Project EconoPolo (aeromodding a VW)

[lowglider]

viio, an offtopic question for you:
Has the cabin noise level at motorway speeds changed noticably since you`ve done the aero mods?
I like how everything you do looks so smooth, it`s nice to see aesthetically pleasing mods, makes the Polo look much nicer than stock.

[viio]

Thats a big compliment thankyou.

Youre right, there is an improvement on cabin noise. Even the gap sealing on my wind mirrors decreased the rushing wind noises next to my head.

[Hauki]

Great work Viio, what MPG are you getting now?

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Hauki

Great work Viio, what MPG are you getting now?

You can see that by clicking the mpg link under his "Econopolo" car entry

http://ecomodder.com/forum/em-fuel-l...vehicleid=2114

[viio]

I've been quiet for a while, but I just changed to wheels which are larger rolling radius:

[viio]

Now 205/55/R16 instead of 185/60R14. Thats a 9.4% increase in gearing. Plus they look cool :P

On the down side I measured a 1.8 cm increase in ride height with the new wheels, so I've lost some of the benefit of lowering the car.

On the up side having the car lowered already means there's only a small gap in the wheel arch so that's got to be better for aero

[euromodder]

I wonder what it's all going to mean for your FE

[Vekke]

My estimation is that your fuel consumption will get worse about 10%. Those are much wider tires and wheels have worse aerodynamic shape...

[viio]

That's a pretty harsh judgement. I'm not gonna lose 10% fe from tyres that are 20mm wider. Anyway the tyres will be made narrower when they wear down and I replace.

[Vekke]

Also the wheels are 2" bigger and arent that aerodynamic IMO. That taller gearing will help, but how much only time will tell. That 10% is still my estimation based on current information.

What tyres are you using at the moment?