New Wheels, Tires and Revised Skirts etc...
 

It's been a while since I've posted up anything about my car, so I figured I'd show some of the work I've recently accomplished.
The cars economy was getting worse and worse, the tires were quite worn, alignment out of whack, tie rod ends worn etc... So I parked it on the patio for a couple weeks and started work.
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First up the front suspension rebuild, new ES bushings were used to replace the 281,000 mile worn ones along with new ball joints.
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Next was a A/C and Power Steering Delete with a Rack De-Powering and new inner and outer tie rods.
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Then a little headlight polishing.
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The tires were quite bad,
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So I got some 10.60lb Mazda Miata BBS and Bridgestone RE92 in the 165/65-14 size. Lost a total of 13 lb's per wheel and tire combo!
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Timing Belt was a bit rough so it was replaced.
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Next the Front Air Dam was rebuilt along with the Rear Skirts and finally the car was back on the ground and ready!
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Tygen1 -

Spectacular execution!

CarloSW2

the only thing missing is the phrase....."and 30 minutes later I was all done!!"

Very nice!
I bet you can notice the difference in the front end! So many people fail to realize that not just shocks and struts but all the rubber busing just have to be replaced at some point.

Looks good!

Thanks, but your should really thank my wife for putting up with all this sillyness...it took two weeks of work in the evenings and weekends in cold weather to get this all done. It has been two years since I started Eco-Modding, the first versions of the air dam and wheel skirts weren't as nice, but these turned out much better looking and fitting. There are still some things I'd like to do different, but maybe when these wear out. I really ought to deal with the giant tire to fender gap these small tires have created...front wheel skirts? :)

To MCREWS, I can feel the difference, but the tires are not good for going around corners fast, you can really feel that single ply sidewall flex and the barely 5.5" wide tread hanging on by a thread. Not confidence inspiring, but it coasts soo much better, that it is worth it!

tygen,

Well it is always a balancing act. Trade off one thing for another. We probably corner hard about 1% of the time we are in a car, but that's what we measure by....go figure.

I have a much different car 02 Infiniti Q45 Sport. I run Kuhmo asx 255/45/18. It's an all-season performance tire. 10" wide. But over on the infiniti site I get grief for 1. not running 20" and 2. for not running pure high performance tires. Cant win for losing. But they work for me because I really don't slam thru curves trying to pull 1g.

As a note, you can get nylon bushings for the sway bars and the end links. Really tightens things up.

Front and Rear Sway bars have ES endlinks and bushings as well. They have helped. The car handles acceptable well with normal tires :) It's kinda like running really tall sidewall tires, they will take some getting used to.
I hear you on how other forums treat us :) I'll now be giving you grief for runing 10" wide tires, you should be runing 13" wheels with 5" wide tires LOL!

I like the hose as a stop, along the curve -- great idea!

What material is the skirt itself?

:thumbup:I'll now be giving you grief for runing 10" wide tires, you should be runing 13" wheels with 5" wide tires :eek: LOL!

:thumbup:


:rolleyes:

:D

that was halarious!!!! you made my night!!! (welll as long as Frank Lee doesn't post something;)

__________________

What!?!

That's the best you got the morning after Christmas :( :confused:

I do all my Eco-Mod shopping at the Home Depot :) The "hose" is 3/4" PEX tubing, it is very flexable, but I still needed the heat gun to get the curve to fit nice. Then I drilled thru to the fender and used SS screw to hold it in place. I put some strips of adhesive velco between the PEX and the fender so it wouldn't rub thru the paint. The skirt is Fiber Reinforced Plastic panel, you know, the bathroom wall 4x8 sheets that have the bubble texture. It's fairly strong and flexable and thin so you can make a tight fit.
I read about a lot of different skirt mounting ideas till I combined a few to get what I wanted.

Tygen,
Doesd that panel come in a clear?????

No, it is white or beige, I just bought some Lexan for the front lower grill block, also from HD.

Tygen,
I did not see how you torqued all the front end parts after installation.
As an Auto Tech for the last 35 years allow me to offer a little advice. (You may have done this, but others might need to hear it)
When putting final torque on any suspension parts, the weight of the car should be on the wheels. You can either put the car on the ground and reach through to torque, or, place jack stands at the hub, or under the lugs, and torque in the air.
*When using stands at the edges of the suspension, be sure to have some under, but not touching the frame. Just in case.*
Meaning;
If the wheels are hanging free, while you are tightening the suspension, this places unnatural stress on the bushings.
The bushings will be loaded at an angle, rather than being loaded while in their sprung position.
This leads to premature bushing failure. You spent hard earned dollars for those bushings. (very nice BTW) You do not want to buy new ones again in 12 to 18 months because these are already half twisted when you put the car on the ground.
Or, to put it another way, the bushings think the car is bottomed out, rather than sitting level. Then when the car does bounce on a dip, the bushings become over rotated in their brackets.

I hope you get your FE back. It is a splendid job you have done. I am sure when you tell the wife you are spending less on fuel she will forgive you entirely. (after you use the savings to take her to dinner;))

Thats interesting, I would have thought you just wanted to "get the suspension out of the way" so your torque is up to spec. Thanks.

Interesting thoughts Mr. Schultz, I hadn't considered that. I will take a look at this when the snow melts and temps rise above freezing.
I did preload the a-arms for the torquing of the sway bar end links.

I'm taking my wife to dinner and movie this Friday, maybe that will smooth things over :)

Very professional looking.
Looks factory - well done.

The repairs and modifications are paying off, the last two tanks were right at 45mpg, which is much better than last year in the same temps.
Yay! :)

Glad to hear you back on the road. The Elantra is coming along. Got 38 mpg on a trip down to Beaufort back. About a 130 mile trip. Next up Scan gauge and WAI.

Good job! I just looked at your fuel log and your making great progress. When summer temps and gas get here, you'll do much better :)

Can't wait. I know the warm temps help but what is the difference in the summer and winter gas.

Summer vs. Winter Gas is a debatable issue. Although I typically see a 2-3mpg drop when the winter gas hits, at leaast I think I do :) , then I start to try harder and gain back some of the loss.

I noticed you have no way of removing the rear wheel skirts for easy access to your wheels. Might I recommend installing a hinge at the top and 2 of these latches at the bottom so that all you have to do is slide the latch over on 2 latches (one at the front, one at the rear of the base plate) and flip up the skirt? This is what I will be doing shortly on my Geo.

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/2843/latchd.jpg

I keep a phillps screwdriver and 10mm wrenches in the glove box. Only takes a couple minutes to remove them :)