Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > EcoModding Central
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 12-06-2014, 03:49 PM   #1 (permalink)
Tinkerer
 
kafer65's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 284

Silver - '15 Mazda CX-5 Sport
Team Mazda
90 day: 37.23 mpg (US)
Thanks: 7
Thanked 63 Times in 54 Posts
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.




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.

__________________


Mirror deletes, 80% grill blocks, wheel covers, 50 psi tires = 6% better MPG avg. over a year. Wheel skirts overcoming ethanol winter fuel mpg losses and more!
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ead-30641.html

Last edited by kafer65; 10-24-2015 at 04:08 PM..
  Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to kafer65 For This Useful Post:
Ecky (12-28-2014), hayden55 (12-08-2021)
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 12-06-2014, 06:28 PM   #2 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
freebeard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: northwest of normal
Posts: 28,670
Thanks: 8,134
Thanked 8,919 Times in 7,362 Posts
...

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

Last edited by freebeard; 12-26-2014 at 07:33 PM..
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-07-2014, 07:33 PM   #3 (permalink)
Tinkerer
 
kafer65's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 284

Silver - '15 Mazda CX-5 Sport
Team Mazda
90 day: 37.23 mpg (US)
Thanks: 7
Thanked 63 Times in 54 Posts
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.
__________________


Mirror deletes, 80% grill blocks, wheel covers, 50 psi tires = 6% better MPG avg. over a year. Wheel skirts overcoming ethanol winter fuel mpg losses and more!
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ead-30641.html

Last edited by kafer65; 10-24-2015 at 04:14 PM..
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-07-2014, 11:10 PM   #4 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
freebeard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: northwest of normal
Posts: 28,670
Thanks: 8,134
Thanked 8,919 Times in 7,362 Posts
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.
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-26-2014, 02:44 PM   #5 (permalink)
Tinkerer
 
kafer65's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 284

Silver - '15 Mazda CX-5 Sport
Team Mazda
90 day: 37.23 mpg (US)
Thanks: 7
Thanked 63 Times in 54 Posts
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).

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.
__________________


Mirror deletes, 80% grill blocks, wheel covers, 50 psi tires = 6% better MPG avg. over a year. Wheel skirts overcoming ethanol winter fuel mpg losses and more!
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ead-30641.html

Last edited by kafer65; 10-24-2015 at 04:17 PM..
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-26-2014, 07:35 PM   #6 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
freebeard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: northwest of normal
Posts: 28,670
Thanks: 8,134
Thanked 8,919 Times in 7,362 Posts
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.
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2014, 03:38 PM   #7 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
freebeard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: northwest of normal
Posts: 28,670
Thanks: 8,134
Thanked 8,919 Times in 7,362 Posts
I see now what the "plastic push rivets" are.
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-08-2015, 06:17 AM   #8 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
AndrzejM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Poland
Posts: 840

Berta - '97 BMW 318 tds Compact
90 day: 62.03 mpg (US)

Charlie - '07 Citroen C4 Grand Picasso Exclusive
90 day: 37.58 mpg (US)

Corsa - '05 Opel Corsa C
90 day: 53.22 mpg (US)

Mruczek - '03 Audi A2
90 day: 60.61 mpg (US)
Thanks: 185
Thanked 167 Times in 117 Posts
Nice start! I'll keep my eye on it
__________________


Quote:
Gerhard Plattner: "The best attitude is to consider fuel saving a kind of sport. Everybody who has enough money for a strong car, can drive fast and hit the pedal. But saving fuel requires concentration, self-control and cleverness. It's a challenge with the nice effect of saving you money that you can use for other more important things."
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-08-2015, 10:09 AM   #9 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Ecky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 5,095

ND Miata - '15 Mazda MX-5 Special Package
90 day: 39.72 mpg (US)

Oxygen Blue - '00 Honda Insight
90 day: 58.53 mpg (US)
Thanks: 2,907
Thanked 2,569 Times in 1,593 Posts
Looks really good!
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-14-2015, 02:34 PM   #10 (permalink)
Tinkerer
 
kafer65's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 284

Silver - '15 Mazda CX-5 Sport
Team Mazda
90 day: 37.23 mpg (US)
Thanks: 7
Thanked 63 Times in 54 Posts
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.


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.

__________________


Mirror deletes, 80% grill blocks, wheel covers, 50 psi tires = 6% better MPG avg. over a year. Wheel skirts overcoming ethanol winter fuel mpg losses and more!
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ead-30641.html
  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools




Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com