yet another WAI experiment

[i-DSi]

Originally Posted by BEEF

.........................
In the end, I actually got of my tail and did some testing (more than most can say)

Beef, you are so right in what you're saying here ! I agree 100%.

[spotaneagle]

well your are at somewhat of a loss with your 2600+ pound car and an Automatic tranny, a 2200 lb car needs less hp to keep it at a steady speed, therefor your 3% vs my 15-20% gains might be explainable

But I think the thing that you once again missed is caulking around your headlights, I don't know about chevy but saturn(both gm) has alot of space around the headlights that lets cool air in considering its gm and they use the same front bumper pieces on sl's and cavaliers, I must also consider that their spacing around headlights might have a wide gap too...

Basically, whats the point of a triple paned window, if you don't caulk it into place, air is still going to leak around it, esp when it's windy out(highway)

yes, this is a relevant analogy, because all that a WAI is doing, is insulting your air intake

So if you dont mind me asking...

how did you measure IAT?

when the car was stopped?

or while it was moving? which is impossible...

how could you possibly know what the IAT is at all because it's going to change when the car starts to move guaranteed..

the only way I can think of is have a digital readout connected to a thermometer in your intake tube...

[GasSavers_BEEF]

spot,

a big reason for my lack of gains is that I don't have a saturn. I know that the cars are very similar but I was blessed with the 2.2 liter (very large displacement for a 4 cyl). I have actually gotten my 90 day average close to 50% over EPA (45ish percent if memory serves me well). I also don't do a lot of the things I used to do such as high-G turns and rolling stops. I have also been told that you get better results under 70 degrees F. I haven't tested this as time has become scarce in my house (I have a 1 year old running around) and most of my car time is spent fixing it (deer damage).

though the idea of caulk around the headlights sounds good. it is a mess and the tops of my headlights are exposed every time I pop the hood. I instead used weather stripping for a cleaner look and a tight seal. I once had it in the space between the hood and the bumper so that I had no grill opening (except one small area so that I could open the hood, just big enough for my hand). I changed that when I put on the new bumper. I just haven't gotten around to it putting it back.

as far as the IAT temps, the reading was taken at the end of each run when I reached my destination. they do fluxuate at stoplights and when you first start the car, they actually read ambient (pretty much)

the scangauge will display this and is conveniently named IAT. I can monitor it the entire trip if I want. it is currently set as one of my 4 displays. the good thing about using that reading and not the remote thermometer is that is the actual sensor reading so that is the figure that the car is using in its ECU.

[spotaneagle]

Originally Posted by BEEF

spot,

a big reason for my lack of gains is that I don't have a saturn. I know that the cars are very similar but I was blessed with the 2.2 liter (very large displacement for a 4 cyl). I have actually gotten my 90 day average close to 50% over EPA (45ish percent if memory serves me well). I also don't do a lot of the things I used to do such as high-G turns and rolling stops. I have also been told that you get better results under 70 degrees F. I haven't tested this as time has become scarce in my house (I have a 1 year old running around) and most of my car time is spent fixing it (deer damage).

though the idea of caulk around the headlights sounds good. it is a mess and the tops of my headlights are exposed every time I pop the hood. I instead used weather stripping for a cleaner look and a tight seal. I once had it in the space between the hood and the bumper so that I had no grill opening (except one small area so that I could open the hood, just big enough for my hand). I changed that when I put on the new bumper. I just haven't gotten around to it putting it back.

as far as the IAT temps, the reading was taken at the end of each run when I reached my destination. they do fluxuate at stoplights and when you first start the car, they actually read ambient (pretty much)

the scangauge will display this and is conveniently named IAT. I can monitor it the entire trip if I want. it is currently set as one of my 4 displays. the good thing about using that reading and not the remote thermometer is that is the actual sensor reading so that is the figure that the car is using in its ECU.

personally my good results are on days ranging from 50-90 because thats when I had time to do my testing(warm enough outside to want to do work on my car) I dont think it would matter much between those temps if you caulk around the headlights because no air is being let in, use clear caulk btw, or you can get seal and peal(removable caulk) that's clear, Seal and peal will probably fall out eventually though, it's hard to caulk headlights too, because there's nothing behind the gap usually, so you have to use a real thick bead, plus since you have to wait for the real thick bead to dry for so long because its so thick, you have to plan it out when it's warm and not going to rain for 36 hrs+/ avoid morning dew then refill it when it dries to function aerodynamically as well and fill any holes..

best bet.. take off the headlight and put tape behind it first to create a backing for the caulk..

I do professional weatherproofing sometimes so I have used a good 100+ tubes of caulk in the last few years, so I'm practically an expert at sealing

caulk is water soluble so you can use a wet rag to put it into place and mold it once you apply it. But for a small things like headlights where you want to aerodynamically shape it, your finger will work best..

[GasSavers_BEEF]

weather stripping goes on in seconds and there is no drying time. also, caulk sticks to both sides of the gap where as weather stripping does not. if I were to caulk my head lights in, I would have to redo the caulk every time I popped my hood. it isn't a case of know-how but more a case of won't work on my car.

I popped my hood, placed the weather stripping on the headlights, and closed the hood. the hood actually pushes down on the weather stripping for a good seal. I also have it around the bottom of the headlight and the area around the turn signals (the lower ones in the bumper). I have honestly invested a lot of time and thought into sealing the front of my car.

http://www.gassavers.org/garage_imag...nzmualc74a.jpg

here is an old picture of my car before the new bumper went on. you can see the weather stripping over the headlights (and below). you can also see the weather stripping in the grill area (if you want to call it that) and the small gap where the hood latch is.

also, the aerodynamic gains from smoothed out caulc vs weather stripping are probably very small and since most of my driving doesn't really exceed 50-55 MPH, it really doesn't concern me that much.

[FrugalFloyd]

They're good data. You've documented a 2.7% increase in FE from your WAI. Good job!

[spotaneagle]

well what got me started on the caulking the headlights thing was the fact that one of my headlights was broken and would wabble around on the highway, it was so annoying haha..

[GasSavers_BEEF]

not ragging you or anything but I would have bought a new headlight.

do you have inspections in your state? I know some don't (south carolina is one of them, get away with just about anything)

[Jay2TheRescue]

Florida doesn't have safety inspections. I remember giving my grandfather a lecture on his bald tires. His excuse was that there wasn't inspections, and he only drove 10 miles a week. I made him drive down to Wal-Mart and put 4 new tires on his car.

[theholycow]

No need to replace a headlight if it's just wobbly. Find a way to secure it and you've saved plenty of money. Well, unless headlights for your car are cheap, but the last time I bought a headlight from a junkyard it was over $120.