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Old 06-24-2010, 06:08 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Side Skirts

Finally got around to putting together some side skirts. It used up all of my remaining useable coroplast, but it's done.







I put an extra piece in front of the skirts inside the front wheelwells to help keep the airflow from pushing too hard on the skirts. This also made me notice where the accelerated corner wear on my tires came from- the wheelwell itself. It's barely rubbing against it when I turn.

The skirt is 5" long, and hangs about 3" under the car. I used metal brackets screwed into the body to mount the skirt, and Gorilla tape to secure the coroplast and cover gaps.

We'll see what kind of effect it has as time goes on. I haven't gone driving yet.

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Old 06-24-2010, 06:43 PM   #2 (permalink)
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skirts

I think the air is going to like what you've done.
I do have a reservation with respect to the premium fuel.
Unless you have some extreme pinging problem( shouldn't if timing is correct and some amazing carbon deposits have increased the compression ratio ) which prevents normal acceleration,the premium should show no change to mpg,as with the exception of octane rating,it has the same chemical energy content as any garden variety regular-unleaded fuel.
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Old 06-24-2010, 07:08 PM   #3 (permalink)
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Thanks!

The only reason I'm using Premium is because it's the only non-ethanol gas available in Oregon. Switching from E10 Regular to E0 Premium added 2 MPGs.
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Old 06-26-2010, 03:15 PM   #4 (permalink)
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E10/e0

Quote:
Originally Posted by AeroModder View Post
Thanks!

The only reason I'm using Premium is because it's the only non-ethanol gas available in Oregon. Switching from E10 Regular to E0 Premium added 2 MPGs.
This would be a good one to look at.If next time your getting fuel,find out how to contact their supplier/refinery/bulk terminal operator,etc.. They would be able to furnish a Material Safety Data Sheet for both fuels,and the refinery should be able to provide calorimeter data for Btu content of both fuels.
This would be a great way for us to see what's going on with the oxygenated fuels.
Your fuel could come from Hawaii and it's probably originally from the Dutch East Indies,refined on Oahu,and sold to you at less cost than motorists pay in Honolulu.Weird!
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Old 06-26-2010, 04:31 PM   #5 (permalink)
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...or, trucked up from the California refineries who've found it more profitable to sell the "raw" high-test to other states than to "dilute" it with oxygenates and sell it in California.
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Old 07-04-2010, 06:44 PM   #6 (permalink)
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After looking at them, I've decided that I'll give it a curve on the front instead of that sharp edge. However, I won't be able to take new pictures, since I had to sell the camera, and I'll have to wait until I have the car back to alter the skirts.

The car is also in the shop, since it recently wouldn't start due to a lack of spark. I replaced the ignition coil, distributor cap/rotor, and TFI module, but none of those were the problem. It's most likely the stator, but I asked the shop to make sure it's getting power to the coil and through the system to make sure (I don't have a volt meter or the knowledge to use it). Unfortunately, I won't be getting a clean test of the side skirts. As soon as it's done, I'll be heading down to California for a couple weeks. My goal is to only stop for gas once on this 650 mile trip, and I usually fill up the tank when it's 11 gallons under the F mark. The last 2 times I made this trip, I had to stop twice.

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