Improving mileage of first generation Civic Hybrid

[windham]

Hi There,
I recently had to sell my Insight, and its near 70 mpg, due to a growing family. I am considering purchasing a 5 spd 2003 Civic Hybrid with minor body damage and making the necessary repairs to get it on the road again. With this in mind I have three questions:

1. Does anyone know if there are body kits, addition of spoilers, or other aerodynamic changes that will reduce its .28 drag coefficient and make it a bit more slippery?

2. Are there weight saving body pieces people have used to trim the Civic's waist line?

3. Has anyone experimented with making 5th gear slightly taller to drop engine speed by 400 RPM or so at highway speeds?

Thanks for the help.

[ElectricTroy]

Replace the engine with a 3-cylinder insight engine.

Just kidding.

Using lots of wax will make the surface of the car slippery, and reduce the drag.

[Dougie]

An air dam under the front bumper will reduce the drag slightly, as would lowering the car a bit. Putting the Insight tires on it would probably give the biggest easy improvement. Changing gearing is hard; drive more slowly to get the same effect...

[bluetwo]

Originally Posted by ElectricTroy

Replace the engine with a 3-cylinder insight engine.

Just kidding.

Using lots of wax will make the surface of the car slippery, and reduce the drag.

I came on this post by pure random chance, but is there any kind of consensus on this? I've thought about that myself some but never ventured to generously wax my ride to try and make it more efficient.

[seffieandcoco]

With aircraft pain makes a difference in speed meaning air resistance

[jonnyvtec]

Originally Posted by bluetwo

I came on this post by pure random chance, but is there any kind of consensus on this? I've thought about that myself some but never ventured to generously wax my ride to try and make it more efficient.

The air isnt laminar so it makes next to no difference. The air flowing over the car is interacting with a boundary layer of air and not the actual paint.

[bish79]

Originally Posted by jonnyvtec

The air isnt laminar so it makes next to no difference. The air flowing over the car is interacting with a boundary layer of air and not the actual paint.

I've often wondered if the opposite is true... Put a bunch of little dimples on the surface of the car to force turbulent flow and reduce drag. Anyone ever seen a smooth golf ball?

Now to just get someone else to do the experiment on their car first...

[Cobb]

I think Homer Simpson did something like this and called them speed holes.

I think the red green show had an episode where Red took his van and routed short pieces of pipe from the front tothe rear so air is redirected throughthe can as if it was invisible. Like msot things he does, it doesnt quite work out.

Id suggesting adjusting the nut behind the wheel and lowering. Put the oem wheels and tires on at max inflation. Check for and remove all performance parts as they lower fuel economy.

[ford_jj]

Originally Posted by Cobb

I think Homer Simpson did something like this and called them speed holes.

I think the red green show had an episode where Red took his van and routed short pieces of pipe from the front tothe rear so air is redirected throughthe can as if it was invisible. Like msot things he does, it doesnt quite work out.

Id suggesting adjusting the nut behind the wheel and lowering. Put the oem wheels and tires on at max inflation. Check for and remove all performance parts as they lower fuel economy.

I agree with you.

[jonnyvtec]

Originally Posted by bish79

I've often wondered if the opposite is true... Put a bunch of little dimples on the surface of the car to force turbulent flow and reduce drag. Anyone ever seen a smooth golf ball?

Now to just get someone else to do the experiment on their car first...

A smooth golfball would be a nightmare. The joy of the dimples is it delays attachment (by causing drag) as the ball spins and hence gives a low pressure region above the ball. Hence it climbs nicely, then as it slows down the lift effect reduces and the ball falls to ground faster without covering much froward ground.

You end up with a nice loft and drop trajectory rather than a parabola which would result in balls going much further after they bounce on the ground etc.