vx aero mods

[MetroMPG]

apparently the gentleman pictured is the owner of both vehicles, and he's deceased. you can see how one hobby would have fed the other!

his vx was claimed good for 70 mpg (US) on the highway:



notes:

- boat tailed rear bumper (probably also full under tray faired into it, but i'm just guessing)

- rear wheel skirts

- front wheel arch gap fillers

source: http://wisil.recumbents.com/car_aerodynamics/

[SVOboy]

Hey there, nice rims!

Other than that, I have been meaning to read through that whole link, I will now,

EDIT: site seems to say a whole lot of nothing, I'm reading through that 2.7" ground clearance site now though. This site also supports CAIs for better gas mileage, as well as headers.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Hey there, nice rims!

Other than that, I have been meaning to read through that whole link, I will now,

EDIT: site seems to say a whole lot of nothing, I'm reading through that 2.7" ground clearance site now though. This site also supports CAIs for better gas mileage, as well as headers.

Did you catch this link with CD and frontal area info?

http://www.mayfco.com/tbls.htm

Eeeek! Del Sol Si CD is .420! If you look at all of the Hondas listed, the Del Sol has the worst CD and the worst CD x ft2, 8.02 to be exact. And which is the best? The CRX with 0.30 CD and only 5.71 CD x ft2. What this tells me is that my Del Sol will experience (8.02/5.71=1.404) 40.4% more aerodynamic drag than Torino Rex.

SVOboy,
Once you get your tranny installed and those preety, preety wheels, I am toast.

Matt, how hard would it be to add this CD and frontal area info to the FE tables for the gaslog? Just a thought.

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by krousdb

Matt, how hard would it be to add this CD and frontal area info to the FE tables for the gaslog? Just a thought.

Let me look at the EPA data first and see if it is already there. I'll look into it.

[MetroMPG]

yeah, the site itself where the pic is from isn't the top of my list for information purposes. but gotta love that picture.

i admire this guy who can thumb his nose at "styling" and go for function over form to that extreme. i'd like to say i have the same chutzpah to do mods like this, but i'm only developing it incrementally. my (now mushy) cardboard wheel skirts sometimes make me cringe, even though i know they help.

as for Cd and A figures, i don't have a reliable source for my car. i see that my Cd is 0.34 - http://www.mayfco.com/tbls.htm - but i don't know how reliable that info is (says some are "calculated").

[Matt Timion]

I do wish that there was a reliable table of information that contained all of the CDs of cars. I somehow doubt however that any government agency requires this information, which is probably why most car makers only release this information on a some of their cars and not all of them.

[SVOboy]

SVOboy,
Once you get your tranny installed and those preety, preety wheels, I am toast. Smiling

Future DIY post: How I cut my Cd by 40%, got a better looking car, and saved several thousand dollars.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Future DIY post: How I cut my Cd by 40%, got a better looking car, and saved several thousand dollars.

I prefer the look of the Del Sol over the CRX. I also love the removeable top. If you can find a CRX HF in the same condition and only 41k miles for several thousand less than the $4900 that I paid, please point me in the right direction. I will be on a plane tomorrow to pick it up. :-)

In the mean time, I will continue to improve my technique in an effort to offset my glaringly obvious aero shortcomings. :-( I suck!

[SVOboy]

I can find you a crx and a 500 dollar d15z1 swap with 30k on it easily enough, but no HF will be that low mileage, and the CRX Sis that are sell for 8k usually. I just think the del sol has a fugly front end, you should swap it with a civic.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Future DIY post: How I cut my Cd by 40%, got a better looking car, and saved several thousand dollars.

haha! looking forward to it!

i just wish the nice weather would hurry up and get here. i love making and testing the aero mods and have a bunch on the to-do list