@@BSport320 I drive a 3 liter ( 100 km ) diesel car and I would really like moon discs. How to mount them and do you sell ? I use 195/55x16 tires and in Denmark. Martin Siebert
1+ liter per 100km - just hilarious, even in my poor country with pricey gasoline - it's nothing, just 20l for 2k trip, costs about 100 euro extra 🤷♂ _(implying you are not poisoned by eco-populists)_
Your car looks like a futuristic concept car from the early 2000s, and I love it. It reminds me of my childhood days when I would spend hours staring at concept car photos.
About 20 years ago I did a similar experiment on my historic race car. I removed the wing mirrors and wipers, taped up the front panels and part of the front grille. It certainly helped reduce the lap time. The idea of using foam between the panels sounds very good and better than using "helicopter tape" which left a mess to polish out.
Loving this. I've got a Touran converted to electric where low drag is even more important. The exhaust duct and air intakes are already closed off because we barely generate any heat at all. But that is only 2 of your 15 measures completed. Thanks for the inspiration!
The 1.9TDI PDE is always remarkable in its fuel economy. A relative of mine has a 131hp 6 speed 1.9 in a Sharan, which is the biggest actual "car" you could get, maybe the Caddy Maxi is longer yes. But above that was the busses / transporter vehicles you could say. Well back to the story, despite being a very high and a moderatly long car with a huge windscreen, it is driven without every thinking about it, with 6,5l/100km. If you drive constantly with a little effort then 5,X is no problem. I drove it once and got 4,3l/100km on a 80km trip, 20km country road, 5km city, 55km Autobahn. But I also only drove 90-105km/h, much less than you with 130. Still for such a big car, I am always surprised, and it is not even really slow, the 1.9TDI has a lot of torgue until 2500rpm. VW was a very early adopter of offering 6 speed gearboxes even in cheaper cars and smaller engines, not just in sports cars.
Exactly, i have a 2003 Alhambra with a chip mod for 150hp but also low ratios at lower ranges for fuel efficiency. that means that it has a higer turbo lag but i managed to acheive a 5,0l/100km on a 5000+km trip through the balkans (mountains etc) from Poland to Poland through basically all the balcan countries. Lowest avg i had was 3,7l/km on a 200km segment somewhere in Slovenia or Croatia, i dont remember. i cruised at about 90km/h without cruise control and managed to refuel iirc just 4 times during the whole trip. Also i thisn it has had the egr blocked at the time.
Great stuff. I did a similar project a few years ago with a Polo 1.2 TDi. Got it basically for scrap money so hadn't anything to lose really. I stripped a lot of weight out as well. Was able to push over 100mpg out of it
Interesting. I've thought about doing something similar, but didn't think it'd be worth the effort. 20+% improvements definitely seems worth it, thanks for this.
Very thorough explanation, and a good do-it-yourself project. I would like to have seen your fuel mileage after you repaired/serviced the engine, but before your aero mods. Cheers from Canada.
Now we can only estimate. He went from 5.5 to 4.1. Wheel alignment and engine service could have lowered the consumption to 5.2, maybe 5.0, but not less.
Perhaps also consider what the official manufacturer specs where for fuel economy at the time of the sale (2006). And yes, I know it’s done in ideal conditions etc. but it’s another data point to compare to.
@@goldenhandcuffsclaimed consumption is usually easy to beat with 130km/h on the highway. My parents did a trip with 4.8 l petrol going 120 on a 1998 family car. Specs where 5.5 or something.
The Passat Variant already had a good (for 2006) drag coefficient of I think 0.29 or 0.3 (there was a Bluemotion version that even lowered this by 10% or so). Your modifications go even further and you may have been in the 0.25 range, possibly even lower. My current car, an 150HP TDI Arteon Shooting Brake, which is at 0.26, uses around 5.5-5.8l/100km with a not insignificant city driving ratio. I can easily dip it below 5l /100km, depending on the route and traffic. I find that quite impressive, considering this car is physically larger, weighs 1700 kg, has fat tires (235/18s), all modern creature comforts, safety features and is loaded with tech.
