rear wheel skirts...

[Christ]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

Not sure I'd spray Simple Green in the engine bay. It softens some polymers. RC vehicle guys soak tires in SG to make them softer and gripper.

I don't really see an issue... you're not just randomly squirting SG all over the place, you're concentrating a 20:1 (or weaker, it's pretty powerful stuff) mixture at the areas that actually NEED to be cleaned... you can clean soot, grease and oil off the hood/sheet metal surfaces/painted surfaces with as little as 100:1 mixtures of SG/Water. It's not like anything is "soaking" in it for any length of time... you're rinsing it right back off in most places.

There is an SG for automotive purposes, if you're truly scared to use the real stuff... although I'm pretty sure it's the same thing with a different label.

Anyway, a simple google search will yield 100 or so dead-on results showing proper method, tips/tricks, and other parts of cars that have been successfully cleaned with SG, some people have used it for years and years (myself included, since I got my first car, almost 10 years ago) without any problems at all.

[malibuguy]

heres some pics of my car, what do you think i should do to it to help it out without going extreme...i'm debating in my head about a mirror delete




the car has 185/60-14s now...i plan to move to 175/65-14 LRR tires for daily use after these tires wear out, the car is going to be lowered a tiny bit more in the front, the rear is coming down around 1.5...i don't really want to get rid of the rear spoiler, its got an LED brakelight & i like the way it looks

also getting a new O2 sensor today along with a new fuel filter (original one is still on there) i keep throwing a code for the sensor, the car runs rich, i get tons of soot build-up on the back of the car, so i'm hoping this & disconnecting the battery should solve that

[Frank Lee]

Isn't losing the spoiler kind of an apparent first step?

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

A flush upper grill block would be at the top of my list, and tape over the holes in the wheels (or are they hub caps?). Seal up the front hood gap with foam gasket, and try to move the antennae to the inside of the car.

[malibuguy]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Hi,

A flush upper grill block would be at the top of my list, and tape over the holes in the wheels (or are they hub caps?). Seal up the front hood gap with foam gasket, and try to move the antennae to the inside of the car.

i already have the grilles blocked

i'm pondering the antenna move...not sure yet

taping the wheels...eh, no no no

but i need to seal off some gaps tho

thanks for the suggestions

[cfg83]

malibuguy -

For the wheel skirts on my SW2, I saw between a 1.3% to 4% gain :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-pan-4472.html


Because I am conservative in my estimates, I only claim a 1.3+% gain.

I have a big advantage because most of my connecting parts are plastic. I can drill into pieces of my car very easily, and I don't have to worry about rust. My personal rule is to have "reversible" mods, so the holes I drill are not where you can easily see them.

I have been thinking that my mod is probably better as "infrastructure". If you look at the picture above, you could cut out the center and use the surrounding "frame" as a base to attach varying skirt designs :


(the dots would be fastener locations)

The cool part is that the skirts could be attached with "quick release" connectors like dzus fasteners. You would have full access to the tire and you could more easily try different wheel skirt designs.

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pr....asp?RecID=758


CarloSW2

.

[malibuguy]

nice writeup, i def want easy access to the wheel, & be able to easy remove them for servicing at the track

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Isn't losing the spoiler kind of an apparent first step?

On that car, not necessarily. Just guessing (I know that's dangerous when it comes to aero), but I don't think that car has reattached flow on the end of the decklid. It's too short, and the rear glass is too steep. So effectively raising the decklid as that "spoiler" does, may be helping a small amount.

heres some pics of my car, what do you think i should do to it to help it out without going extreme...

Since the "extreme" qualification is subjective, and only you know the answer to what's "going extreme", I'd just suggest going through the aero mods section in the 65+ efficiency mods list and pick out the projects that meet your criteria.

[Joe_Bloe]

i'd say lose the racing stickers. they're probably eating 2 - 3 mpg. ;^)

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

On that car, not necessarily. Just guessing (I know that's dangerous when it comes to aero), but I don't think that car has reattached flow on the end of the decklid. It's too short, and the rear glass is too steep. So effectively raising the decklid as that "spoiler" does, may be helping a small amount.

Agreed, "eyeball aero" is not good science. Buuuut...

I think dragging a spoiler through turbulent air is still dragging something that otherwise isn't there.

I intuitively agree with Daox' assessment (# 25 of this: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...rag-598-2.html ) :

"Spoilers work by increasing the pressure between the back of the roof and the spoiler itself, so there is less of a low pressure zone at the bottom of the winshield. If the slope from the back of the roof to the back edge of the trunk is more than 15 degrees, you can benefit from a properly designed spoiler as long as the slope from the back of the roof to the top of the spoiler is around 12.5 degrees, or as close to it as possible. Also, if the air has someplace to go below the spoiler the aerodynamic purpose is somewhat defeated."

I recall reading somewhere that Fieros with factory spoilers gained a few counts of drag, and spoilered Countaches lost a noteable amount of top end speed.

And from 60+ Vehicle modifications for better fuel economy - EcoModder.com :

Raised wing type rear spoilers
Sure, the dealer or that go-fast kid on the corner might've convinced you that spoilers are good for downforce, but in reality, most are merely a cosmetic addition - one that is more likely to add drag than it is to do anything meaningful for handling.

Take it off and your car will not only look stock, but it'll have better aerodynamics.

It isn't always obvious whether a particular spoiler style is an aero help or hindrance.