Okay, I finally did some of the work.
To see any of these pictures in the album where you can view them in all their 7 megapixel glory, click on the picture. I tried to remember to link each one to its album page.
You can also see the whole album here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ronanian...icModQuestions
I have a few questions. I know it can be hard to find text between photos, so I prefixed them with "
Question:".
I started by relocating the license plate for the stealth block mod, worked great and doesn't leave much of the big lower grille exposed.
When I removed the mount, it left big gaping holes from the mount AND small holes from the license plate screws:
By flipping the mount over, I wound up with it being almost perfectly flush at the bottom and mostly covering the lower big gaping holes.
I used zip ties and aligned them just right so that they auto-centered the mount. Then, from the belt-and-suspenders department, I got the idea to add a coat hanger wire in case the zip ties broke.
Later I realized that the grille isn't screwed in, it just pops out; and the way I have the plate mounted it's putting exactly the right kind of pressure on to pull it out. So, I added a couple zip ties at the end of the grille to hold it if it pops loose.
I suppose I could cut the profile of the bumper out of the now-top of the mount, bringing the top closer to flush while still looking like an OEM plate mount. Besides sticking out a bit and the possibility of having the plate be more perfectly vertical (right now it directs air down under the car a little bit), it has gaps at the corners.
Question: How does it look, aerodynamically speaking?
Next, I started to work on the upper grille. Here's what it looks like before:
And here's what it looks like removed:
The intake is in the upper drivers side portion pictured here:
The intake isn't quite setup as a ram air intake, though it's close. This is what it looks like behind the upper drivers side of the upper grille:
I can close off the bottom of that thing and have the air pushed in nicely, as well as preventing it from entering the engine bay there.
The upper passenger side just exposes the engine bay. The lower part on both sides exposes the radiator.
I made three blocking pieces that fit nicely in between the grille and the car and will stay in place. They are made from 1/2" (or was it 3/8"?) styrofoam backing insulation for vinyl siding, wrapped in duct tape. The duct tape isn't for weatherproofing, just to keep little balls of foam from breaking off and clogging the radiator.
Question:Will blocking like this accomplish anything?
I know it won't help with turbulence/parachute effect in the grille, but it prevents air from getting into the engine bay there, taking away the parachute effect of the engine bay. The pieces I made are the greenish bits (that's the color of the duct tape).
Up close, with direct light, you can see the stuff but it still doesn't look awful. Here you can see how the top section is fed mainly by the gap between the hood and the grille.
You just can't see it at all from a few feet away.
I also had some of this material laying around, it's about as thick as card stock but made of plastic. However, it wasn't going to fit behind the grille the way I wanted, plus it's bright white.
I figured out how to fill the space in front of the fog grilles and started to put it together. I made filler by sandwiching layers of the foam board and duct taping them together. I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to cover it in, but I think I'll use .060" EPDM rubber roofing material.
Question: How can I secure this to the vehicle? I can't think of any decent way to do it.
The only thing I can think of is something flat and stiff, like a piece of sheet metal, that I could put between the exterior surface and the foam filler, then put a long bolt in its center and send that bolt through the other side of the fog grille to another plate and a nut, or maybe a toggle bolt wing.
As you can see, the underside of the car is pretty smooth, though it does have these unnecessary brake cooling ducts:
I suspect that they're really there for the GTI, which is the sportscar that has the same body as this car, but has much bigger brakes (can't even fit this car's wheels on it). I should block these. I never do any major braking in this car. The times when I'm likely to do that sort of thing, I'm in a different vehicle, this one is only used for commuting. I think I can pretty much just screw a piece of sheet metal in and not worry about it.
Here is what I did on my car. It is less obvious when when not in direct sun.
Linear Mode