@@smileyguyz that's good for an element, i have a 2.5 inline 5 jetta wagon and i have difficulty to get under 10L/100km, i think my best was 9L/100km during a few 1200 km trips between my work and my parents home
Engineering at its best! Absolut genial was du da gemacht hast! Ich wäre extrem interessiert an einem leichten, minimalistischen, schwach motorisierten Kombi der auf Effizienz getrimmt ist. Ein Freund von mir hatte einen Renault Megane BJ 2015, 1.5dci mit 6 Gang HSG . Wenn man den sparsam fuhr (Tempo 90-100 auf der Autobahn) merkt man dass das Kühlwasser nicht auf Temperatur kam. Wir vermuteten immer dass das Auto mit dem selben Kühlpaket wie der 1.9dci ausgestattet wurde. Trotz lausiger aerodynamik konnte man den Megane problemlos mit 3.6l pro 100km fahren. Im Alltag mit Tempo 120-130 lag der Verbrauch immernoch bei respektablen 4,3l pro 100km.
Would be nice if you had measured change in efficiency with each individual mod. Still pretty cool to see efficiency mods like this, and thanks for not making the video longer than necessary
Sehr interessantes Video, ich bin grad in einer sehr ähnlichen lage und optimiere meinen T4 1.9 td auch auf Verbrauch. Die Aerodynamik habe ich noch nicht angepasst, bin aber durch Anpassung der ESP und durch eine sehr lange Übersetzung jerzt bei 5,2L bei 10% Stadtverkehr, 20% Landstraße und 70% Autobahn bei 100km/h. Durch einen größeren Pumpenkopf und Anpassung des Spritzbeginns habe ich den Mitteldruck erhöht und den MFB50 näher an OT gebracht. Das Fahrwerk habe ich auf eine möglichst gerade Spur eingestellt und die reifen (195/65r15) mit 3,8 bar bei maximalem Druck. Ich fahre täglich 180km Strecke zu meinem Ingenieurspraktikum wo ich in der Motorentwicklung Arbeite und am Wochenende 380km in die Heimat.
Excellent work! Very thoroughly and thoughtfully done! I know the exercise here is only aerodynamic improvements fit for your use case with a stock drivetrain but I would have been interested in additional modifications such as optimizing top transmission gear to sit at the most efficient RPM when at 80mph or other mechanical improvements and trade-offs.
First hot glue mention I obviously have to be: "oh well armchair this and that... Temporary at best... No good" Later on: "and then I just sat the rack back on and all the holes in the roof opened as if divinity" I actually stood and applauded. Bravo.
Great video! If only the standard customer would have just a little technical understanding, manufacturers wouldn’t need to oversize most components. Cars would be cheaper, lighter and more aero.
Yes, but most people are generally completely oblivious, so that's why. For themselves and for other road users. Plus, not all roads are flat like a pool table, like they are in Germany. Plus, not all fuels are of the same rating around the world. That's why the manufacturers must assume the worst. Plus, after driving for the last 35 years, with 50k per year, I've never been in an accident, but I'm still glad the car has crumple zones and airbags... So, in a way, your remark is unfounded. The closest one could get towards the cars you mentioned, is an 80's medium or lower class car, which, in case of an accident, crumples up around the occupants. And if the occupants didn't die instantly from the crash itself, he or she would die in the subsequent fire.
@@dennismarks6133 Oversizing is mostly a sign of an engineer that’s either afraid to make a decision or doesn’t know what he’s doing… or both. A field especially plagued by this is civil engineering.
I changed tire size from 205 to 185 and the fuel economy improved a good amount, less rolling resistance, I also installed turbine wheels from an older Mercedes that look similar to your moon discs.
If the average person applied you methods, the following conditions would be likely. 1. Excessive break pad wear. 2. Warped break discs. 3. Hydro locked engine. (Most drivers don’t think about big puddles) 4. Blown head gasket, or over heating engine damage. Glad you warned that your mods were based on your driving needs. Unfortunately manufacturers have to try and design for those that pay no attention to conditions or maintenance. Your success shows just how much performance is lent on the table. Just out of curiosity, was your car one of the dreaded diesel gate cars? I enjoy your videos, thanks.
