel on the dash. not sure if it actually does anything for MPG but its worth noting.

1.5Watts is nothing. Maybe your offsetting your dash lights, but nothing more. As far as solar panels are concerned, you usually get more bang for the buck using the bigger ones. I'm not sure if you'd be interested in gluing one to your roof, a 50W at least, though I wouldnt know how to prevent overcharging if you'd be at work with the car off. I think you'd use a charging regualtor.

As well as for the batteries, you need to calculate your electrical loads with a clamp meter or maybe scan gauge might have a alternator value, but yeah, you need to measure your electric demand by having the car on, then have someone rev the car up to lets say 2K rpm and turn on the lights (if you drive at night) and that'll be how much elec. you need to run your car then do some simple math on how many mins/hours you need and then select an appropriate battery(s) you need to meet the demand. Maybe even a golf cart battery, those are deep cycle, but heavy! 60lbs!!! I would at least get a AGM or deep cycle battery as those can stand more abuse than your standard lead acid batts. Maybe relocating the batt to the trunk would be a good idea if you're going the multiple battery route.

[dirtydave]

Yeah I actually found it during a storage unit clean out job I had. Maybe it will offset my dash lights or let me roll up my windows up once for free but it is basically just for when the car sits I can know it will have a full battery. They sell them at harbor freight for $20. Decided to keep it for piece of mind.

I would love to do a full alternator delete and replace with solar panels and a good battery but the ROI is not here with this car I got this car for $500. Maybe after my next car I will do it but not now. I didn't realize all that was involved with that project.

I do like having the solar panel because if I have a bad trip into work with a lot of key starts my battery can go down to 12.2 and a few hours later it will be 12.7.

[dirtydave]

I made a partial belly pan type thing from sheet metal zip-tie's and duct tape.

It goes back completely under the engine right before the oil pan.
Road noise has been reduced and steering at high speeds seems lighter.
It blocked a bunch of things sticking out.
I need to make it all the way down and under everything. And make the front bumper / air dam better.

Any Ideas to do with the front?

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by dirtydave

I made a partial belly pan type thing from sheet metal zip-tie's and duct tape.

It goes back completely under the engine right before the oil pan.
Road noise has been reduced and steering at high speeds seems lighter.
It blocked a bunch of things sticking out.
I need to make it all the way down and under everything. And make the front bumper / air dam better.

Any Ideas to do with the front?

You know it's funny, I thought the reduce in road noise I got when I put on a air dam was a placebo effect until I drove my dad's Corolla from where I live to Lake Havasu last night (5 hour drive). I can't believe how ridiculously loud a normal car ride is. Normally I can watch my star trek with my volume on max since I put the air dam on the civic, but in my dad's Corolla I could barely hear it with 200% volume.

[silvermazda]

Can we get a current picture of the front? I have forgotten how it looks like.
I'd say cover opening like foglights and partial radiator block.
As far as the front air dam, its pretty good. You can extend it back more, but let your oil pan cool and a hole in the rear for the engine bay to breathe. That air from the radiator has to go somewhere. (or maybe going up is more efficient?!? I dont know)

[dirtydave]

Yeah it is a noticeable difference in road noise at 60mph I had to put the stereo at max just to hear anything now halfway is good. Now i am missing carpet and other random interior parts and she does have a few suspension issues too, I don't think it was a quiet car to begin with. Lol

[dirtydave]

Originally Posted by silvermazda

Can we get a current picture of the front? I have forgotten how it looks like.
I'd say cover opening like foglights and partial radiator block.
As far as the front air dam, its pretty good. You can extend it back more, but let your oil pan cool and a hole in the rear for the engine bay to breathe. That air from the radiator has to go somewhere. (or maybe going up is more efficient?!? I dont know)

Look at post #23 and #24 it looks the same except a bit more ducttape and a lot more spraypaint.

[dirtydave]

This tank was 500.3 miles on 11.08 gallons.

45.2 MPG

My first tank over 500 miles.
This is really good because this tank had some issues. I had an issue with the left rear brakes sticking . I had the exhaust fixed and they had it idle for a solid 5 minutes.

Im very happy with 45 MPG!

4cyl 5 speed FTW!

[dirtydave]

Holy hot damn a NEW WORLD RECORD!!

515.7 / 11.12 = 46.38 MPG!!

Reclaimed my #6 spot over EPA! 101.182% Over EPA!!!

[MetroMPG]

Nice going - congrats!