Project: The AeroFocus

[HydroJim]

Originally Posted by Gealii

I haven't done a belly pan hoping on getting out there and starting from the radiator to just behind the tranny this week, but here is an idea can you cut holes in the coro along the exhaust's route. Leaving enough space between the holes to not sacrifice structural integrity but to allow space for the hot air to escape, allowing the coro to stay cooler? Was just kinda thinking about it

That might work, but it might be easier and more aerodynamic to just pick up some thin sheet metal from a local hardware store and cover it with that.

[NeilBlanchard]

Belly pan looks good -- I like the flexible section for the suspension. You need to guard against parachuting, for sure -- fasten the leading edges well and hopefully they are tight against the car.

[arcosine]

Yes you can cover the exhaust area with sheet metal. I would run the coroplast as one sheet across the rear suspension, leaving a big hole is not good. It's flexible and will move with the arms. The coroplast is attached to the arms with twisted wire, the wire is looped around the arm and through two holes in the chloroplast, holes are poked with a phillips screwdriver. The wire is twisted with pliers until tight. Big tie wraps would work too. My belly pan has been on for 8 years now that way. Pop rivets work if the exhaust sheet metal in on the inside, otherwise the ones for soft material, that flare when drawn up work. You can wrap the exhaust pipe with aluminium foil too. I had to add a few vent holes to keep the gas tank from getting too hot.



Yes, Check the axle ratio chart on the previous post for the mtx-75 transmission and your codes. There is also a 5th gear swap too:

http://teamzx2.com/threads/784-how-to-swap-5th-gear?

[HydroJim]

arcosine- For now, I'm, just going to throw a used transmission in, because I'm not sure what I'm going to run into if I try to rebuild the transmission and I don't wanna be stuck without a car for a month if you know what I mean. I will definitely consider a 5th gear swap if and when I rebuild my original transmission.

[Allch Chcar]

Originally Posted by arcosine

U can use a transmission with a 3.42 axle ratio. Using a transaxle with a numerically lower axle ratio will improve mpg of Aerofocus by reducing engine friction. The codes listed below come from the Vehicle Certification Label which is typically attached to the door latch edge on the driver side door.

[IMG]

I believe the SOHC MTX-75 doesn't bolt up to the Zetec due to a different bolt pattern. Not completely sure, if it does then somebody has probably done it. But going from the 3.42(SOHC) to the 3.84(Zetec). Worse case the final drive gear and pinion should swap over.

[arcosine]

You are right they don't bolt up.

Its cool that the final drive can be changed , in the Saturn it is integral with the shaft. If I could only change to a 3.42:1 from the 4.025:1!

Do all Duratec engines have the same bolt patten?



ZTECH:

SOHC:

[HydroJim]

So if I rebuild my MTX-75, I could potentially swap in a taller 5th gear and a smaller final drive?

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by HydroJim

I have a 3 day weekend off from school so it gave me more time to get in the garage and continue working on the aeromods.

Today I went for the airdam. I may eventually go for a belly pan, but considering this took me 1 hour to complete, it sounds much better than crawling around on the ground installing a belly pan for hours.







Anybody have any tips on how large the radiator opening should be? I never use my AC because it doesn't work anyway so I would assume I need less cooling than most people.

At Bonneville I reduced the opening to 1/12th the area of the radiator core.She never began to heat at wide open throttle for a mile,and I left it in place for the remaining 3,000 miles of the trip.It's still on,at 560 miles of mixed commuting.No issues so far.And I've recorded the highest mpgs ever for the truck.
You'd want to be careful if in a mountainous area.

[arcosine]

It looks like it, could be a 20% reduction in RPM.

Originally Posted by HydroJim

So if I rebuild my MTX-75, I could potentially swap in a taller 5th gear and a smaller final drive?

[HydroJim]

1/12th the radiator size seems to be what I have.

currently my car runs in the middle of my BSFC map at highway speeds, but would it still be advantageous to run 20% lower RPM's?