Aeromods!

[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:

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.

[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