Passenger mirror and rear wiper delete.

[RobertSmalls]

I've been removing parts from my car that don't pull their own weight, or don't justify the amount of fuel required to push them through the airstream.

Removing the rear wiper was an easy decision. I seldom used the wiper, because RainX offers great visibility in the summer, and snow blows off of the rear glass if you can keep it above 20mph in the winter.



The mod is easy. Remove the wiper arm, the rear hatch trim, and the wiper motor, then replace the rear hatch trim if you think it pulls its weight (I don't). Go to the Misc. Hardware drawer of your hardware store and buy a 28mm / 1+3/32" plug, spray paint it black, and install it with clear silicone. The result is water-tight, aerodynamic, light-weight, and clean looking.

Removing the passenger mirror was a harder decision. The aero impact of a mirror is actually quite large, but you still need to be able to see what's in the blind spot to your right. Some people are happy relocating a mirror to inside the car, but I chose a camera and monitor. Back-up cameras are readily available, and I got the Pyle PLCM35 camera and monitor for around $75. It has a nice, wide field of view that completely eliminates the passenger side blind spot. It works great 22 hours of the day, but it's actually quite poor when bright sunlight shines on or near the monitor. Overall, I like it, but I recommend you choose a different (brighter) monitor.



I have a black coroplast enclosure keeping the mirror out of the rain at the moment, and I'm working on a fiberglass housing.

I've also blocked the upper radiator grille and half of the lower grille with fiberglass. My license plate can be mounted over the open portion of the lower grille in the winter, leaving the lower grille 20% open, or over the closed portion in the summer, leaving it 50% open.



Other items on the chopping block are the rear washer fluid nozzle, hoses, and pump (it's not very helpful to dribble washer fluid down your rear windshield, is it?), antenna (to be relocated to a more aerodynamic location, like the windshield), and maybe the driver's side mirror if I feel I can come up with a satisfactory replacement.

[02insight]

have you noticed any improvement in aerodynamics? Does it seem to roll easier through the wind? I tried the rear wiper delete, but didnt notice any difference, so I put it back on.

btw is your car both green & silver

[Artric]

I'm also curious about the immediate effects. How does the camera look from the side?

[RobertSmalls]

The science behind the modifications is sound. Also, similar mods have been tested and proven on other cars. While I can't prove that each individual mod has improved my aero, they certainly appear to have done so as a whole.

The rear wiper delete is not the kind of mod where you should expect to feel a difference. The amount of frontal area reduction is very small. Where the wiper delete will have an impact is in crosswinds. I can feel the car requires much more power in a brisk crosswind, and I know that it would require even more if I had a wiper too. Even in a gentle cross-breeze, you'll have an improvement.

The grille block and mirror delete have a larger impact. There's a road near my house with a gentle downgrade where the Insight used to lose one or two mph, and now it holds its speed. But to be fair, it's been warmer lately, which reduces air density and tire rolling resistance.



Yes, I have a silver Insight with a junkyard hood, battery, fender, and bumper cover. Now that it's finally warm enough, it's time to paint them silver.

I haven't finished the fiberglass camera housing, but here's the coroplast housing that keeps the camera dry for now. Though I moved the tape to under the A-pillar after I took the picture.

[Willie Williford]

You might want to do a forum search about rear view cameras. The first INSIGHTER to install rear view cameras some time back had his cameras mounted in the rear tail lights and fabricated a cover for where the mirrors were mounted. Real smooth looking.

Willie

[02insight]

i also remember seeing someone who had put the camera at the rear quarter windows facing rear/out...

[Kevin Dougherty]

courtesy of Mike Dombrowski at 99mpg.com

[RobertSmalls]

I considered several different mounting locations, including at the top of the A-pillar, on the front fender, and at the rear. But the role of the right side mirror is to see whether it's safe to move a lane to the right. You want to mount the camera as far forward as is practical, so you can see what's next to you.

Where my camera is mounted, and with its wide FOV, there is no blind spot between my rear view mirror and side view camera, and I have a full view of the lane to my right between the mirror and the passenger's window.

[02insight]

I tried another aero mod couple of days ago, which I actually was able to notice a difference while driving and was able to get around 5 mpg more. and I noticed that I could peg the MPG guage at 75mpg at higher speeds such as 65mph, before I had to be going 60 or below to peg it at 75 or 80mpg.

All I did was put tape on the hood and front bumper like the picture below so that the nose became smoother, and less drag due to the hood opening. I think I saw a photoshop of this mod somewhere on this site also, labeled as grill block, so I decided to try it. I might build a fiberglass panel to fit in the upper hood opening.

[RobertSmalls]

Here's what the fiberglass grille block looked like after the resin dried and I painted it almost silver:



I'm very happy with the looks of the lower grille block. I just need to feather the fiberglass in, since it's elevated a few mm.

The upper grille block is lumpy. The cause: I was too stingy with the styrofoam, and I shaped it with too much steak knife and not enough rasp and sandpaper. Solution: bondo, or do-over.

I've been breaking all my records for fuel economy on my commute.