Modifying a 98 Contour (pics)

[thornburg]

I love the aero mods.

You should probably do something to make the tail visible, for safety's sake. I have no idea what would look really good, but the easy solution is simply to paint it.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I used plexi for my grill block and I painted it with krylon fusion paint. I haven't had any issues and have had it on the front of my car for a couple of weeks. there are bugs splattered all over it.

it's like $5 a can or so.

[R.I.D.E.]

Draft a Semi at a separation distance of 125 feet (give or take whatever makes you feel comfortable), and watch the scan guage. You may be able to stay with the traffic and get better mileage, especially with better aero.

Use Rain-X on all the windows, been using it for over 30 years here. The better your aero the better the Rain-X works.

Rain-X also shows you when your drafting is effective, you can see the turbulence effecting the drops as they fly up your windishield.

regards
gary

[thornburg]

Originally Posted by R.I.D.E.

Draft a Semi at a separation distance of 125 feet (give or take whatever makes you feel comfortable), and watch the scan guage. You may be able to stay with the traffic and get better mileage, especially with better aero.

Use Rain-X on all the windows, been using it for over 30 years here. The better your aero the better the Rain-X works.

Rain-X also shows you when your drafting is effective, you can see the turbulence effecting the drops as they fly up your windishield.

regards
gary

What is the best (cost + effectiveness) way to apply Rain-X? I use Rain-X windshield washer fluid, but that only has a minor effect (I like it anyway, it seems to work better at cleaning the windshield than most other washer fluids I've tried). I've seen Rain-X wipes (presoaked cloths), but I'm skeptical of them. Do you just use the kind that comes in a spray bottle?

Once, Jiffy-Lube gave me a free Rain-X treatment on my windshield, and that worked like magic, for a while (several months, IIRC), but it would be rather expensive to have Jiffy Lube Rain-X my whole car 4x per year...

[Loserkidwac]

I used the rain-X whipes on my hatch and they seemed to work fairly well, I don't think they last as long as...but you can reapply it as needed, I need to do the del sol and see...gl I like your areo mods

[Jay2TheRescue]

I've used the Rain-X washer fluid in my truck for years. I've found it works just as well as a regular Rain-X treatment, at least on my vehicles. I haven't applied Rain-X with a bottle in about 5 or 6 years.

-Jay

[GasSavers_Mr_C]

Originally Posted by oneinchsidehop

Keep playing with speed on your route, in the Subaru I have now 45mph=21.5mpg on average, 65mph=20mpg, but holding the throttle steady and letting the speed range from 40-67mph=27mpg. The end of route ET is about the same as doing 60mph on cruise control. In my car it's not a battle of aerodynamics, but a battle of a really horrible transmission and 4wd system, it seems your Contour is a MUCH better platform. If you haven't done the coast down calculations you'd probably find them very, very helpful.

I haven't gotten a chance to use my car on my daily route yet. In the summer I drive a bike and my wife drives the car instead of her van.

The Subaru drivetrain has its advantages, they just don't happen to be FE related ;-) but judging from your pic, you make use of it in the slippery white stuff so it is probably easy to justify.

I definately need to do some coastdown calculations. I think I will learn a lot from them, plus I want to try some other mods to test too (so I can have the same baselines with numerous aero mods). I would really like to make some home made VGs and then put them at the rear of the roof, testing the different spoilers with and without the VGs, and with a common baseline.

-Mr_C

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by thornburg

What is the best (cost + effectiveness) way to apply Rain-X?

The original form of Rain-X -- concentrate. You squirt a small amount on a cloth and wipe the car. It doesn't take much. It's a lot more work than just dumping some in your washer fluid or using Rain-X brand washer fluid.

[oneinchsidehop]

Originally Posted by thornburg

What is the best (cost + effectiveness) way to apply Rain-X? I use Rain-X windshield washer fluid, but that only has a minor effect (I like it anyway, it seems to work better at cleaning the windshield than most other washer fluids I've tried). I've seen Rain-X wipes (presoaked cloths), but I'm skeptical of them. Do you just use the kind that comes in a spray bottle?

Once, Jiffy-Lube gave me a free Rain-X treatment on my windshield, and that worked like magic, for a while (several months, IIRC), but it would be rather expensive to have Jiffy Lube Rain-X my whole car 4x per year...

First and foremost: Scrub the living bejebus outa the windshield.

It has to be antiseptically clean to work well at lower speeds. I've used windex+newspaper followed by bug remover, then windex, then alcohol.

It will also give you a good view of the air flow across the glass surfaces, esp on the rear window.

[R.I.D.E.]

I use an old scrub brush when I wash the car, do the windshield first, then do it again after the glass has been wet for a while to soak the really hard gunk. I use dishwashing liquid for soap.

I use two old towels to dry my car, and wipe the windows off, inside and outside. Wet towel first, dry towel second.

I use the old spray bottle Rain-X. I redo the windshield about once a month. The side and rear windows I do about once every six months. I use the same bottle for years for my one car. I like to let it dry, then buff it with a clean old towel. I usually use a paper towel for application, and let it dry for a few minutes.

It's one way I manage to drive my VX without intermittent wipers. I simply don't use the wipers most of the time. It also keeps the visibility high out of the rest of the windows. In winter I use an old wiper blade (all plastic) or a squegee to get the dew off the windows, but now I only park in my garage, so morning dew is not an issue. The garage also keeps my car warmer in the winter.

regards
gary