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Old 01-23-2011, 02:10 PM   #1 (permalink)
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2000 Buick Century

New to the forum! Only 17 and looking to squeeze alot out of a boat. Drive a 2000 Buick Century Custom. Live in the mountains to top it off! So Im spending quite a bit for my daily treks to school and work. Maybe looking to fashion a front bumper wedge (wrong name maybe?), Wheel covers, tape over anything that i dont NEED, wont use the often, or It wouldnt be a big deal to retape over. Cover part of the grille. All of that jazz. Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated . Thanks!

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Old 01-23-2011, 03:53 PM   #2 (permalink)
Cd
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Welcome to the forums !
Here are some tips that may help : 100+ Hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics for better mpg - EcoModder.com
65+ Vehicle modifications for better fuel economy - EcoModder.com

Since you live in the mountains, you have the advantage that despite having to climb mountains, you have the other side in which you can coast down for miles. If you could find a route that has more downgrades than inclines, you might get better mileage even if the route is actually farther to the destination. Since your car is an automatic, I'm going to let the experts take over on advising you on the best way to do this.

As far as aeromods, your car is relatively sleek from the start. I can't find an exact figure for the car, but most cars like yours fall around .31 -.33 region as far as the drag number goes.
You could probably benefit the most from a full bellypan under the car ( with metal used around the hot areas )
The Lexas LS 430 had a .25 drag coefficient which is equal to the most streamlined cars mass produced on the road in the last 50 years. This is mainly done with careful tweaking of the airflow around the car. A large part being the smooth underside of the car.
Note how that despite being so sleek, the car looks average - even boxy.




There are no boat-tails used on the car. No wheel skirts or anything either.
What this means to you is that with careful testing ( A-B-A coast down testing, tuft testing ) your car could match this figure, yet look absolutely stock to anyone that didn't know.
The only person to know would be someone that looked under the car and could see the bellypan . You can also have a fully 'stealth' grille block that goes unnoticed.

Good luck !
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Old 01-23-2011, 03:59 PM   #3 (permalink)
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As far as that 'Front bumper wedge' ( called an airdam ) that you referred to, you won't need one with a full bellypan, since the function of an airdam is to literally 'dam' the air coming under the car and move it to the sides of the car. ( Because the underside of the car is a huge mess for the airflow. )
The car will actually be sleeker without the airdam, and it still keeps its stock appearance.

Wheel covers aren't that big a deal on a car like yours because most cars like yours have pretty smooth wheels stock. You will be 'splitting hairs' and in the mountains where you live, you would be better off leaving the wheels the way they are for the brakes. ( brake heat going down the mountains )
Oh - and again, you will be keeping the stock appearance.


Last edited by Cd; 01-23-2011 at 04:05 PM..
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