Aeromods

[Rising]

Anyone started down any of these paths yet?!

I'm still on a quest to eek the most out of my n/a rabbit as possible. I'm still averaging about 45-46 MPG all the time with a light foot. (mostly city and urban driving though) I've read alot over on ecomodder and also on the project sipster (USA top gear  But... effective) to try and gather some ideas. Project sipster opted for the clipper kit and a mk2 front bumper as a way to decrease CD. I'm wondering this though: Would the clipper kit ( i have it equipped currently) reduce enough drag to overcome the weight gain of huge metal bumpers as opposed to some small plastic euro bumpers?

What about a full underbody tray. A smooth panel running front to back. Think this might squeeze an mpg or two out on the highway? Or cause my rabbit to fly off the road with a slight breeze?

Anybody done anything like this around here?

[Wayland]

A Giles super  pump will raise your mpg by 10-15%

[mystery3]

A Giles super  pump will raise your mpg by 10-15%

Not if you know how to use it 

Delete passenger side mirror, get some of that stripping to seal up your hood, a spoiler would probably be quite effective on a rabbit? Those are easy things. Have you done a lot of weight reduction yet?

[theman53]

There was a guy that posted some on here, I think in the general section, that made some crazy looking stuff. A rabbit that was about 2x as long as normal with this taper coming off of the hatch. Another guy had a jetta with 2 box looking things on his trunk that made the air flow better and he could still use the trunk.

[burn_your_money]

My brother did a full belly pan on his Chevette and he said it gained him some MPGs.

I'm hoping to start playing around with making my car look ridiculous, but first I need to get a car.

As for the weight, I would think it would have most of it's advantage at higher speeds, and accelerating is when weight is going to have the most effect on MPG so if you are just around town doing under 50 it might not be worth it.

Don't forget about safety. Those euro bumpers do as close to nothing in a minor collision. Also body work is a lot more expensive than diesel.

[Rising]

Yeah I definitely don't want to ditch safety just for a few mpgs. So I'll stick with the clipper look. Good to hear confirmation on the belly pan though. Seems like  a worthy cause.

As far as the other stuff, I'm not sure im shameless enough to try building a paper machet kammback yet.. But im probably close. I saw in hyper miler competition they use painters tape to cover all seams and crevices. Seems clever.

The weather stripling and maybe a partial grill block in the winter seem like good ideas. Weight reduction doesn't seem very feasible for Me but im always up for suggestions. I drive a mk1 rabbit l with no rear seats carpets etc, no big sound system, no ac, no PS, manual windows and locks... The only heavy thing I could really lose from here would be my bumpers but that scares me. Unless there is farther I can go with that.... Oh and no passenger side mirror either!

Giles pump is out of my league for now. If the pump starts acting funny or leaking it will probably go to him though. I also just found a guy whose going to help port my head and intake manifold (replacing with mk1 Gasser manifold) hoping the port n polish will squeak out some efficiency. And then get the vnt rigged up for high boost with low fueling. But those aren't really aeromods

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[745 turbogreasel]

Shave drip rails, those things are an aerodynamic abomination.
But they do keep it from dripping on you leg when it rains.

[mystery3]

Sounds like you're pretty much there with weight savings. A belly pan under the motor and a spoiler might help.

What are you running for tires?

[Rising]

Shave drip rails, those things are an aerodynamic abomination.
But they do keep it from dripping on you leg when it rains.

Bahaha. Excellent description. Ya I've thought about shaving them before but ive heard that's actually where the roof joins to the rest of the body so you have to smoother and weld up the panels and possibly fabricate new panels. Scares me. Could probably beat them flat though :/

Yeah weight savings was mostly accomplished by purchasing a rabbit L! Oh I forgot to mention I've already ditched the spare and jack in favor of a can of fix a flat. For tires I'm running bald 195 fallen ziex 912s which is probably a part of my bad mileage. And they wore out in less than a year of normal driving

Hoping to go to skinnier tires with lower rolling resistance in a few months. Any suggestions?

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[theman53]

My favorite size to run on these has always been the 175/70-13 but in theory the 155/80-13 will be the best tire for mileage.

[Rising]

I was planning to drop to 165s or 175s depending on what I can find at a deal. Any preference for brands etc. I know falkens are cheap and sticky (good for cornering bad for mpg) so I'm more looking for something with a high tread life and good wet/snow traction with some low resistance. Are those things compatible?

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[burn_your_money]

We just put some Kenda Kenetica tires on my FILs 93 Protege. We did notice a few extra MPGs over the old mixed/worn set. Price was pretty good to, $250 installed I think.

[CRSMP5]

my mpg and how it handlefew examples from what i have experianced.. in past yes.. but valid..

81 diesel bunny.. stock ride height, 185/60 r 14.. turbo bogie on stock springs... add kamie front spoiler.. much more stable at speed.. 2mpg improvement.. but i had heavy foot and way too many 81 in 65 tickets that i cannot even guess how many left court at that...

82 jetta coupe into 84 coupe (lowered jetta square up front like kamie on bunny).. cutting a coil off th egti springs on it, increased gas milage and i gained 14mph more stilibilty in tripple digit speeds.. it alowed for enough speed to make top of doors fluder at speed (th e82 was reallty rusty).. again.. i was way too yung to admit how dumb..

so th ekey to better is keeping air from under front of car..

[theman53]

Yokohama AVID Ascend

That is the best tire I have ran since the spectrum was discontinued.

[745 turbogreasel]

Prius OEM tires are great for MPG and can be had cheap because they drive kinda crappy.