That's the reason I don't recommend any of this to anyone. I basically tried the things on my own car, I was not allowed to do to customer cars at my work in the technical development. The typical British hydrolocking would actually be less of a problem because the typical wave when hitting the water wouldn't splash right into the airfilter. That path was blocked at my car. Brake cooling on this car would still have been enough for 95% of customers and even in the Summer with air conditioning in traffic jam, the engine never reached more than 100deg water. So also that would be fine for most customers and the bluemotion models of VW confirm that. The only reason to open the upper air intake is a so-called "pull-down" at 45deg ambient temperature. So a hot car being cooled down inside as quickly as possible. With a closed upper air intake that takes slightly longer. This car was pre Diesel Gate
Great instruction video 👏🏻 I’m glad RUclips brought me here:D I’ve been considering similar modifications on my daily drive Škoda Felicia 1.9D for a while. First mod after new tyres was upper vent cover, and now I’m planning to cover more underneath parts
Awesome! I didn't expect it to be that much more efficient. I also think it looks really sleek and cool without the roof rails and with the moon disks!
Good job, man! Additionally, you can further improve the drag coefficient with more aerodynamic outer mirrors, changing the door handles for flush ones and lowering the windshield wipers into the bonnet. Thanks for your valuable contribution.
Years ago I did a fair amount of sealing around the radiator combo of a Volvo C30 for the same reasons you give here. Removed everything before selling the car too. I did some tufting on the rear hatch but decided that any modifications there would be too eye catching. I had experimented with tufting before on a glider's wing, to help with turbulator strip placement :)
Das ganze hat mich inspiriert auch etwas an meinem Fahrzeug zu verändern (Golf 7 GTD Variant), auch wenn es das exakte Gegenteil ist. Mein Problem waren sehr hohe Öltemperaturen bei Vollgasfahrten. Ich habe also alle Dämmungen entfernt und den Unterboden gewechselt um mehr Luft in den Motorraum strömen zu lassen zudem habe ich auch das Öl zu einem dickerem gewechselt um den Motor bei diesen Fahrten zu unterstützen. Seit dem bleibe ich wenigstens unter 130 Grad Öl. Den Rest muss der Ölwechsel alle 7000 Km richten. Der Verbrauch ist natürlich gestiegen. Die Woche über bin ich eigentlich nur innerorts unterwegs, hier merkt man also wenig von den Änderungen. Am Wochenende habe ich oft ca 180+ Km offene Autobahn. Hier schaffe ich es nur selten den Fuß von Gas zu lassen und bewege mich meist über 230 km/h Tacho.
Impressive results. It is interesting that you didn't sell the car, in the modded state for more. I would consider your use case to be quite beneficial to many.
Very interesting. “I’m a quick driver”. Best way to reduce fuel consumption with *no work at all* is slow down 😂. Changing driving style is the the single most effective way of reducing fuel consumption. I have a W220 S320 Mercedes. During recent fuel shortages because of strikes in France I reduced my average consumption by 15% (down from 8.6l/100km to 7.3) just by driving at 70 instead of 85 in an 80 limit and 100 instead of 115 in a 110 limit and accelerating more gently and planning ahead better. At the time everyone was driving more slowly and more carefully for the same reason. It didn’t even impact journey times significantly. I very regularly use my car for the same 105-km journey. Typical journey times roughly went from 1h12m to 1h20m. As you say use case is also important. It’s a great argument for taking driving away from drivers and putting it in the hands of AI; robots would do the job far better…
It's coll that when I look at my 2015 Polo TDI, and compare it to my 2002 Golf Variant TDI, I see lots of elements that are similar to this video. No wonder the thing is so frugal if I drive slowly.
Tolles Video! Wäre unheimlich spannend zu wissen wie viel einzelne Veränderungen ausmachen. Die Felgen und die Tieferlegung alleine dürften schon grosse Veränderungen mit sich bringen.
It would be amazing if you could make tests like - fuel consumption with moon disks, fuel consumption with foam, fuel consumption with lower springs, fuel consumption with new tires, fuel consumption with plates under the car... etc We would have a hint with what we should begin with :) I have a Honda Fit/Jazz from 2003 and I would love to make some improvements...
