Aeromods!

[skyl4rk]

Here is the latest version, hopefully this will be cool enough for summer.

[Promise Land]

I think that there are big gains to be had in aeromodding the Versa, but I do not have an air tunnel to test it out. Thats why I am experimenting. Its not really based on scientific method so I am not claiming to have conclusive results.

I have been tinkering with a 3-D model of a hatchback at work, trying different wheel combinations (17" from an Altima, 20" from a QX56), lowering it, stuffing in a Titan V8, etc. If you want more science what do you need? Cross sections of the car scaled down that you can carve from a bar of soap and then use a smoke bomb or dry ice in front of a fan to see visually how the car flows in air? You can add small things to the model for cheap and see how it affects it. If I can help in some intriguing fun, let me know.

[skyl4rk]

30% increase in fuel economy. I can get 42 mpg when driving at 55 mph.

[Promise Land]

What is the rear section made from? And how do you get in the trunk now?

[williamk10]

Props for doing this, but I'm sorry. it looks rediculous.

And that can't possibly be street legal.

[AZhitman]

OP: Ignore the naysayers, it's a cool engineering exercise.

We've done a lot of aero research for our Desert Fuel project (www.desertfuel.org) and it's a fun area to learn about.

Drop the side mirrors and replace interior mirror with a wide angle (broadway) mirror.

Skirt the front wheels (get real tricky by attaching them to the center of the front wheel hubs) or go with a smooth disc wheelcover.... Absent this, you can "divert" airflow around the frontal area of the tires with some v-shaped tapered pieces.

Belly pan is a HUGE part of this... there's a lot of drag beneath the car, and lowering ride height is not always the best idea.

Weight reduction is not to be neglected either.

Low rolling resistance tires (or simply running them at max pressure) is a help.

Small stuff adds up fast - Taping the body seams, while impractical, makes a big difference when taken altogether.

[skyl4rk]

The tail is made from coroplast, which is a plastic often used for signs.

The pieces are held together with plastic zip ties.

There is a flap that fits under the top of the trunk, then shut the trunk and the top is secured. The sides have flaps that are jammed into the doors. The bottom is clipped to the trunk with binder clips. The entire tail is removable in about 5 minutes. It takes a little longer to put it back on.

Unfortunately I cannot use the trunk without removing the tail.

The tail lights are truck trailer LED's wired into a trailer connector. The lights are the most expensive part of the project. I need to add a license plate light and a backup light to make the tail officially street legal.

I have gotten up to 59 mpg on a 2 hour trip, but that includes hypermiling techniques and an average speed of about 30 mph.

The front end mods and tail mod raised the mpg from about 31 mpg to 42 mpg on a 55 mph highway route, 80 miles total. That was driving normal, with no hypermiling techniques.

I agree it looks odd but I am following the demands of aerodynamics to try to make the vehicle more fuel efficient. Its an experiment and can be removed in a few minutes.

There are still a lot of things I can do to improve fuel efficiency, and my car isn't even broken in yet, so I expect to be able to top 60 mpg when hypermiling on country roads where I can drive slow without bothering anybody.

[skyl4rk]

Scangauge Trip ReportJune 10, 2009Trip1.19 gallons fuel used195F water temp max74.7 miles2900 rpm max2.5 hours50 mph max29 mph avg$2.50 fuel cost62.7 mpg

Tank290 miles tank to empty31 mph average on tank52.9 mpg average this tank398 miles on tank scangauge395.7 miles on tank odometer688 estimated total tank mileage

[bazza236]

Looked semi-bearable until you added that whale of an a** on the car. Plastic ties holding them together? I'd hate to be the person on the highway behind your car, lest one of those plastic ties falls off!

As for the front, paint the grille white in the middle

[V-Man]

Holy crap!!! Please say that this is a joke...right???Please leave the Versa alone and go buy a Hybrid. That is just FUGLY!

[Codelicious]

Holy crap!!! Please say that this is a joke...right???Please leave the Versa alone and go buy a Hybrid. That is just FUGLY!

It may be "ugly" but I think the 62.7 mpg is worth it.. thats double what most people get here. Would end up saving you a lot of money in the long run.

[raventare]

Have you tried any belly pans or rear diffuser? I am still ready for either of those

[iluvmyVersa08]

It may be "ugly" but I think the 62.7 mpg is worth it.. thats double what most people get here. Would end up saving you a lot of money in the long run.

But it's ugly, plain and simple. It doesn't even look like a car anymore.

If I wanted to get 63 MPG I would have bought a hybrid.

Usually I get about 550 km per tank (40L). Not too bad with a CVT and no ugly mods done to the exterior.

[randy8876]

I'm joining in on this thread. While it might look a little sketchy, I think it's pretty cool. The cool is higher mileage, and it's being achieved.

Let's see what can be done that we all might be willing to do. Smoothing the undercarriage would be nice. What about using clear acrylic/plexi instead of the white plastic? Might keep more of a "normal" look.

I know on some of the VW TDI forums they have fuel economy competitions.

Oh, one last thing. To assume the engineers have done all they can is a pretty dreamy idea. If they had there would be no need for exhausts, CAI or any other upgrades.

[eeshazor]

Epic Fail.

Car looks like s*** and it makes the engine overheat. To gain what? 1-2 mpg?

How about shaving off the side mirrors to reduce drag?

