Turn your car into a golf ball! (FastSkinz wrap)

[TheScionGuys]

Originally Posted by wyatt

Ah, a band aid for poor design. I think from what they show if they had a better angle from the windshield to the roof there would be no need... You would think they would have some real data to back up claims of 20% improvements.

thats what I am looking for, if anyone has ever looked into it.... but I do offer up for anyone that wants to come drive the cars and see for themselves to please do so.

and there is no way to redesign all the cars, so if we could help out with things like UPS and trucks and such, that would be a help worldwide.

[i_am_socket]

The idea has been bounced around on here a few times, usually resulting in "hey, if you want to test the theory: feel free"

If you can post fuel logs pre- and post-installation and A-B-A test results at multiple speeds via scangauge or other (since you've got access) we can finally have some evidence for or against this particular method of aero-modding on that particular vehicle.

[Christ]

That's what I was thinking. I want to see cumulative test results showing that the MPG has been improved by adding the skin.

Without proof, I don't believe it, and I'm sure many others here feel the same.

Data, please.

[Frank Lee]

I have an idea: there is no way dimples or reduced surface friction is going to net 20% fe increase.

[Christ]

I reserve judgment until I see data.

[ConnClark]

From skinzwraps.com

"Consider this: With a SkinzWraps™ vehicle wrap you're getting your message to thousands of potential customers a day. However, there's no junk mail/spam filter for vehicle wraps, there's no pop-up blockers, and you don't have to click on a message to view it. You can't turn it off, fast forward or change the channel. You can't throw it in the garbage or hang up on it."

We can delete this thread as it is SPAM though.

[Christ]

So it's basically another way of forcing advertisement on unwary consumers... nice.

Problem is that the section you posted isn't referring to advertising for the company that's producing/selling the product. It's referring to using the wrap as an advertisement for the company/business that is purchasing the wrap, already a common practice.

Taken out of context, it makes it seem like you're saying that the company is trying to use our vehicle space to optimize their own sales.

I do find it rather odd though that the OP only has 5 posts, and all 5 of them have to do with this particular company. Seems rather like he's tooting for them.

[tasdrouille]

It looks like some guy at a car wrap company, probably a marketing exec, avid golfer, saw that gas prices were high, remembered that golf balls with dimples go farther than perfectly round ones, and thought "gee, we could put dimples on our wraps". The product was born.

The only problem is, it doesn't work, period. The physics of it just don't scale up like that.

But as always, it does not really matter as long as there's someone willing to buy the product.

[ChocoCatCRV]

I have zero posts but I wanted to put in my two cents and see if there are any alternatives to this vehicle wrap because my dealings with the company have not been so great.

I have been hypermiling for a few months now- have a profile on fuelly which I dutifully update - SS Choco Cat (Honda CR-V) | Fuelly - I read the posts on ecomodder but have not been compelled to participate until today.

I was interested in MPG-Plus to wrap my bumper and perhaps my hood myself- basically I wanted the raw material to experiment.

I was given a prompt reply and told that they did not sell the material itself, and only self-installed full wraps, not partial wraps. The gentleman gave me a quote for my 2008 CRV of $3400: I sent this email in reply which I thought would be informative for you all to read. This product might be worth it for some people if it delivered what it claimed, but I dont think its right for me. I invite you to make your own conclusions:

Well Jason, you make a compelling argument, but I just don't know if this would be right for me given that you must install the material yourself. I wonder what the data would look like when comparing a partial wrap to a full wrap- there must be a point of diminishing returns...

I understand where you are coming from- you have a unique product that you wish to carefully introduce to the market. Where I'm coming from is an intelligent, discriminating community of drivers who have an intense DIY ethic and know when something is worth their while.

Based on the numbers available, I have scratched out a quick cost-benefit analysis of purchasing an entire wrap. It may not be entirely accurate, and it is only for my personal vehicle, but I hope it is illuminating to you.

I drive my CRV about 30,000 miles per year. Honda claims a fuel efficiency of 22 mpg on average. This translates into 1363.64 gallons used per year. MPG-Plus claims upwards of a 20% increase in fuel efficiency (according to the treehugger article) - great! Now my CRV gets 26.4 mpg and consumes 1136.36 gallons per year- a savings of 227.28 gallons.

Multiply this by 2.00 per gallon, the average price of gas in my area, and I'm saving $454.56 per year. Your estimate for a full wrap is $3697.50 with tax included. This means that the wrap pays for itself in a little over 8 years, or 250,000 miles later- at which point the car will most likely be at the end of its life, if it hasn't died already. This does not look too appealing...

What also worries me is that your website claims at least a 5 year lifespan on the wrap. Well what does this mean exactly? Do you claim it will maintain the same MPG savings for five years? Will it buckle or crease or bubble at all, thereby reducing fuel efficiency? Is this a warranty? What happens to the product after 8 years, when it conceivably would start paying for itself?

As you can see, after this analysis I am highly suspect of the benefits of your product, especially given that the data you give on its performance is only anecdotal.

If your company makes some changes to make MPG-Plus more appealing to the general market, I will consider purchasing it. Until then, I wish you luck.

-Michael Colombo

CC: Ecomodder Forum

[elhigh]

A dollar amount was what I was looking for. $3700, yikes! That would pay for a lot of upgrades with a more proven track record. And there'd still be money left over to pay for paint and trim, which is what I was hoping to avoid having to do (again!) with the wraps.

Lessee...new vacuum gauge, $30 - oh wait, already bought that. Hmm, smoothie discs...oh wait, got that big sheet of Coroplast. Okay, EFI upgrade...no, forget that, the carb works great and will keep working after the Global Thermonuclear War. All righty, new tires...well, got those too.

You know what? I think I'll just keep my $3700. That pays for, at current prices and my current MPG performance, about 61,000 miles.