Belly Pan, Rear Undertray, and Fender Liners

[Bill in Houston]

No, nothing too permanent. I could have the whole thing off in 5 minutes, and not really leave a trace that it was there. I don't know of any areas to watch out for heat-wise besides the exhaust.

I'll be watching mileage to see if it improves. The true test is a highway trip with the family, which means 70mph and A/C on. We should have one of those in the next couple of months.

I will probably leave the air dam off until after that trip and see what we get. In spite of the coast-down results, I remain suspicious of the air dam's efficacy. It has not lowered my mileage, though, and it improves the car's stability at speed, especially in crosswinds, so maybe it is worth it. Some people would say that having the belly pan means I don't need the air dam... We'll see.

[sonyhome]

The way I see it the air dam may reduce your Cd, but it increases your total surface, so the gain is not a sure shot unless you get it just right.

For stability it seems that leaving the lips in front of the wheels helps, and it reduces Cd from the wheels. Furthermore it covers the wheel's profile so it's already pre-existing surface.

[bbgobie]

Hey Bill.

Why does everyone use coroplast? Wouldn't there be some kind of durability advantage with aluminum? I don't imagine it being too much harder to work with, since it's a relatively soft metal.

[Bill in Houston]

For me, it is the right combination of stiffness and ease of cutting. Coroplast cuts very easily with a box cutter, more easily than cardboard even. Even aluminum flashing would be more difficut to cut. And if I were able to get a big sheet of aluminum the same thickness as flashing, it would be realllly floppy and would cut me to ribbons. :-)

Coroplast is lightweight compared to aluminum of the same stiffness, as well.

AND, lastly, after elections, the big coroplast signs are litter, and I like to help the candidates clean up their mess, because I'm just sweet like that. :-) What I'm saying is that coroplast is free if you are patient. A sheet of aluminum could be sort of expensive.

So for me it is the right combination of physical properties and price. Maybe you are able to get AL for really cheap, in which case, AL might be the right choice for you.

[brucepick]

I wanted a full 4' x 8' sheet of coroplast and paid just about $30 for it from a sign company. Probably less if you order from a supplier and get it shipped - but shipping big stuff costs $$.

I paid the $$ because I wasn't willing to wait for Election Day. Of course this year I'll be ready and will collect what I can.

[GasSavers_TomO]

Nice work on the underside of the element! Coroplast is the way to go for best bang for the buck! I've had mine on for about 10 months, 5 of them in MN winter weather! It holds up extremely well! Ok, enough exclamation points for me now, lol.

[GasSavers_Graeme]

Bill, your work looks great!

Got another coroplast source for you. My city, like many others has restrictions on off-site signs. Our public works guys are always collecting outlaw signs from the right-of-way and other prohibited places. They wind up in a trash bin. You might call your city and see what they do with illegal signs.

[GeekGuyAndy]

How do you acquire them from elections? Just take them from the road when it's over or actually find the legal way? I'll probably just snag a few

[Bill in Houston]

Originally Posted by brucepick

I paid the $$ because I wasn't willing to wait for Election Day. Of course this year I'll be ready and will collect what I can.

This was kind of funny. There was only one candidate who put up a noticeable number of 4'x8' signs. The election came and went, and I put my wire cutters in the car, planning to help him clean up his litter. But, just to make sure, I looked him up and looked at his website. Turns out there was a run-off! So I had to wait another couple of weeks before I helped him.

Graeme, I need to go by the local plastics recycling place and see if they have some too. Good idea about checking with the city.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement.

[finfin]

I think I would just use new material. You could set fire to something with all of the additional political hot air.