Project "Save the Flea!" Winter beater: 2007 Civic 1.8L, 5-speed

[MetroMPG]

Did a bit of fiddling with the car this weekend...

Deeper air dam:



This is my first ever "classic lawn edging" air dam, and it leaves about 3.5 inches of clearance. I just screwed it on to the original air dam, though it's going to need some extra bracing behind it to stiffen it up.

Original air dam from the factory:

[Daox]

A B A testing planned?

[MetroMPG]

A-B. No A-B-A.

Once I've got all the mods done, I'll repeat my original speed vs. MPG runs. So we'll call that a weak A-B comparison.

[MetroMPG]

Re-inventing the wheel disc...



I knew better than to try rare earth magnets again, after the 25% failure rate from my last coroplast wheel disc adventure on the Flea. ( http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...aps-28214.html )

For this new experiment (anything to avoid actually buying hubcaps to modify!), I zip tied "blocks" of coroplast tightly to the wheel itself. Screws hold the discs to the blocks. I just need to get some stainless screws so the heads don't rust.

[MetroMPG]

Remaining mods checklist...

[ x ] - grille blocks: full upper & partial lower
[ x ] - passenger outside mirror delete/downsize
[ _ ] add small convex mirror to trailing edge of driver's outside mirror (so it can be folded back on the highway & still be usable)
[ x ] - rear decklid spoiler (copy hybrid style)
[ x ] - engine kill switch
[ x ] - DRL switch

Update: completed mods marked with 'x'

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by dirtydave

My KIA has the same size engine about the same weight and about the same high RPMS I cant wait to see what kind of numbers you can get!

I think it's going to be in the neighbourhood of what you're getting. I'd like to see 50 for the winter... but that may be a tall order in sub-zero temps. Which reminds me, I should check if there's a block heater in this car.

[Xist]

The air dam and wheel covers look great! Those look like perfect circles!

[MetroMPG]

Did the passenger side mirror deletion today. Still need to fasten a much downsized replacement on the door. I need an outside mirror since I often reverse into tight parking spots. It'll be complemented by a bigger interior convex mirror.

Getting closer to doing the "B" portion of the A-B testing...

[MetroMPG]

Got all four wheel discs mounted this afternoon. Will snap a pic tomorrow.

I decided the air dam needs some stiffening/reinforcing. It's a little too floppy, and I suspect it deflects back at highway speeds, though I haven't stuck a camera on to confirm.

[MetroMPG]

All four mounted now...



I took the car up to ~110 km/h and double-checked them. All looks good.

Started on the grille blocks as well. I just used some scraps of wood to sandwich the factory grille, and screwed coroplast into the scraps:



Before...



Now:



Upper is now completely blocked. I'm going to reposition the plate to the lower right grille area, leaving a center opening about the size of the plate itself.