Are there any "aerodynamic/ecomodder" type kits for cars?

[Daveedo]

Seems as though there is a demand (albeit a small one) for aerodynamic body kits. Is there a company or person that makes aero kits for cars with hypermiling in mind?

Some of the tuner stuff will work but not all of it. Some of the DIY stuff works good but could use some professional touches to make them look good or like a factory option.

For example lets say someone has a honda vx they want to aero mod. I'm pretty sure a front air dam is available (jdm or tuner) but I doubt there is a grill block or kammback or side skirts or underbelly pan or rear or front wheel skirts or tire air dams or wheel covers available. All of those are DIY. Some look ok but alot of it depends on your skill as a fabricator so the aesthetic result can vary significantly.

[trikkonceptz]

No one makes aero kits and for good reasons ...

1-not enough demand
2-not enough vehicle specific demand

The amount of work it takes to make a 1 off body kit or even spoiler would not be cost effective by any means. Therefore it would be in the hands of manufacturers like Toyota to make aero kits for their specific mass produced vehicles.

You wont see this change until FE becomes as important as speed.... so never .. LOL

[NachtRitter]

I think it could be done... Kit would consist of:
- 6 sheets of coroplast
- 2 rolls of duct tape
- 1 marker
- 1 box cutter

Fits any vehicle.

[NachtRitter]

Oh, I missed the part about "looking good, like a factory option" ... dammit!

[Bicycle Bob]

There's a branch of plywood boat construction called "Constant Camber" which is based on special sheets of plywood with a mild dish shape. They are then altered about and twisted as usual in hull construction, but they give much nicer shapes.
One item on my to-do list is fender skirts in molded fiberglass, and once I have a mold, getting more parts is just a matter of motivating me. Maybe I'll make a very generic mold, producing panels that could be trimmed to fit many different cars. Already, my basic plan is to improve the looks by overlapping onto the body considerably, to smooth the transitions and create nice new lines, instead of hacking into a given arch feature.

[Daveedo]

Hmmm..valid points. Thanks for the insight (pun intended )

Maybe...just maybe it could be suggested that we members do some sharing of templates (either via electronic media like drawings with measurements etc or in real life). I see that most start projects with cardboard templates then do fine tuning on the product. I find the template takes most of the time on my projects. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by trikkonceptz

No one makes aero kits and for good reasons ...

1-not enough demand
2-not enough vehicle specific demand

The amount of work it takes to make a 1 off body kit or even spoiler would not be cost effective by any means. Therefore it would be in the hands of manufacturers like Toyota to make aero kits for their specific mass produced vehicles.

You wont see this change until FE becomes as important as speed.... so never .. LOL

While surfing around 2-3 days ago, I came across a webpage which sells pro-looking grill blocks for cars available in Poland. They were made out of semi-clear plastic. Amoung the specs were points such as:
- helps your engine warm up faster,
and
- helps keep debris out of your radiator.
It didn't say anything about improved aero, but shorter warm up time is an ecomod.
I see more and more of those grill blocks on cars, though the last 3 weeks have been very cold (down to -24C), so I'm also seeing LOTS of cardboard, not only in delivery vans, but even in luxury BMW's.
I blocked my grill from the inside 2 weeks ago, and my dad-in-law's too (but his had to be opened up, as his driving style causes the engine to get quite hot).

[Cd]

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ight=prius+kit

There is a very nice kit for the Prius ( see the post above ) , but besides a partial bellypan that is available for the Fit, I haven't seen anything that is currently available for any make of car.

Honda made an OEM partial grilleblock for the 92-95 Civic ( there is a post on this if you run a search on this forum )

[Daveedo]

I like that prius. Sort of a large horseshoe crab or big brother of the insight?
I didn't research it much to see if they sell it as a kit online or if there is a halfways reasonable price. I did like that pic showing what they added to the car (the white sheets before painting).

[dcb]

Originally Posted by Daveedo

Maybe...just maybe it could be suggested that we members do some sharing of templates

That's a neat idea.