There’s a guy in like Oregon or Washington in the USA who claims to have gotten an old F250 over 25mpg (would have been like 15mpg or worse normally) with similar ideas. Covered all the undercarriage with plates, built a custom lid for his bed that was aero, put in a button starter so he would never idle, removed the a/c and a whole bunch of other parts to drop weight. The truck was functional but not really as a truck anymore. It’s funny because he could have just started with a car that got better mileage, like in this case.
Very interesting project. I used to own a BMW E46 320d and it was also really economical and I hypermiled it a lot. I was able to bring the fuel consumption down to 4.7l on my commute to work (country/highway roads with max 100km/h). At normal Autobahn speeds on my trip to France (120-160km/h) I managed 1000km with 5,3l/100km I'd wonder how much could be achieved with those kinds of modifications on this model.
You can get similar gains in fuel efficiency by other means (depending on the car). for example, I used to hae a 1072 Triumph Dolomite 1850 with a 4 speed manyal gearbox. In these cars the exhaust is particularly restrictive, so I replaced it with a rally spec exhaust and downpipe. Nothing else was done and average fuel economy improved from 30 mpg to 36mpg (UK gallons) and there was a modest improvement in performance. The other case ws on a 244 Volvo (B21A engine and 4 speen manual gearbox. I knew the car would need a new clutch soon, so with the help of the 240 specialist in the Volvo enthusiasts club, I also replaced the gearbox with an Overdrive one (0.67 overdrive) at rhe same time as the new clutch. Again nothing else was changed. this time fuel ecinomy improved from an average of 28mpg to 34mpg. Granted these would probably have cost more than in this VW's case (A custom rally exhaust and downpipe is NOT cheap, neither is an overdrive gearbosx an a new clutch) but the results were just as wotrh rthe expense as I kept these two cars for another 5 years or so.
And yet again it is proven, that by applying simple modifications, a significant improvement in efficiency can be realized. It is more than time, that all automobile manufacturers start designing cars that are efficient, instead of fashion statements.
Great job. It would be interesting to measure the impact of every modification and known which one make the greatest effect. Did you do some modifications in your current car? Looking forward to it
Awesome videos and great enginerring. I have a VW Polo with the 1.6 TDI. Like the last one ever sold. These engines are so awesome. Had the Passat with 1.9 TDI as well. Just awesome quality. I can use some of your ideas.
Love your project! You can also add a lower front lip, so less air go under the car. Removing weight from car helps too like lightweight car battery, fiberglass hood no spare tire and lightweight seats.
@@RennieAsh that is true but if you cruising on hills then still you get the benefit of less weight. I myself saw a 15% + increase of consumption from cruising on hills even though downhill riding is like 0 consumption going uphill even few degrees it kills the overall consumption.
My 2 door yaris has full underbody panels and the handling and mpg improvement is very noticeable since stock these things have no panels and are essentially parachutes underneath
@@PaulTC777 Calm down there, this is a street car not a CLK GT R that is 4 feet tall. No I don't have a diffuser, I just wanted to smooth things out which it did because now I can cruise at 90mph with no hand on the wheel and it goes dead straight. No side winds pushing is also nice, stock you were just getting thrown around with the wind but that was mainly fixed with the lowered suspension. Most newer cars have most of the underbody covered and don't have diffusers, you don't see them flying off. If you're doing speeds to flips a car like that, you are way better off having the panels.
The seals around the bonnet edges, I think, would increase drag. Those gaps allow air to leave the engine bay and that would reduce drag by reducing the force required to make air enter the engine bay through the front radiator vents. In some extreme cases, if you seal the engine bay too well, the engine bay pressure rises so much that it is greater than the pressure at the front of the car and you get reverse air flow. The seals at the rear of the bonnet (near windscreen) should be retained though. The bonnet-windsreen interface is usually a high pressure region so isolating the engine bay from that higher pressure is a good practice.
i dont know if you've ever gotten your hands in one of these. it's a diesel (hint: mileage this low is impossible with the gas variants) so it's fully sealed hood wise, to keep the hood from rattling and to keep the engine noise down. that's something the gas variants of the passat (b5) dont have (they only have the windshield and water ingress seal on the front). that seal is also present on something as cheap and simple as my old kangoo. goes around the engine bay all the way down to the radiator... so sealing in the fender gaps would help aero.
