Silver's build thread
 

Here's my build thread for my Mazda CX-5 which I named Silver for my fuel logs. First thing I did was air up the tires. I've settled on 49-51psi for the factory tires. I then made the Lexan wheel covers. Then came the mirror deletes.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...020-skirts.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...-rearskirt.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...frontskirt.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...block-slit.jpg
Lexan skirts added and working. I've calculated about 6% improvement with mirror delete and grill blocks. I'm getting skirt slap behind truck eddies which will require aluminum frame from carpet threshold plates next.

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Do you plan on clear Lexan skirts? If so, how will you clean them on the inside?

Thanks Freebeard. I get a lot of people asking what the wheel covers are for now. I wonder if plastidip will stick to it.
Here are the brakets I made to hold the lexan. I got good at building them fast and more suitably shaped as I went along.http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...t-flashing.jpg

Small 'f' like in e. e. cummings. Without seeing the bbCode that you wrote it's hard to say. Occam's Razor says you selected the little globe and keyboard instead of the moutains and yellow sky.

Plastidip doesn't stick to anything, that's the beauty of it. It conforms as it dries and then adheres through suction. That's why you can peel it off; and use it on chrome, for instance.

'Push locks'? I bought a set of fiberglass fenderskirts with a clamp mechanism that won't work. It hits the ends of the axles. What I intend to do is have a socket at the lower front and rear. The skirt will have flat tabs that fit through slot in each socket when the skirt is held at 45°, then it will rotate up and in and have some sort of fastener[s] at the top.

I'm cutting from the same stainless sheet I used for the mirror fillets on the doors.

The lip has a changing offset depth so I need to make the brackets conform to that depth and hold the skirt mass while vibrating from the firm ride (aired up:thumbup:).

I weighed the first skirt I cut at 1 lb. 13.5 ounces. I think each stainless bracket is strong enough to hold individually, but I'm sure I'll have at least two at the top of the arch maybe more.

One side effect of the mirror delete is that my window won't roll up all the way when I pull a click on the power window switch. It rolls it up and down if I hold the button at least.

Consider weight+vibration+aerodynamic forces. The aerodynamic forces can be greater, that's what keeps airplanes up in the air. :)

That's a curious symptom with the window lift.

I see now what the "plastic push rivets" are.

Nice start! I'll keep my eye on it :thumbup:

Looks really good!

Now that I've discovered where the ambient air temperature sensor is located on my vehicle I'm building a snorkel out of flashing to fix the problem of the gauge reading almost 10 degrees too high after installing the grill blocks.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...or-snorkel.jpg

There is a verticle cross member on the header that the sensor is fixed to. This should direct enough fresh air to overcome the heatsoak.

I found out that power cuts like battery replacements and in my case disconnecting the door harness will facilitate the need to reset the auto lift feature.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...ylock-nuts.jpg
All you have to do is turn on ignition to accessories, roll the window down a bit and then hold the button to have it lift until its fully lifted and still hold button for a few seconds to apply the fix. Now the auto up and auto down feature works again:o

Still have to calibrate it but I got the scangauge up and running today.

I still can't tell if the fans are kicking on or not.

Have notice aggressive fuel cut ( in 2 seconds) after liftoff of throttle every time:thumbup:

I don't clean the back sides of the Lexan very often but it doesn't look that bad to me because it begins to blend in with the silver paint when its wet. However, I can't stand the brake dust buildup before I wipe the wheels down with Quick Detailer.

I can get the skirts off fast with a boxed in wrench and a screw
driver bit in the electric drill too.

Used Lowes aluminum carpet threshold to arch the skirts and stop occational slapping at highway speeds behind semis.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...way-wheels.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...ce-distant.jpg

Aluminum dryer vent warm air intake to the back side of the snorkle. The front is blocked with pipe insulation noodles and aluminum tape.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...ke-snorkle.jpg
The vent entrance is hanging just above the exhaust heatshield between oxygen sensors.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...er-headers.jpg
I was seeing intake air temps very slowly rising to 120F over 10 mile commute with 70F or lower ambient temps and full grill blocks with just the back of the snorkle open to underhood air temperature.

The next step is adjustable shutters on the front.

Is that as tight a fit as it looks?

Oh yeah it is! I squashed the vent half flat to get between everything. It gets hot too, but its slow getting there. I recorded 150F IAT at 70 ambient with open grill slots. It may be better than iffy in winter but way too much in summer.

Now I'm starting on the grill shutters.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...g-shutters.jpg

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...acted-snow.jpg We got almost 6 inches of snow here. I had to snap a quick photo of the front of Silver as its been driven this way since it got colder with the only intentional opening being for the outside air temp sensor snorkle. The wind erosion caught my eye as well. http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ka...nd-erosion.jpg

Now that the CX-5 is 7 years old now I wanted to test my highway MPG again.
I was able to achieve 40 MPG average over the 200 miles after 40 miles of city driving and holding 37 MPG before I started the trip. Temps were 68 F without wind or rain.
Since the engine is broken in well now I'm able to drive faster to maintain 40 MPG. I was able to keep it around 68 MPH almost all of the way.
My second set of tires are well worn (Defenders) and I've removed the hot air intake because I need all the power I can get with the small 2L engine.
We cleaned the valves this summer and replace the Lipton Family sized teabag of a in tank fuel filter.

Thanks for the update on your Mazda!

I've got a 2015 2.0L Mazda3 sedan that's been the most efficient car I've ever owned.

I haven't modified my car to gain any aerodynamic improvements, but I'm still able to get outstanding efficiency out of it. My Fuelly account shows a 44.8 MPG average over a 40,000 mile, 2015 - 2020 period, which comes from virtually all highway travels.

Unfortunately, the Virus from China has stopped almost all usage of my Mazda since 2020, so I stopped tracking the mileage. Sadly, my Mazda is mostly parked-in-place for now.

I noticed that your early posts indicated relatively high IATs with the grill blocks. I live in semi-tropical Louisiana, so the thought of blocking any cooling air has never occurred to me. In fact, I actually installed hood louvers to decrease under-hood temperatures. I did this because I suspected high temperatures killed my battery too early. With the hood louvers, I'm seeing both my IAT and overall engine-bay temperatures are at ambient when on the highway. In stop-and-go town traffic, temps rise above ambient, of course, but usually not by much.

Enjoyed reading about your Mazda. I love mine too. :-)

My IAT are nominal now without the HAI and I won't run the lower grill block until it stays below 50 F consistently. I didn't have the rear covers on either this time out. They require a bit more effort to get attached. I'd like them to cover more of the wheel well.
I started a new job which requires a lot of city driving now. I've dropped from 38 mpg averages to 35-36. The covers don't help much at city driving speeds unfortunately.
If I can loose another 25 lbs and remove the spare maybe that would help.

Yeah, weight counts most with city driving, and aero on the highway. Both are good in any case, just that their importance is relative to the driving conditions.

Your 35-36MPG in the city is excellent!