Starting to aero the Subie.

[brucey]

I've found a local supplier of coroplast, 4X8 black sheets for 14$.

I supposed this will be the first money Iv'e spent aeroing up the lezzy. Still can't complain too much I guess.

I have a huge supply of it for small pieces, but for an underbody piece I either have to make a frame or use a big piece, and I think a single large piece would be better smoothness wise anyway

[Thalass]

Wow... your 31.96mpg (13.59km/L or 7.36L/100km) will get you 869km range! (theoretically). My max range is 643km (and that may be unrealistic - more like 600km) according to my spreadsheet.

Maybe there is something to this aeromodding craziness :P

[pasadena_commut]

Originally Posted by brucey

Back to the dark pics, but:

If you must take pictures under low light conditions please try to take longer exposures - it is hard to see what you have done in many of these pictures.

The air dam blocks the lower air intake and it appears that the upper grill is open. The engine draws air from one of the quarters of the upper grill, is any of the rest of it blocked? On our Legacy there is a gap of several inches between the bottom of the bumper and the front/bottom of the radiator which is open and is probably a larger area than the entire upper grill. Have you modified that region at all? It seems like on the highway, with the lower grill blocked, air going in the top grill would tend to be pushed down the front of the radiator and exit out under the car. So on the highway it might be beneficial to close off that lower gap a bit, which would increase the pressure between the radiator and the grill, causing more air to go through the radiator, and possibly less through the grill. On the other hand, it might not be such a good thing for cooling at lower speeds.

[pasadena_commut]

On the stock Legacy there are two air intakes, the top one is above the bumper and includes the engine's air intake, and the second one is built into/below the bumper. In another thread you indicated that your upper grill is completely blocked off with tape. What about the lower one? Is it sealed off by the coroplast air dam, or is there still space between the dam and that opening for air to go through? If it is sealed, the radiator air is coming from where exactly? I guess it would have to be the gap between the bumper and the radiator.

Do you have a picture that shows how you relocated the engine's air intake?

Also, earlier in this thread you indicated that some of your mods were held in place by wood screws. Having had a tire failure caused by a screw picked up from the road before, I would urge you to find some other kind of fastener which is less hazardous to tires if it falls out. The one great thing about nylon fasteners is that, even though they do fall out sometimes, when they are run over they just squish and don't damage anybody's tires.

Thanks.

[Xringer]

That's kinda funny, since I'm always on the lookout for those kinds of
road hazards while I'm riding my bicycle.

I see a lot of nails, screws and sheetrock screws on the roadways where
ever there are pickup trucks doing renovations or at new home sites.
I've seen trails of nails leaving such sites.

When anyone on my street gets new siding or shingles on their house,
it's best to stay way on the other side of the street for a few weeks..

It's not a screw that's drilled into a car's plastic or metal that worries me,
it's the pickup truck with 20 pounds of loose nails, that are falling off
the tailgate as the truck makes a run to get donuts & coffee..

Just the same, I'm going to try using pop-rivets on my next car mod..

[COMP]

Originally Posted by Xringer

That's kinda funny, since I'm always on the lookout for those kinds of
road hazards while I'm riding my bicycle.

I see a lot of nails, screws and sheetrock screws on the roadways where
ever there are pickup trucks doing renovations or at new home sites.
I've seen trails of nails leaving such sites.

When anyone on my street gets new siding or shingles on their house,
it's best to stay way on the other side of the street for a few weeks..

It's not a screw that's drilled into a car's plastic or metal that worries me,
it's the pickup truck with 20 pounds of loose nails, that are falling off
the tailgate as the truck makes a run to get donuts & coffee..

Just the same, I'm going to try using pop-rivets on my next car mod..

work trucks,,,true stay away ...or have 6 ply tires

[brucey]

Those woodscrews haven't even loosened up in 2 months of driving, I'm not too concerned. Since they're self tapping they're made to stay.

Did some tests tonight, didn't feel like making my own thread about it again....

Subaru Outback Mirror Delete Results


This was done the sameway I tested the Hot Air Intake. I went to the straightest, flattest road in town and chose two markers 1 mile apart from each other, set cruise at 45 mph, reset the scangauge meter and cancelled with the brake, resuming the cruise.

Did a total of 6 runs, then changed the variable, then did another 6 runs:

Runs with Mirrors:
1: 35.8
2: 37.5
3: 37.7
4: 38.6
5: 37.2
6: 38.4

Runs Without Mirrors:

1: 38.0
2: 37.5
3: 37.6
4: 40.1
5: 40.1
6: 39.3

Runs with Average: 37.53
Runs Without Average: 38.75

over 1mpg difference at 45 mph where aero is just starting to effect the mpg seems like a signifigant loss, as I was expecting with my truck style mirrors. Its not unreasonable to expect nearly a 2mpg loss at 70+ mph with them on.

Needless to say, they're gone for the time being.

[brucey]

Heres a picture of my ghetto cold air intake:



Still has the stock air filter, then a dryer hose sucking air out of the fender well.

Things of fun to note:

Thats the factory battery that was put on the car when it rolled off the assembly line.

Thats chicken wire in front of the radiator. Have a rock bust a radiator and see if you dont do the same thing.

Thats a transmission cooler in front of the radiator, ziptied around the center support. It's fairly massive. I need to get a transmission gauge to see if the grillblock is hurting it there. The fluid doesent look varnished, in fact it looks brand new, so it doesent seem to be doing too much damage. If I tow I Plan to remove the dam/grillblock

[pasadena_commut]

Originally Posted by brucey

Still has the stock air filter, then a dryer hose sucking air out of the fender well.

Things of fun to note:

Thats the factory battery that was put on the car when it rolled off the assembly line.

Thats chicken wire in front of the radiator. Have a rock bust a radiator and see if you dont do the same thing.

Thats a transmission cooler in front of the radiator, ziptied around the center support. It's fairly massive. I need to get a transmission gauge to see if the grillblock is hurting it there. The fluid doesent look varnished, in fact it looks brand new, so it doesent seem to be doing too much damage. If I tow I Plan to remove the dam/grillblock

Does the transmission cooler have really small fins or something? In the picture it looks like there is duct tape across the front of the radiator, and that can't be right. That hole the dryer duct is going into is stock on these cars. Normally there's nothing going into the hole, it's probably just an access hole. That fender well is pretty well sealed off, on the bottom by the wheel well liner, and the sheet metal has just a few holes. Seems like that intake position might choke off the intake a bit. Did you try running the car with just the first section of the intake removed, leaving all the resonators (?) and other plumbing in place back to the air filter?

Nice results on the side mirror delete.

Our stock battery looked like that - after it had cracked and right before we replaced it!

[brucey]

Nope, I didnt try anything except the full stock intake, it completely removed (to the air filter), once with it sucking hot air from the top of the engine, and once from the fender.

I dont have the plastic fender guards. The wheel wells on my front end are completely open. I could hide a LOT of cool stuff in there.

Heres a better picture of my transmission cooler:



It's probably the best thing you can do for your transmission if you're towing.
Or driving up a mountain at 5 mph.
Or sitting in traffic all the time...