Aeromods!

[skyl4rk]

Thanks to the warm weather, finally got the coroplast aeromods on the car.

The valence and grill block went on OK. The double sided tape was not sticky enough to hold on the fog light blocks. I will have to find a material that bends easier.

With both vent holes closed, I ran the car on the highway and temps went up to 210F and I smelled things getting hot, probably heater core. Usually the temp is 195F. I pulled out one vent and temps were around 207F, moving between 200 and 207F. I am going to run with two vents open for now, and maybe next winter close them back up.

I don't have any good comparison tests yet, but I have to say it was much easier to hypermile my way into the 40's mpg. With no hypermiling, I did a 7 mile run on the interstate at 70mph, and a 7 mile, 60mph run back on the state road with no attempt to hypermile, except that I can't help but coast a long ways before stops. The result of the no hypermile test was 38mpg, compared to EPA highway 34mpg.
















I found the best way to cut parts was with a router. I made plywood patterns and can cut more parts easily. An exacto blade works but it ends up not being as smooth as a router cut part. The router cut part still needs some trimming and sanding to finish it up but it smooths up nice.


Modified by skyl4rk at 5:04 PM 3/15/2009

[br4dysays]

pics no work

[skyl4rk]

sorri - pix fixed

[williamk10]

Sorry about the bluntness, but it looks like crap.

[Red Devil]

Sorry about the bluntness, but it looks like crap.

Probably not healthy for the mechanical parts either.

[Skim302]

OT but Red you sig made me laugh pretty hard.

[silverarrow27]

I have a feeling one of these days your engine is gonna go into warp mode from heat.

[Andrews Chalmers]

A for effort & execution. F for design.

Closing the vents is just not a good idea. Saving fuel is simply not worth potentially damaging your car.

You might be better off designing a rear fender skirt or a diffuser or an air dam.

[SuperTurbo]

Hey

this is a great piece during the winter, but during the summer time, I feel quite worry about it....

During the winter time, make sure you cover the side which the air intake duct is located, then it will be good enough...

[skyl4rk]

195F is actually a little cool, the low 200F's are a little better for performance. I will start to worry if it gets over 220F. I have a temp gauge so I can watch it.

I am keeping the two ports in the valence open now, and will check on driving temps next time I go for a ride.

I haven't seen the "hot" idiot light come on.

I kind of like the way it looks, it covers up that cheesy "Bandit" mask grill. A big improvement over the stock grill.

I still have to cover those fog lights.

[Promise Land]

The point of this exercise is to maximize the aerodynamics and decrease the drag coefficient? There are other ways to do that without increasing the heat kept in the engine compartment and decreasing the cooling efficiency of the radiator.

Why not try some turbolators on the hood, roof, and doors to create a better buffer zone or calm air around the car at highway speeds?

[Ginsu]

Why not try some turbolators on the hood, roof, and doors?

[feloniousmonk]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors..._1516



FYI, aerodynamically, it's not the air in front of the car that matters. It's the turbulence behind the car (aka drag) that matters. Please leave your car alone, it's done no harm to you.

"Step away from your vehicle!"





Modified by feloniousmonk at 3:58 PM 3/16/2009

[Knightro2]

The reason internal combustion engines are not that efficient is because alot of the energy is converted to heat instead of power...so why create more heat?

I'm confused by this whole thing...plus...it makes the V look like a futuristic car out of a bad '80s movie.

[feloniousmonk]

The reasoning is, intuitively, blocking off any cavities at the front of the car will make the car more aerodynamic. Those who go to the salt flats for top speed runs do this in an attempt to eek every bit of speed on their top speed runs. Doing it there might be fine because the cars aren't running for a long period of time. And, like being on a track @ track day, you can pull off, open the hood, and let the car cool down before doing another run. On a daily driver, it is never wise nor functional. As I mentioned before, it's the turbulence immediately behind the car that matters, not the air ahead. If we are just dealing with the front end of the car, what you'd want to do is reduce the frontal area of the car. By adding those panels, the OP actually increased the frontal area. Plus, since we're not changing how air flows behind the car, it's moot. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure the Nissan engineers specifically design and tested the car to manage airflow through the engine bay and underneath in ways so that the car is safe and stable at speed. What the OP has done may actually have made the car unsafe.

Watch this episode of Top Gear. There is a bit on there about running on the salt flats. http://www.finalgear.com/shows/topgear/12/2/

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors..._1516

what the f***

[skyl4rk]

Heheh youse guys crack me up

Thanks for the concern about heat affecting the motor, I totally agree. That why I am monitoring the temperature with a digital readout, and have a trip log that will tell me the maximum temperature reading for the duration of the trip. I will keep a close eye on the temperature.

If I get temp readings consistently over 210F, I will increase the port area to allow more airflow. I will also post here to let the board know.

