Aerodynamic Mods

[donniej]

Today was one of those shocking days where I found myself with 6 whole hours that were not yet spoken for. Armed with a Lowes gift card (from Christmas) and half a sheet of coroplast (left over from rennovating the guinea pig cages), I set out to make my base '07 Vibe a little more fuel efficient. The side-benefit of making it quieter was also a big motivator, considering how much time I spend driving. The car is a stick shift, has all synthetic fluids, maintenance is up to date and tire pressure is somewhere between 35 and 40psi. With a mix of city and highway driving, the Vibe reliably gets me low to mid 30's (MPG, US gallons). Pure highway, 40 is possible... and I wouldn't mind seeing a little more 40mpg The 4x4' sheet of coroplast was plenty to make a bellypan that went from the front bodywork to the back of the engine. I used four 1/4-20 "U nuts" to hold it to the front bodywork and 2 on the back. The second part of the day was covering the foglights with plexiglass. It was an easy job using a jig saw with a fine tooth wood blade to cut it and a paint stripper/heat gun to give it the right curve.Covering the upper grille was easy using black duct tape, a "clean release" grade. This will make it clean and easy to remove when the weather warms back up. All this together seems to make it quieter inside. I wish I would had thought to check it with a decibel meter before and after. Next time I do an oil change I'll test it. It will also take a couple weeks to gather enough data to see the differene in mileage.

[vibenvy]

Pictures!

[KITT222]

Nice! I'd love to see pics! I too do some mild aero-modding. I have permanent upper grille blocks hiding behind my upper grilles and a winter bottom grille block. But I really do want to get a bellypan done, I just have no idea how to proceed...Here's my grille blocks:

[Salsa Guy]

Some guys add add a camel back and remove the passenger side outside mirror.