New car, new goals. 91 Ford festiva

[paintme205]

Seems our mileage is about the same then. Good to see.

I did the aerodynamic overlay tonight. Looks like the kammback is a little too steep. I'm going to work on adjusting it up a little later this week. I may lengthen it slightly as well.

[paintme205]

Well I took my second highway trip in the festiva. I averaged 52 MPG over 210 miles. I'm thinking the grill block and kammback are a success. I couldn't get over 43 before on the highway so I'm stoked.

I'm going to work on rear wheel skirts here when i get some time. Maybe I can eek out 55 MPG at 60 MPH. That would be great.

[MetroMPG]

Congrats on the improvement, especially considering you did it in the face of colder weather that tends to drive fuel economy down.

[paintme205]

Thanks MetroMPG. I am looking forward to seeing what it will do in the summer. If I could get near 60 MPG on the highway I would be stoked.

Next mod is rear wheel skirts and then removing a little bit of weight and putting the wiper in the trunk.

[MetroMPG]

How much did you change the Kammback spoiler vs. the photo you posted?

[paintme205]

I added another two to three inches. I haven't done the photo comparison again yet but should be noticeable.

If the ice and snow ever quit, I will take new pics and also work on the wheel skirts for the back.

[paintme205]

Rear wheel skirts went on today. They don't go as low as I would like but they should help a little. Will get pics tomorrow.

I also found out that on my last MPG run that I had a horrible alignment problem. The inside of both front tires is destroyed. I'm replacing all the tie rods and then getting it realigned. Hopefully with that fixed it will help MPG and driveability.

Still hoping for 60 MPG on the highway this spring.

Next mod will be wheel covers.

[paintme205]

Here are pics with the overlay since I adjusted the Kammback. Also is the rear wheel skirts.

They are constructed of fiber board from the bottom of dresser drawers. Poor mans method of testing. May do a more permanent one in sheet metal or coroplast but want to see my results first.

[bhazard]

Nice build. I used to average 47 with my festiva when it was stock, with a best of 53. That was drafting a semi at 60 mph across Michigan with two mountain bikes hanging off the back.

93 Festiva L 1.3L 5sp (Ford Festiva) | Fuelly


Now when I drive it in the warm season I struggle to hit 30 mpg...

[MetroMPG]

Latest pics don't show to me... but it may just be my crappy old phone browser. Will check them again tomorrow on the computer.

Coincidentally, today I saw a Fiesta like yours trundling toward me on a snowy road and couldn't believe my eyes. I haven't seen one for ages.