How about a finished Project

[KLP]

I have read thru and can't find much for a finished project with results posted? Anyone ever actually finish a project and give the results on how it performs? Almost all of them start out with what you plan to do but never really follow thru?

[Jay2TheRescue]

What type of project are you looking at?

[KLP]

Any type. I am just interested in what people are doing to their cars to improve mileage so I may want try the same thing if it is worth the effort and $$. Just seems like a lot of people start a project and never finish it or they never post the results if it is finished.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I've done experiments on a WAI and grill block. I took my grill block to the next level and used fiberglass to completely mold the front bumper so that it will look like the grill was never there (ironically the idea came from someone elses "finished project" thread).

have you seen the 201 gas saving tips?

[Jay2TheRescue]

I've done several projects as well, the problem is, no matter what you do to the vehicle, the largest gains come from learning to drive economically. Most often these "abandoned" projects either didn't work at all, or didn't work nearly as well as was hoped.

[KLP]

Originally Posted by BEEF

I've done experiments on a WAI and grill block. I took my grill block to the next level and used fiberglass to completely mold the front bumper so that it will look like the grill was never there (ironically the idea came from someone elses "finished project" thread).

have you seen the 201 gas saving tips?

BEEF- Did the grill block make any difference? I was thinking about doing the same to my Chevy HHR. I was thinking of a solid bumper cover with all holes covered solid to help with aero drag. I am a paint/body man so I could make one that looked factory, but wondering if it would be worth the time to do it?

[GasSavers_BEEF]

yes, it cut down the drag and decreased warmup times. realize that I covered it in such a way that it could be reversed before actually molding it in. after 1900 posts, it would take a while to find the first time I talked about it.

here is a video of me molding my bumper. realize that I am not a paint/body man so some of my practices are probably less than acceptable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n6iNOxl5PA

there are also pictures in my garage.

I would say to do it with coroplast or plexiglass before hand to make sure it doesn't jack with your cooling system. mine was covered for I think 2 years before I did this. my grill has been covered almost the entire time I have been on here and it has been close to 4 years for me. no overheating issues yet.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I'd say the best experiment would be to try out blocking the grille with clear packing tape to get an idea of how much can be blocked without overheating the engine. If you have it blocked too much, its easy to pull over and rip one or two strips of tape off. I have about 80% of the grille on my Escape Hybrid blocked off with coroplast, and I've removed the cold air snorkel. With those two combined I can have the engine fully warmed up in less than a mile on a 30F degree morning.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

the one definite is not to do anything too permanent until you hit summer weather. what happens now is going to be totally different from what happens when you see triple digit temps (if that is the case in your area)

my car gets almost all its cooling from underneath so it was a no brainer for me. not all cars do that so it is definitely good to check it out.

I still like zip ties and diagonal cutters but I am a little biased as that is the way I did it (I think, been a while).

anyway, good luck on it if you try it. I spent a good amount of time on the bumper and the video so I tend to ***** it around a bit.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Yeah, my grille block is held in with black zip ties... unless you're looking at the grille up close, you don't notice anything is different from stock.