Saturn TDI nose job...

[bikeprof]

Craig:
1.Check out the BMW headlights, they are behind like yours but have lexan/similar to flush the wind out of that pocket behind the bumper.
2. Front air dam is GREAT, I installed one in all of my wagons, really helps MPG's, high speed control and cross wind(big truck + push/pressure on highway).
3. Next easy MOD. for you is to get taller gear: a, taller tires or b, internal tranny gear
4. Cover the rear fender wells and the under car with HDPE plastic in 3mm-4mm thick, very durable and moldeable(heatgun ~175F only!).
5. Wheel/tire drops, behind tires to smoothen out transition to body, all four but rears are MOST important, flush/smooth to rear bumper/lower valance.

The Volvo 544(?), from 1958(?), had manual grill louvers to close at will! Did you mean some like those?

[dremd]

Awesome.
You need a 6 speed now:-)

[Arragonis]

How does the Saturn compare to the original VW for weight ?

And yes defo a 6sp. Oh yes.

[cfg83]

Arragonis -

Originally Posted by Arragonis

How does the Saturn compare to the original VW for weight ?

And yes defo a 6sp. Oh yes.

This is not exact, but my Dad's 1971 VW Karmann Ghia was 1800 lbs. An S-Series Saturn is around 2300 lbs.

CarloSW2

[4more]

i just found your build and read through it. very nice. I worked as a Saturn tech for a year my first job out of tech school 1997-1998 so i have a soft spot for these cars they are great. and you just made them better. very nice work.....now i must fight the urg to try it

[Craig]

Thanks everyone for all the great information, suggestions, and comments! I'm not sure how much the car weighs, but the next time I go to the town dump to drop off my recyclables, I'll see about putting it on their scales.

Even with the onset of winter, my fuel mileage is still pretty good; I managed 56 mpg on the last tank, and 56.7 on the one before that. I still have some aerodynamic things that I want to try, and will definitely experiment with some of the suggestions I've received...it's just too cold out to do much with it at the moment!

[Craig]

A quick update here: been getting low-mid fifties out of it with all the snow and single-digit weather we've experienced over the last few weeks. This past week has been very mild, though - and no snow! Between that and careful driving techniques, I knocked down an all-time high of 63.3 mpg today! The REAL trick to this, however, is to be able to repeat it. I went 312.5 miles and took 4.932 gallons of diesel, using the same pump that I've used over the last several fill-ups...hard to argue with the math, but I want to be sure it wasn't a fluke, either!

[bikeprof]

Your hybrid Saturn is way more aerodynamic than most other cars out there so getting better fuel MPG return IS expected, and now with the TDI..., you should be seeing close to 70 per gallon!

What speeds are you computing your MPG's at?
Hills/mountains in this equation, windy?

Put a tail on that thing and flush the rear air exit, that is the ticket to get there...

, makes fuel last longer...

[cfg83]

Craig -

Fantastic work! Too bad Saturn never sourced a TDI engine "for fun".

CarloSW2

[Craig]

Originally Posted by bikeprof

Your hybrid Saturn is way more aerodynamic than most other cars out there so getting better fuel MPG return IS expected, and now with the TDI..., you should be seeing close to 70 per gallon!

What speeds are you computing your MPG's at?
Hills/mountains in this equation, windy?

Put a tail on that thing and flush the rear air exit, that is the ticket to get there...

, makes fuel last longer...

I usually drive around 60-62 mph on the highway, which equates 2000 rpm for the motor. The TDI makes peak torque between 1800-2200 rpm; a Stage 2 Rocketchip puts this figure to around 200 lbs of torque. I put the car on a scale and found it weighed 2480 lbs, and that's with 10 gallons of fuel and a second battery in the trunk for the winter months.

I-95 has some hills along the stretch I drive on, so I try to make the most of them. I find that I can coast almost a mile to the York toll plaza in either direction, along with my exits and a few stop signs...getting better at hypermiling this thing! Hope to play with aerodynamics some more as the weather warms up, too!