I assume it's to increase aerodynamics but has anyone taken theirs off and left it off? Does it make the car look better? Any pics?
Your better aerodynamics assumption is correct.
Whether the appearance is improved without the skirts is a matter of personal taste. I believe when the skirts are off, the attachment area is exposed which is not what I would call a finished look. Why not just remove one and decide for yourself? The skirts are attached with only two Dzus fasteners and a series of tabs and slots, so a regular screwdriver or even a quarter (in an emergency) can be used to remove them. But be careful during installation to insert all of the tabs into their slots and to turn each Dzus fastener only 90º.
I recall pics of someone who cut a U-shape into his wheel pants in pursuit of a more familiar look. The aerodynamic penalty of this action is large, and it disrupts the existing lines.
Perhaps someone can find the pics of the Insight with the black vinyl at the rear painted body-colored.
Aside from the aero benefits, to me they're part of the unique look of the car. Almost no other car has them. Removing them would be like having a '59 Caddy and cutting off its tail fins.
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2006 MT
MIMA w/FAS module
various mods to driver
From the previous link, I think that if that person used some body filler and got rid of the line around the skirt that is no longer a skirt, that it would look much better. Either way though, I wouldn't get rid of something that is designed to provide additional advantages to the overall idea behind the car, fuel efficiency. ...or I suppose the environment if that is your persuasion. My persuasion is for the lowest cost to own and drive 20k miles per year including highway trips cross country.
Those skirts help with all of that. If you don't like the skirts, you likely don't find you don't like the look of other features of the car too. The previous owner of my car said he thought it was ugly from the first day he got it, but he had an hour commute when there wasn't traffic and used cruise control and got about 55mpg because of it(no lean-burn with cruise control on the highway). He could have probably easily gotten at least 10mpg better even if he was going 70mpg if he let lean burn happen. Either way, with his use it got better gas mileage than probably any car out there except maybe the CRX HF or the most efficient version of the Metro but most of the CRX HFs are rusted out or driven until their odometer topped out and mechanical problems stopped them and are difficult to find now. The ones that aren't, the owners are hanging on to dear life. I saw a CRX HF in a U-Pull-It yard near me, it was there for nearly a week and was almost completely stripped, especially the engine compartment, nothing there but the windshield washer pump and the water pump which a fresh looking crack in it from what looked like a failed crowbar pry.
Thats crazy. There are three areas that allow the Insight to get the great milage it gets: 1. The teardrop design of the car, the smooth airflow design, from the skirts over the rear tires to the panels that cover all the parts on the underside of the car that might cause any type of drag..... 2. The stiff walled tires that allow for a longer roll out..... 3. The gas/electric computer controlled powerplant. If any three of these unique designs are disturbed then you are going to decrease the MPG's of the car. Like someone else said earlier, if you don't like the looks of the Insight then it might not be the car for you
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What's the deal with the rear wheel skirts?
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