I was looking through my crx dealer brochure...

[bagpipe goatee]

and it listed a difference between the drag coeffecients of the hf and dx versus the si model. i think it was .29 versus .30. not THAT much of a difference, but every little bit counts. the only thing i can think of to make the number different is the si bumper lip...


so, my point is that some civic hatches didn't come with a passenger mirror. if just removing a bumper lip can inprove drag by more than 3 percent, imagine how much taking off the passenger mirror can do.

do you really need that mirror? my hatch doesn't have it, and i don't miss it.

[GasSavers_Diemaster]

here in CA it's illeagle to not have one.

also i think u ment to decrese drag. drag is wind resistance so lower is better

[SVOboy]

For example, putting on a race designed lip that is meant to keep air out from under the car will reduce drag, as well as lowering you car, and I think this is much better than mirrors and such, and I think patching up the mirror hole to look correct would be awfully hard to do.

A while back Matt brainstormed an idea at me about creating fiber glass rear wheel well covers, but I dunno about that, it is possible, but I certainly don't have the fiber skills to do it.

[bagpipe goatee]

well, the thing explicitly said that the hf and dx both had BETTER aerodynamics than the Si. a lip is just a front spoiler. it will increase drag, but it will direct air where it is better at high speeds, over the car. just like a rear spoiler, it will not make your car more aerodynamic, it will make it LESS aerodynamic, but less prone to lifting up the back end at high speeds. it is only illegal to not have a passenger mirror if the car came with both mirrors. but 88-91 civics (well, hatches) it was optional. there's the block-off plate and everything.

[SVOboy]

In my dealership it quotes all the models of the CRX as being .29 I believe, but from what I understand the HF didn't come with the passenger mirror, and my dx did, so I dunno if it makes that much of a difference. It would be so hard to test with something so small. Must research more I think. I will, that is.

[Matt Timion]

I had te crazy idea of removing my rear view mirrors and installing a small camera in the rear of the car with a 5 inch LCD monitor inside the car to display which cars are behind me.

Then I realized that removing the mirrors and spending hundreds of dollars on this setup is something that would most likely return little or not benefit. Besides that, it's probably illegal to not have rear view mirrors on the side.

[SVOboy]

There are some newer cars, like big SUVs that have rearview cameras to keep you from backing over things. I rarely use my sideview mirrors because I can see the ground two feet behind my back bumper in my DRX so whatta hell so I need to use them for, plus I never cruise the highways so much. It would be nice to get rid of my mirrors, quite a fashion statement I'd think. Mehbe you could install some folding mirrors (whether manual or automatic) and just fold them back wherever you go. ^_^

[bagpipe goatee]

when i get a working scanner (or i'm at a friend's house with one) i'll scan the dealer's brochure that i have here.   just because it says the hf and dx are the same.

[SVOboy]

What year is it? The brochure that I got with my 91 is a 91, so yeah, I'll have to look back at it I just remember telling my friend I thought it was funny they put that in. 

[bagpipe goatee]

mine's for '89, yeah, maybe the change in front bumpers?