Scion xA aero mods

[NeilBlanchard]

I think less convex covers are better than the domed ones, but the difference is small.

Are there many hills in your part of Texas? What RPM is the engine running at say 65MPH?

I would try taping over the holes in the "chin" panel to see if this helps the cooling.

[SwamiSalami]

Originally Posted by Deezler

Interested to see the camera setup. $156 might seem reasonable, but will still be difficult to recoup in fuel savings... Furthermore you may never save the energy via fuel economy improvement that was required to design, manufacture, and ship those cameras and monitors to your door. This is one of those instances where I think us ecomodders get a little carried away with personal MPG stats and less with overall environmental sustainability. I would be happy to be wrong about this, however.

I don't understand why people think that these investments have to pay for themselves. What about corvettes? Children? A nice steak dinner? Do these investments and expenses pay for themselves? More than likely, no.

It's important to understand that although 156$ can be interpreted as significant spending on a project of this nature, it's still a unique, positive and enjoyable and I'd say worthy use of this man's personal time. Comparatively, I'd much rather be out a few bucks on something similar to this than say, scratch off lotto tickets.

Good job Neil, keep up the good work.

[NeilBlanchard]

Thanks -- this is probably a lot less expensive than replacement stock mirrors, so if you ever lose them (narrow roads or parking lots are tough on mirrors), then replacing them with video mirrors is a good option.

I have actually saved a lot more than the cost of the video mirrors, though this savings has come from all the various mods, and with practiced ecodriving techniques.

And by the way, the passenger side video camera (for whatever reason) had to be replaced for the second time -- after the first one failed, I bought two (for about $28 each), and the first replacement died more quickly than the original camera. This is disappointing, for sure -- I think they are just low quality control units.

If I end up using video mirrors on the CarBEN EV, I will look for higher quality units. Because the screens too, are prone to dimming when they get hot, and are hard to see in bright sunshine.

But, I feel that doing this was a great experiment to do. I think that we will eventually see video cameras on a factory vehicle -- the VW 1L car is my best guess to being the first?

[harshalsk]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

I think less convex covers are better than the domed ones, but the difference is small.

Are there many hills in your part of Texas? What RPM is the engine running at say 65MPH?

I would try taping over the holes in the "chin" panel to see if this helps the cooling.

Well There are not many hills or should I say almost flat. I do couple of texas size flyovers and they are crazy. But everything else is flat.

Here are some pics of my current grill block:
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/P1010904.jpg

http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/z...1010913_sm.jpg

http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/P1010950.jpg


This is under my rear bumper which I want to block:
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/P1010910.jpg

And this is stciker on my car to keep tailgaters away:
http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/P1010951.jpg

[NeilBlanchard]

Your lower grill opening is a little smaller than mine -- you definitely could see an improvement in temperature by blocking the "chin" area.

The issue I had with the rear belly pan was air flowing above the rear beam axle, and pushing the Coroplast down. It should be "sealed" up at the front and sides so this doesn't happen.

Do your wheel covers "creak" when you drive slowly? You may need to "tack" glue them in place -- mine started to fall off (on the right side) after about a year or so. The spring "fingers" weaken after a while.

[harshalsk]

Only my front driver side wheel cap creeks not sure why it seems it is flushing closely with something that rotates. Springs are holding fine so far. But I will have to keep an eye on them. I see lot of people amused by those wheel caps and they stare at my car like I am some alien.

I will block the entire lower grill area and then only one part of the upper grill and leave the partial upper grill open to get some cool air.

Some time back I saw a guy on Scion life XA forum removed the front air intake hose and wanted to let some real hot air in the engine. Will that really work? I did not see his results posted on that forum.

Creating belly pan is a challenge. Where did you find the coroplast any particular store or companies who make those signage will have the scrap ones?

[capnbass91]

Duct tape I'm sure is only temporary, I plan on blocking my car's grill, but duct tape would really mess up my paint. What is a good material and method to block the grill semi-permanently? at least longer lasting that tape.

[harshalsk]

Well I used Gorilla tape which does leave some residue on the grill plastic but did not leave much on the metal paint body. But I think whatever Neil is using seems to be better than Gorilla tape.

[NeilBlanchard]

Gorilla tape glue cleans easily with GooGone; which is a citrus-based cleaner.

I used aluminum roll flashing and cable ties. And I need to rebuild my rear wheel strakes with aluminum, I think. The wheel skirts could be remade, too; but they have been fine for several years now. I have to remove them to have my tires changes/rotated, and I clean up the goop each time. The 4x8 sheet of Coroplast cost me $20 -- the best deal I can think of for ecomodding.

[harshalsk]

I was wondering what is the true tank capacity of Scion xA? Door jamb says 11.9 gallons. I always fill up and it varies between 9.4 till 10.3. Never went more than that or at least I did not want to go until it runs out of fuel completely.

Have anybody tried alternator delete or alternator toggle switch?