@@comethiburs2326 "so it's fully sealed hood" Have you watched the video? The video showed that the hood was not fully sealed - that's why "B Sport" added seals to the hood. Also, have a look at the parts diagram for the passat engine bay - you won't find a seal on the side of the bonnet. Have a think about it - air is rammed into the engine bay through the grill then radiator - where does it go after that? This video may help to explain the issue: ruclips.net/video/NgGRwLANkj4/видео.htmlsi=RWGtMiAfvIB_x6KY
Disagree. Sealing the engine bay makes pressure inside the engine bay rise so that less air enters it, i.e. less air flow through the engine bay. This leads to lower drag. Engine bay pressure could rise to above atmospheric pressure to reach atmospheric pressure + dynamic pressure of air moving towards the car, but never higher. This ensures that reverse airflow would not occur.
Sure, sealing it might help drag if you didn’t have need for air in the engine bay. But you do need air in there, don’t you? Your coolant radiator, air conditioner, trans cooler need air, we’ll, they don’t need air, they need air flow.
@@zeitgeist785 Yes, but you don't need as much air in there as you get stock. Increasing flow resistance through the engine bay by partially sealing the outlets yields lower overall drag, as there is less air flowing through the engine bay. Compare it to a battery connected to a resistor. Raising the resistors resistance does not increase consumption of electrical energy, even though its resistance is higher and power is resistance multiplied by the square of the current. In fact, the current drops such that the total power consumption is reduced. You'll see this as electrical power is also equal to the square of the voltage divided by the electrical resistance. In this example, the electrical resistance is analogous to the flow resistance, the electrical current is analogous to the airflow and the power is analogous to the energy lost per unit time to drag.
This is awesome! I showed my dad, he drives a 2010 Passat wagon with petrol engine and DSG. He says he gets about 33mpg US at most. Similar climate in SE WI it sounds like, but his driving is a lot more urban than yours. Still, some cool ideas and the car looks good too!
I've seen this being done to other cars too and now I kinda wanna get a car to do this with. Tbh the moondisks with the whitewalls look pretty good on the Passat of this generation as well lol
I'm watching with apt interest. I recently bought an Atlas Cross Sport VR6 4motion and have been very disappoint with the fuel econony. Almost 10,000 miles worth of driving and most fuel fills don't even last 300 mi. VW's claim was 18 mpg city and 24 highway. Idrive all highway but about 30-40% of those miles are in LA so really mixed. I think I've had one tank that averaged over 20 mpg but just barely. I've only seen my dash display show over 21 like 3 or 4 times. It usually averages out to about 17.5-18.5.
Holy cow!!! 80 mph fuel consumption is in the Prius's area. Impressive to say the least. Imagine a dedicated body panels and chasis designed for reducing aerodynamic drags - for example, complete under body panels; front and rear wheel well covers; sides mirrors replaced with pinhole cameras.
I love this video so far, but you've said you added more toe in than OEM specified for "better handling"? I do agree adding a little bit in the rear might positively effect the grip on that axle, I'm pretty sure that more toe in on the front will not make it handle better It will make it a tad more stable in a straight line, less nervous, as having a slight bit of toe out would make the steer in response more, well, responsive, too responsive for most people But I was always under the impression that having almost neutral toe on the front is the best for sporty driving, just enought toe in to not feel nervous, but not too much to make it react sluggish to the steering input
Another thing you could do if you are good with any bondo or other body work materials is cover the unused vents to create a smooth surface this would further reduce drag you could even install a small diffuser that will increase some down force but should also create less drag if you want to goto the extreme remove the door handles and once again smooth it out with something else just maybe have a latch underneath to get in next you could have vents coming from above or on the side next to wheel well to reduce the air tumble caused from the tire and extract it out the side further reducing drag and adding some cooling another thing you could do is add a vent somewhere along the hood to reduce the pressure and heat under the hood
I expected some Vortex Generators before watching. We tried a VG geometry similar to Airtab's VG's in our universities Shell Eco-marathon/Efficiency Challenge car and it was promising in CFD. But had to pause the project because we didn't have any time left for Wind Tunnel/flow-vis/cotton thread testing before the competition.