LMAO!!!! I literally Lol'd my a** off!!!!! Hey, to each his own, but I'm gonna have to agree that it definitely doesn't look too good =/

[eeshazor]

30% increase in fuel economy. I can get 42 mpg when driving at 55 mph.

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOO. OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGgg ahahaahaha I'm literally crying AHAAAAa :] Okay, I'm sorry. Nothing personal, but c'mon. This is horrible.

Just wait it out and then get yourself one of these and call it a day. http://www.autoblog.com/2009/1...show/
Modified by eeshazor at 9:35 PM 4/5/2010

[ScottDoom]

Honestly, I thought the blocked out grilles in the front looked pretty awesome. If they were done in factory like that, I would have loved it.

However, that back thing is hideous! Hahah. The gas mileage is awesome though, and much better for the environment! Good on you for getting a vehicle to get almost the same as Prius, for about $10K less.

[randy8876]

Have you tried shaving any weight? In particular the wheel/tire combo seems like a great spot to start. I'm not sure if you can find light weight 14" or 15" aluminum wheels, but combined with the right tires might get you a little more.

If you make the change can you update us on the results?

Also, do you avoid using the AC and keep the windows up?

Have you looked into the external mirrors?

[sonicfox]

I'm sorry, but I LMAO when I saw these pictures! Good for you for doing the experiment, but I seriously thought it was a joke!

[led hed]

i like the research and i take this as a 'test'. i don't think it's suppose to look 'hot' just a test.
good job.

did i tell you i hit 40mpg once again that the warmer weatehr is back? well, i did! lol

[totsubo]

Awesome!

Love this thread. My Versa was originally purchased to save gas. It is far cheaper than getting a used Prius.

[kvg]

LMFAO

[TryingDrive]

alright... i'm not one to chime in on this stuff. But I think we're verging on epic thread if this guy continues.

It looks awful... and regardless of what mileage it's getting. I wouldn't be caught dead in that thing. I'm WAY happy with my oversized wheel, decent looking, 33mpg.

If you're so interested in MPG... buy a Nissan Leaf!

ugh my eyes hurt now.

looks like this.

[stevet47]

alright... i'm not one to chime in on this stuff. But I think we're verging on epic thread if this guy continues.

It looks awful... and regardless of what mileage it's getting. I wouldn't be caught dead in that thing. I'm WAY happy with my oversized wheel, decent looking, 33mpg.

If you're so interested in MPG... buy a Nissan Leaf!

ugh my eyes hurt now.

looks like this.

I love how you say this guy's thread is verging on an epic fail, then talk about the gas mileage of an electric vehicle! haha. You're not too smart are you.

Keep up the good work Skyl4rk, you're getting great results. I'm glad some people think FE is more important than vanity.

[kvg]

I love how you say this guy's thread is verging on an epic fail, then talk about the gas mileage of an electric vehicle! haha. You're not too smart are you.

[TryingDrive]

I love how you say this guy's thread is verging on an epic fail, then talk about the gas mileage of an electric vehicle! haha. You're not too smart are you.

Keep up the good work Skyl4rk, you're getting great results. I'm glad some people think FE is more important than vanity.

you're not to smart are you? I said the thread is verging on epic, not epic fail. MEANING... people are linking this thread on forums around the country, and LAUGHING THEIR HEADS OFF.

And I didn't talk about the GAS MILEAGE of an electric vehicle. I said if he's so interested in MPG (aka... FUEL CONSUMPTION) Buy a leaf... eliminate the need.

Next time, try reading my post before thinking you're clever.

[stevet47]

I love how you say this guy's thread is verging on an epic fail, then talk about the gas mileage of an electric vehicle! haha. You're not too smart are you.

Keep up the good work Skyl4rk, you're getting great results. I'm glad some people think FE is more important than vanity.

you're not to smart are you? I said the thread is verging on epic, not epic fail. MEANING... people are linking this thread on forums around the country, and LAUGHING THEIR HEADS OFF.

And I didn't talk about the GAS MILEAGE of an electric vehicle. I said if he's so interested in MPG (aka... FUEL CONSUMPTION) Buy a leaf... eliminate the need.

Next time, try reading my post before thinking you're clever.

OK. I am not about to argue on a forum, so this will be my last post on the topic... but clearly you dont know what MPG stands for.... either that, or you buy your electricity by the gallon.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

I give this guy a thumbs up. He wanted a car with 40+ mpg's for under 10k msrp and he got it. Sure it's not what I would want to do with a car but hey it's not mine.

[TryingDrive]

OK. I am not about to argue on a forum, so this will be my last post on the topic... but clearly you dont know what MPG stands for.... either that, or you buy your electricity by the gallon.

Holy freaking facepalm. Learn to understand implied meaning.

Oh... BTW... on topic here, sort of, I tried driving using "hypermiler" techniques with my 1.8.

And I averaged nearly 46mpg. And I got ancy a few times and took off to pass people.

But... I won't do it again, what an annoying way to drive, and I was making people angry.

[steed77]

Interesting to watch this thread. I figured someone would hyper-millage a 1.6l. I do get and understand your desires. Interesting to watch... I say keep it up. Who cares what is truly look like.

On the opposite side of the fence: I am making up for your efforts here. Getting 12mpg with 93oct in the Truck and so far getting 13mpg with the Evo also on 93oct. Now the MPG may suck, so feeding 500whp takes fuel however, the ride sure is fun