Reversed any mods? - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

California98Civic · 07-06-2011, 01:22 PM

Which mods have you reversed and why?

I am considering reversing my wiper delete because I am not convinced it does much of anything since it is encased in a high pressure bubble at speed. And I am considering reversing my driver side mirror delete to get police to pay me less attention (and because aerohead tested it on his civic in rigorous conditions and found no effect on the vehicle's top speed).

War_Wagon · 07-06-2011, 01:34 PM

I can see putting the mirror back on, if Johnny Law is looking at you funny then it's not worth the grief of getting pulled over. Wiper delete isn't so much of an option up here as we can be subject to rain pretty much any time of year.

I think the only thing I ever reversed was tire PSI. I had been running quite a bit over sidewall pressure for quite some time, everything was fine and I had pretty much forgot they were that high, then the first frosty morning happened and scared me into a parking lot to drop the pressure to something a bit more reasonable for the season.

kir_kenix · 07-06-2011, 01:39 PM

There has to be a point of where balancing drivablilty/functionability meet FE. Removing weight (wiper/mirror) and the aero penelty of these had to have SOME (albiet probably very small) impact on your FE.

I'm in the same boat: I know that removing mirrors, wipers, antanea etc will improve FE, but I don't think the returns justify the lack of visability or radio. Others feel differently and are perfectly OK with their choices.

I say do whatever makes you feel safer and/or make your vehicle more functionable for you. Like I said, its worth it to me to pay that extra .1mpg to be able to use my passenger side mirror, see out my whole window when it rains, and listen to tunes while I drive.

Angmaar · 07-06-2011, 01:39 PM

I've reduced tire PSI to what Ford recommends during winter.

California98Civic · 07-06-2011, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kir_kenix

There has to be a point of where balancing drivablilty/functionability meet FE. Removing weight (wiper/mirror) and the aero penelty of these had to have SOME (albiet probably very small) impact on your FE.

That is what I would think too. But at least for the mirrors aerohead reported here that his 4th Gen Civic (4th?) was tested for top speed, mirrors on and off. The testers could measure, I think he wrote, to the 1/1000 of an MPH and found no difference. I wonder if that goes for my mirror too, but I'll take the bet that Honda kept its gains for my 6th Gen Civic. As for other cars... well... I know even less surely.

Frank Lee · 07-06-2011, 06:38 PM

I had a Tempo fully kitted with skirts, cowl panel, wiper delete, mirror delete, antenna delete, hood blanket, grille block, etc. Now the skirts and cowl panel are gone and the mirrors are back; the blanket and block remain too. Can't say the fe differences are detectable in my case. I kept the antenna off because I usually don't have the radio on anyway. I keep the wipers in the car because they are rarely used and by keeping them inside I don't have to constantly replace wipers that have been little used or even unused.

I did encounter a situation with my F150's fan delete the other day- it was 95 degrees and I had the a/c on and I was in town waiting for the world's longest red light to change. The a/c started blowing warm and I initially thought it was busted due to lack of use, so I switched to open windows and vents. But after considering it a bit I decided that it quit simply because of the lack of airflow over the condensor and sure enough, when I tried it a few days later it worked perfectly. So I will either add an electric fan, or since the situation is so rare for me, just be aware that this might happen and act accordingly.

low&slow · 07-06-2011, 07:54 PM

I Have also reversed a R mirror delete and an exterior grille blocks. The lack of a R side mirror made backing into a single car garage more difficult and the benefit was very small. I replaced the exterior grille blocking with a " stealth " upper grille block and a front air dam. I still plan on doing some under body panels. I got tired of the harassment I received from others on how I was ruining my beautiful car so I none focus on efficient driving, higher tire pressures and less noticeble aero body mods.
Now I put most of ecomodding energy in streamling my motorcycle .

all the best L&S

brucey · 07-06-2011, 08:12 PM

I have reversed rear wheel skirts (too much work to access the rear wheels compared to cost savings)

Along with the camera mirror, mainly because the thing broke on me after only 5000 miles. Which was only half way to my break even mileage.

Other than that, all mods are still on.

t vago · 07-06-2011, 08:36 PM

I removed my upper grille block after determining that it did nothing for my FE, and it caused my engine coolant temperature to remain much closer to the electric fan setpoint than without the block in place.

notanarborist · 07-07-2011, 01:02 PM

I made a temporary grill block with duct tape over the upper grill on my Town and Country. Removed it for an A-B-A test and found mileage stayed at 23.9 before during and after the grill block. Didn't effect my coolant or trans temp with or without a/c running, though.
Determined it wasn't worth it to make a permanent one in this situation.