Felon is 100% correct about the rear of the car being the key to aerodynamics. I have some ideas to work on and have just gotten started. After covering the fog light openings, I am going to look at wheel spats and a boat tail. I am not sure I will ever get to those because it looks somewhat difficult to do, but I am trying to figure it out.

That is very cool that someone is selling aeromods. Although the rear wheel cover is not the most effective mod, every little bit helps.

There is very little noticeable difference in how the car drives other than it seems to get better gas mileage when reading the scangauge. The mods I put on to date are minor.

I really like the look of the car with the grill blocks, it makes it look like a Renault or Fiat. I think it looks great, more modern, more aero.

Regarding auto engineers, I am not one but I live in a town full of them and have plenty of qualified advice on this. What I am doing is not a big deal as far as safety goes. The worst thing that could happen is a panel flies off and hits someone, and the panels seem to be secure.

If the heat issue is real, I will remove the valence and either make the ports bigger or leave the valence off. I like the grill blocks and I doubt the car needs both the valence and the grill openings to keep cool. But I will let the measurements determine what the next step is.

The latest testing that I did was with one port open. I haven't driven it yet with both ports open so it remains to be seen if there is a heat issue with two ports.

[br4dysays]

what the f***

lol wow seriously, reminds me of some pt cruisers i see around like that.

[grogman]

kind of looks like something a storm trooper would drive..................i dunno about white on the base sedan man...........grey would have been a good color so as to tint out and visor and such but i have seen a base white versa in our forum that was extremely hot. i think it was lowered and had a rear spoiler and all not sure though.

[1_Sleek_Versa]

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?

[silverarrow27]

Most of you guys are missing the point to this person's thread. It's about gaining mileage, not the way it looks.

[NY.AD.MAN]

Most of you guys are missing the point to this person's thread. It's about gaining mileage, not the way it looks.

Yes. But the car is not designed by monkeys, rather it was carefully tested and deemed worthy because those fun little vents in the front allow for air to come through and to allow the downforce to be evenly separated between the top and bottom of the bumper.

What has been done here is awful. Some of you may like it, but honestly (and I mean this with as much tact as possible) it looks like somebody pulled a practical joke... a really really bad one.

[silverarrow27]

Yes. But the car is not designed by monkeys, rather it was carefully tested and deemed worthy because those fun little vents in the front allow for air to come through and to allow the downforce to be evenly separated between the top and bottom of the bumper.

What has been done here is awful. Some of you may like it, but honestly (and I mean this with as much tact as possible) it looks like somebody pulled a practical joke... a really really bad one.

What he does to his car is no different to what tuners do with theirs. Everyone enjoys doing something different to their cars.

[skyl4rk]

Tonight I ran about 20 miles out and 20 miles back at 80mph. The highest coolant temp observed was 200F. This was with both valence vents open and outside temps at 43F.

MPG seems to be running between 5% and 10% higher than without the aeromods.

I do not recommend that anyone else try this. I want to see what the coolant temps are like in hot weather before recommending this to anyone. I have proper instruments and know what to watch for. Also, being from Michigan, we know a little more about cars than the average fanboi.

You probably could add a grill block but leave the valence open and the coolant temps would be the same as without the block.

[Skim302]

What he does to his car is no different to what tuners do with theirs. Everyone enjoys doing something different to their cars.

Tuners are more interested in getting more air into their cars, not less. I understand that you think that what he is doing and what tuners are doing is related, which is true. However, look at other threads here when people show off their mods on their cars and some people like them and others don't. Nothing wrong with having an opinion. He isn't taking it to heart so no one should defend him.

[benchthug]

lol first time i was here in the forums back in 2007 when i first bought the v everyone have positive comments and even though its negative it still sounds positive lol... Good job skyl4rk just make sure you monitor those temps... those cover will be good if you place it over the fog light holes if you put a hole in it for direct air to your CAI and cover it during winter time :P those covers will also be good during winter to block the snow :P to fix the problem with engine getting hot you can put a vent through the fenders... also just make sure those things dont fly off lol

[Red Devil]

Also, being from Michigan, we know a little more about cars than the average fanboi.

Apparently none of them work at Chrysler and the majority of GM.

[raventare]

How about a rear diffuser (like the GT-R, Porsche etc) to also manage the rear air...then get a belly pan to manage the air underneath. I am ready for both of those when your done

[skyl4rk]

I suspect that diffusers and turbulators are add ons that may help an existing design, but are really just covering up problems of a non-aerodynamic design.

As a next step, I want to add a fairing the aft side of the tires. I will probably start with the rear tires because they are easier to do.

I am also thinking of a body extension that attaches to the rear of the car and looks like the trailing edge of a plane wing. Normally these are called boattails, but I am thinking more of a rear wingtail.

Any tuner who drives faster than 40mph should be concerned with aerodynamics. When you run out of things to do to improve motor performance, aerodynamics will give you lots of potential performance enhancement. And the faster you go, the more good aerodynamics helps.

