PhotoChopping some mods for my Fit... Thoughts?
 

Hey guys, I am by no means a Photoshop wiz, but in the pic below I am kinda sketching out some planned aero mods for the Fit. I have a friend who has his own auto shop that fabricates parts and restores old cars, so the main goal here is to make sure and retain the stylishness of the Fit as well as the original color on all addon mods. Tell me what you guys think?

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...d/HondaFit.jpg

Main things here are:

1. Side mirror deletes
2. Rear fender skirts
3. Moon discs
4. Front air dam

Looks good! Are you going to drop the ride height some also, along with doing a full belly pan?

Thanks man. I am definitely planning a belly pan. Not sure about ride height as that would require some adjustable coilovers to do it right (which may be out of my price range atm...)

Are you sure you want to block the lower grille ?
Most modders usually start with the top grille, as it adds less to the cooling.

Good point Euro. Since I am new to all this hypermiling business im relying on info like that. You think it'd definetly over heat with the bottom one dammed?

I like it. I second the belly pan.

If your Fit is like my Civic, the radiator is on one side (passenger side) and the the AC condenser on the other. I have a little more than half covered, with the AC condenser being completely covered (I rarely use it here) and I haven't had any problems. I would just watch the coolant temp with your Ultragauge, I have an alarm set for 210* and if it gets above 220* I can just blast the heater. But the temperature barely reaches 70F on a hot day here, so I don't have any problems. You'll never know till you try it yourself.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...3-12133613.jpg(I have a coroplast one now that is the same size, but its painted black and difficult to see.)

The bottom grille is usually the most effective and the largest cooling air scoop.
So the top grille is a safer place to start.
The 1990 generations of Honda's often didn't even have an upper grille.

If that works without overheating, block part of the lower grille.
See where the AC condensor is - keep that side open if you use the AC.
You could do a lower grille block in say 3 parts, so you can add or remove parts of the blockage depending on weather and driving conditions.

I agree that blocking the upper grill is the best place to start, and then I'd block part of the lower grill, too. The plenum in front of the radiator might need sealing up, so all the air that does come through the lower opening goes through the radiator -- typically too much air comes through the grill opening(s) so they vent air away before it goes through the radiator.

And a louver in the middle of the hood (behind the radiator and behind the point the air flow starts to "lift" off of the hood) would help pull air through the radiator; making it possible to reduce the intake opening even a bit more.

I would ideally add some partial front skirts, too; ti end up close to the original Insight's front wheel openings. I have these on my xA and they help.

So conservatively speaking I would reduce drag somewhat and therefore be looking at a small percentage in MPG gains from these mods? I just wonder if I would be looking at a 3%-4% gain or something more substantial based on my driving habits?

I think you could see as much as 10-15% increase with those aero changes? My upper grill opening is a lot larger than the one on the Fit, and I saw about 10% with that alone. Rear wheel skirts and smooth wheel covers are good for almost that much, as well.

Are you including video mirrors in your mods?

Your mileage may vary, but generally, most of the aero mods suggested on this website gained my del sol about 1-3 mpg per mod.

in my experience:
Stock car - 60mph steady state driving = 30-32mpg

All aero mods (front grill bock, smooth front covers, windshield wiper cover, side mirror delete, rear wheel skirts, underbelly pan) - 60mph steady state driving = 40-42mpg

All aero mods + driving habits - 45mpg

Agreed. Start with the top grille. Summer is coming. You'll want your AC in Arkansas I'll bet and you won't want any surprises in engine heat. For what it is worth, I overinflated my tires to 54psi (rated 44) and have driven several thousand miles on them since. No problems. Good gains from lower rolling resistance. Get a scan gauge or ultra gauge. They are worth the money. My significant aero mods are limited to full upper grille block, 80% lower grille block (with ducting), tires spats, and mirror deletes. I regularly got 39/40mpg in the freeway before the mods and now get 51/52 on the freeway. No wheels skirts yet, no ride reduction, no belly pans (yet). Hope that helps. Nice photoshop image too, btw.

Hey thanks a lot guys. Neil,explain to me if you don't mind how I could implement video mirrors.

I installed two video (backup) cameras on the stock mirror panels, after removing the mirrors -- I have to put the stock mirrors back on to pass inspection. I installed two video monitors on my dashboard (the xA has the instruments in the center). Here's my installation post:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...s-2969-17.html

I have just recently replaced both the cameras and the monitors with (hopefully) better units, and I will amend the xA aeromods thread soon. The new monitors are definitely better performing since the LED backlighting is much cooler and it doesn't fade out when they get warm.

Neil, that is really cool what you did there! Thanks for that.

I've added a post with my new video mirrors, at the end of the thread.