Underbody panels - how important?

[samwichse]

All three of mine were missing from under the engine (the metal one attached to the bumper and two half pieces under the engine.

Flamboyant Seller sent me all three for $35 + shipping. They were obviously used, not new, but were in pretty good shape.

[AbCaRed00]

Originally Posted by samwichse

All three of mine were missing from under the engine (the metal one attached to the bumper and two half pieces under the engine.

Flamboyant Seller sent me all three for $35 + shipping. They were obviously used, not new, but were in pretty good shape.

Sounds like a great deal, I just needed the front right one, and local large dealership had it for about forty bucks the next day. I'd considered FS, but shipping would have been a drag all considered. I'm hoping the recent issues have been successfully resolved from some others' recent dissatisfied transactions from that source.

[Need4Speed]

Sorry I was not clear on what I need. I need the part number for the plastic fastener that holds the center panels on. The fasteners are near the middle of the car, near where the exhaust runs. Maybe it is item 68, or possibly 48 from the pictorial. The pictorial is not clear. If it is item 68 I would have thought they would have had a line from the item to the location. Can anyone confirm that item 68 is what I need?

Thanks.

[Balboa]

One of my rear panels is kind of mangled I think it's actually causing more wind resistance.

[AbCaRed00]

Originally Posted by Need4Speed

Sorry I was not clear on what I need. I need the part number for the plastic fastener that holds the center panels on. . ....
If it is item 68 I would have thought they would have had a line from the item to the location. Can anyone confirm that item 68 is what I need?
Thanks.

If you observe the lines that are in the illustration in the post above, taken from Majestic Honda website, you will notice the lines that group items run at a shallow angle. The squared edges of many of the items in the projection also follow about the same angle.
Follow an imaginary line similar to those angles and look for the circle in the center of the panel. That should give you a good clue. If they did need to draw a line to it, likely it would be parallel to that of the line above 31.
If you read the description, 68 is a bumper clip. Compare it to those plastic parts to confirm. Three bucks a pop.
There are pics linked behind the part numbers, click to see a pic if that helps.

[russellc]

I just damaged two panels last week during the last snowstorm we had in Connecticut. The car is in the shop right now and front and left middle panels are costing me $218 to replace for parts and labor.

I hope I don't have to replace any more panels ever again.

Sent from my Autoguide iPad app

[insightbuyer]

Originally Posted by dberns

I can't talk about the underbody panel itself, but like the earlier poster said, everything counts.

I had lost the driver side "air dam" that sits in front of the tire, and also the inner fender. (I hit some road debris...)

I've been doing some long distance commuting (700 plus miles each way) on Interstate 80. With the damage, my mpg was hovering around the 50 mpg number. Once I replaced them I slid up to the 60 range. This all at "highway speeds"....

(I also pulled off a 70 mpg trip, but in that one I kept my eye on the display the whole time, drove in the Carter speed range, and despite teh weather, kept my a/c off. I ain't doing that again).

Oh, a picture of my mileage display on that last trip:
http://www.panix.com/~dannyb/images/mich-to-nyc.jpg

(2001 CVT)

I am missing all of my underbody panels including the front air dams. I found a good article that talks about the importance of the air dams.

Supposedly the front tires make up the biggest drag under the car.

This post always surprised me as he claimed a 5-10mpg difference when installing only 1 of those missing panels.

I have recently ordered the full set of underbody panels and will be testing how much of a difference they all make.

here is a good article on underbody panels. When modifying a early prius under body panels he was able to notice a 10% difference. And the prius already had underbody panels to begin with.

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[jeff652]

I noted a 2-3% reduction in TPS percentages after installing my panel. This easily translated to a 4-7MPG improvement at 50MPG, depending on road grade.

[Eli]

Damaging the panels in snow is common. I've seen people recommend taking them off during the winter if you live in an area that sees deep snow.

[insightbuyer]

Originally Posted by jeff652

I noted a 2-3% reduction in TPS percentages after installing my panel. This easily translated to a 4-7MPG improvement at 50MPG, depending on road grade.

Jeff, that is a really good improvement but what panels did you have before you installed your 1 peice panel? Did you have any underbody panels? Did you have both strakes?

I have absolutely no strakes, or any of the 3 peices of aluminum and plastic body panels under my car. Including the bumper not screwed in at the bottom. I am hoping for a 10MPG increase in my MPG after I install all of my panels and fix the bumper.