I am interested in maximum fuel economy in general (which often means driving slow) but I am also interested in fuel economy at highway speeds. I would really like to get mid 40's mpg while driving 75mph. I'm not sure if it is possible but it is a goal.

[keanucosmo]

Way to go.

Ignore all the posts by DumbA$$ that think they know what they are talking about.

[Red Devil]

Way to go.

Ignore all the posts by DumbA$$ that think they know what they are talking about.

So basically he shouldn't listen to you?

[1_Sleek_Versa]

^^^^ Nice car. /sarcasm

I wouldn't accept fu¢king up my car beyond all repair like he does even to get 60mpg out of it.

By the way I'm pretty sure Nissan/Renault already tested the Versa in the wind tunnel, before you try it.

[Ginsu]

Maybe some advice from this guy will be better received?



Just don't get your car wet.

[skyl4rk]

schaweeet!

[1_Sleek_Versa]

You should try the run with no mirrors and baby moon hubcaps.

[skyl4rk]

I have seen test results that show the mirrors can cause up to 10% of the aero drag on a vehicle.

I like the vision my mirrors give me though.

Maybe folding back the passenger mirror would be a good experiment. My previous vehicle, a Toyota pickup, had no passenger mirror.

An aero drivers side mirror might be a good mod project.

[Rockhound]

I have to say that I'm impressed with your effort here. And from the looks of your MPG numbers posted in your other thread, it looks as if you're getting decent results. I'm surprised at how negative most folks are being...oh, wait, no I'm not. Personally I find your work much more intriguing than any of the performance mods that are talked about ad nauseum.

The whole air intake issue does seem rather important to me, though, but it sounds like you're on top of it.

I think some folks here give car designers/companies a little too much credit. That's not to say the Versa is flawed from the factory - but my parents owned two Ford products (1990 Mercury Cougar and 1993 Ford Thunderbird) when I was growing up that were a great example of flawed design (in more ways than one, sadly).

The cars were relatively identical - same chassis, engine (Essex 3.8L V6 - yuck!), transmission, just different body work. The '93 TBird lacked a traditional grille - it relied solely on the lower bumper opening for its air intake. And not surprisingly it ran pretty hot in the dog days of summer, even when relatively new with a perfectly functioning cooling system. The Cougar, on the other hand, with its traditional Mercury 'waterfall' grille, had no such issues. Of course, this was only one of the pressing concerns for these cars, considering the 3.8L was famous for head gasket leaks, and electronic gremlins conspired to keep the car from starting...

...Anyway, thinking of the '93 TBird brings me back to this topic, which makes me think that your Versa might run significantly hotter when it's more than 45 degrees outside. Which also makes me think that routing a cold air intake to a foglight hole might be the ticket to ensure proper ventilation whilst also having an aerodynamic front end. Not sure if that is reasonable where you live, however.

Do I think your Versa looks 'hot' with these mods? No. But it looks decent enough, and it would appear that you could achieve a somewhat 'stock' appearance without too much more effort. This really isn't about appearance at all, though, and as for efficiency gains, the proof is in the pudding. So some of us here are actually curious to find out about your progress and results...

[skyl4rk]

I am also thinking that the ports are not big enough for summer heat. I may oval them out and increase the area by 2 to 4 times the current area. Or maybe cut a new valence block with a single oval in the middle.

So far with two ports open I have not seen over 206F coolant temps, however it has been cool weather, between 40F and 60F.

If the coolant gets too hot, the fan starts running and that electricity use works against any aero gains for fuel efficiency.

I have a pattern for the valence and can cut another in about 10 minutes. The coroplast cuts pretty easily with a router with an edge trimmer bit.

[Ginsu]

Do you do a lot of highway driving? If so, that's the only way that I can even remotely comprehend what you're doing to your car. You're an admitted hypermiler. You guys drive way below the speed limit, coast whenever possible, and when you have to hit the gas you're drafting dangerously close to other drivers. Either way most hypermilers are an annoying obstacle on the road. That being said, such driving habits do yield amazing results. Which begs the question, don't you think your gains in fuel economy to date have been due to your driving habits and not the fact that you've blocked off your grille? I mean were not talking about a semi-truck here. The Versa is pretty aerodynamic as it is. Everything you do to it from here on in will only result in minuscule improvements, which, if you're driving mostly in the city and going under the speed limit anyway, will not have any tangible effect on your fuel economy whatsoever.

[skyl4rk]

Some of your questions are answered in this thread:

http://forums.nicoclub.com/zer...e-fun

I generally do not do drafting, I prefer not to watch the back of another vehicle and it is too nerve wracking when you are close.

The Versa's stock 0.31Cd is good and comparable to other cars such as the Civic or Fit. 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.

My guess as to the most effective mods to reduce wind resistance: wingtail, wheel rear fairings, passenger mirror delete, aeromodded driver mirror, wheelwell covers, windshield wiper cover.