Sleek WILL break 40mpg!

[westb87]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

Now you sound like me lol



How long is your commute? My grille blocking (upper and lower) was good for a tested 1 mpg improvement.



Good idea with the foam! The 7th gen Civic's upper grille is somewhat tricky to fab up a grille block onto since the backing isn't flat and flush like most others are.

I want pics!



Did you cover the fog light opening areas with the lower grille block at all?



Lawn edging air dam - single best mod outside of a boattail. Worth the entire $5 for the lawn edging!



You...had...mudflaps...on...your...car? Terrible!



Looking good! But what's AC?

Trips can vary by quite a bit, so one can't say for sure exactly how much of an improvement is there unless you do ABA testing. But is a generally accepted thing that mudflaps add drag and reduce FE, albeit on a smaller scale.

You might find that if you can properly install wheel spats and boattail behind the mudflaps that they might provide a good mounting surface for wheel skirts, and actually increase your FE.



Pics??

My commute is 15 miles one way. Takes me approximately 20 minutes or so. None of it is flat except for the 2 miles of highway I do 60mph on. I'll get mowed down if I go any slower.

Once I get the grille on and done, I'll send some pics, I promise!

The fog light areas are already blocked off. I figured that if I really wanted to make a "smooth" bumper I'd have to remove it, fiberglass, paint, etc. just to net that extra .15mpg. The ROI to do that just didn't balance out for me. Plus, I've got the wife and 2 boys that already demand much of my off time.

I'm really excited to add the air dam, but I really want to test for this tank to determine if the blocking and mudflaps really did boost my FE by THAT much. And yes...they were Honda factory mudflaps. MANY Civics of that era have them. They did work well to keep dirt off the paint, but I wash my vehicles enough that it's a non-issue for me.

AC is this crazy voodoo stuff that involves the compression and expansion of gases and the absorption or explusion of heat through those processes. It's a necessity in Alabama summers, make no mistake.

I want this car to remain as "stock looking" as possible. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm not doing any boat-tails or skirts on this car. It's a good looking car that I just couldn't bring myself to do that to. I'm sure that 10 years from now when my son gets his learner's permit I'll be giving it to him and buying myself the biggest, most lifted, offroad capable 3500 series truck I can find so I can commute in style and NEVER take the truck offroad, tow, or haul anything with it like everyone else around me here does....J/K J/K J/K!!!!

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by westb87

My commute is 15 miles one way. Takes me approximately 20 minutes or so. None of it is flat except for the 2 miles of highway I do 60mph on. I'll get mowed down if I go any slower.

Hills are fun if you drive them right.

Is there an alternate route you can take that avoids the highway?

Originally Posted by westb87

AC is this crazy voodoo stuff that involves the compression and expansion of gases and the absorption or explusion of heat through those processes. It's a necessity in Alabama summers, make no mistake.

Alternative coolers...how about a mini portable battery powered air conditioning unit or two you can have inside the car?

Originally Posted by westb87

I want this car to remain as "stock looking" as possible. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm not doing any boat-tails or skirts on this car. It's a good looking car that I just couldn't bring myself to do that to. I'm sure that 10 years from now when my son gets his learner's permit I'll be giving it to him and buying myself the biggest, most lifted, offroad capable 3500 series truck I can find so I can commute in style and NEVER take the truck offroad, tow, or haul anything with it like everyone else around me here does....J/K J/K J/K!!!!

As long is it's 100% reversible to stock with no permanent damage, who cares? I was initially a member of the "100% stock" club myself until I saw what was possible with just a lil' bit'a tweaking.

Originally Posted by westb87

the biggest, most lifted, offroad capable 3500 series truck I can find

Oh the blasphemy!

[westb87]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

Hills are fun if you drive them right.

Is there an alternate route you can take that avoids the highway?

There is, but it's several miles out of the way with A LOT of stoplights. Would absolutely not work out for FE. I can't go the other way because we've got a huge military base in the way, lol.

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

Alternative coolers...how about a mini portable battery powered air conditioning unit or two you can have inside the car?

That energy still isn't free and the weight the car would have to carry isn't either. I know that energy (electricity to charge the battery) is significantly cheaper, but I'd spend more rigging up the solution than I would in any possible savings. Plus, I still need to fit the family in the car on occasion and my backseat has two carseats in it, lmao.

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

As long is it's 100% reversible to stock with no permanent damage, who cares? I was initially a member of the "100% stock" club myself until I saw what was possible with just a lil' bit'a tweaking.

Thought about it, but I work in a somewhat "high-end" facility where I'm surrounded by BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, a couple Porsches (The front end of the Panamera here was my surefire inspiration to block my upper grille...it doesn't even have one!), a Maserati, and a Bentley (Edit: Also, a metric butt-ton of Range Rovers). I'm already a bit of a sore thumb with what I drive (screw 'em if they use it against me) and I'd rather not be the guy with cardboard and coroplast being visibly plastered onto the side of my vehicle. I'm cool with doing a belly pan on the underside, but doing anything visible would get the word around that I'm the weird a-hole with the crap stuck all over his little Honda car and I do NOT need that kind of reputation around here.

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

Oh the blasphemy!

I just shake my head when I walk the parking lot and I'm looking at the MIDDLE of the front bumper of a 3500 truck that's lifted so tall and sitting on gigantic mud tires that I can lean my head to see COMPLETELY under the truck. There's a few of those. These things are at least $100k worth of truck and mods that will never tow, never see mud, never go offroad anymore than driving in the grass at the fair parking lot, and will never haul anything heavier than the family and luggage. It's absolutely absurd.

[19bonestock88]

Yeah I don’t get why people need to drive a six figure one ton pickup just to go to the mall... 8mpg and I can’t imagine what insurance costs on a vehicle that expensive... then again, the “normies” make fun of the way my car looks, and it’s build is barely getting started

[westb87]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

Yeah I don’t get why people need to drive a six figure one ton pickup just to go to the mall... 8mpg and I can’t imagine what insurance costs on a vehicle that expensive... then again, the “normies” make fun of the way my car looks, and it’s build is barely getting started

Lol, so true!!! Those folks are missing the boat entirely. When gas prices go up, they'll be turning to you as their fuel mizing master.

[westb87]

Snapped a shot or two of the grille. It isn't mounted yet, but I was excited nonetheless.

[IMG] http://imgur.com/iLFrsD6 [/IMG]
[IMG] http://imgur.com/nx41Dxp [/IMG]
[IMG] http://imgur.com/QZe1Gla [/IMG]

[19bonestock88]

That doesn’t look too bad... any plans for finish work?

[westb87]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

That doesn’t look too bad... any plans for finish work?

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you! I had considered finishing it with a smooth finish, but I REALLY don't have the spare time to do fiberglassing projects. The foam and paint did well enough for me to live with it.

In other news, I hit 50mpg on my work commute this morning!

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Congrats on the 50 MPG achievement!