Ich glaube 2017/2018 habe ich das Auto mal auf der A9 gesehen. Finde Tuning mit Köpfchen ganz toll :) Man hätte noch den 5. Gang verlängern können, aber deine Verbesserung im Spritverbrauch ist auch so sehr sehr beachtlich!
Ich habe das Auto schon 2016 zurückgebaut und verkauft. War aber bis dahin viel auf der A9 unterwegs. Der Antriebsstrang sollte Serie bleiben um den Aufwand gering zu halten.
Kann natürlich auch schon früher gewesen sein, so genau kann ich mich da nicht erinnern, aber bei dem Video kam die Erinnerung wieder hoch, dass mir mal ein Passat mit Moon Caps aufgefallem ist. Habe mir gerade zu der Zeit auch Gedanken gemacht, wie ich den Verbrauch durch Aero Mods senken kann. Leider fehlt mir da das Wissen, um da so in die Tiefe gehen zu können, wie du das gemacht hast. 5. Gang verlängern ist ja bei den VW Getrieben durch den Deckel seitlich am Getriebe schnell gemacht, durch den geringeren Luftwiderstand hätte der Motor auch die Kraftreserven gehabt, verstehe jedoch auch, wenn du das möglichst original lassen möchtest, damit auch alle elektronischen Systeme am Fahrzeug weiter funktionieren, ohne flashen zu müssen.
Ansonsten wäre ja ein Spoiler noch cool gewesen. Habe letztens ein Video dazu gesehen, dass ein Design, ähnlich dem Cosworth Escort den Anpressdruck erhöht und den ,,Drag" reduziert.
very nice job man,i always hate thoes gaps between panels, the only thing you got left is change the gearbox and put a 6 speed with custom gears, so engine runs at lower rpm, but we all know thats a lot more easy to say it than to do it hahhaha
This is very cool! I think if you took the roof rails off and did the full moon wheel covers, you’d save an easy 5-10 % on fuel consumption. 90% of us don’t use our roof racks anyway. I gained 10% taking my lumber rack off of my work van, alone.
I coupl probably extract more efficiency from my 63 Corvair Monza, i dont have brake ducts or front intakes to deal with and mist of the vehicle is flat on the bottom. Could definitely use the wheel covers and maybe a adjustment to the front lower area.
It is more important that the average cars , that accounts for millions of real world km, uses 1L less than to design an absolute record prototype car. So , your experiment has much value in the real world. Well done 👍
nice video, quite instructive... i think that I might have, maybe, installed a fan topush some air through the exhaust system 'tunnel', maybe hooked to the switch for the radiator fan, so that it would provide a small airflow in that exhaust tunnel, whenever the car's radiator needed air, normally when stopped, so that you wouldn't overheat rustproofing paint/wax, sound absorption, or interior mat materials...but, hey, just an idea, cheap, efficient, easy, and just that extra bit of margin for safety...
I used to engine brake a lot but I think, Jason from engineering explained said it was a bad idea :/. So I check in my rear view of there is a car behind, so I can let the car coast to a slow safe stop :).
This was very interesting. Would be nice to know which of the mods made the greatest/lowest drag reduction contribution, but I guess it'd take too much time to figure it out separately one by one. Really cool video! 👍👍👍
@@rkan2 That would be your educated guess? I do not have the "feel" for stuff like this. It'd be really interesting to know full on real numbers - I'm weird like that, what can you do.
@@griffn14the lowering certainly had the biggest impact, I would say next is sealing the wheels from the outside which is about as good as sealing the underside. I am not sure about sealing the front air intakes from the inside, a flush sealing from the outside would have been better but probably harder to apply.
Have you considered an upgraded exhaust system and ecu tune? Less exhaust restrictions lets the engine work more easily and reduces pumping losses. (A sport system can be quiet as well). Also a rear spoiler/diffuser can reduce drag/turbulence as can smaller mirrors. Awesome content and experiment!
The results of the individual steps would have been interesting. Aerodynamics changes can be surprising, especially if you don't have data on the pressure distribution over the vehicle , Lowering the car doesn't change its frontal area, (apart from the small portion of wheel concealed), but it would likely improve the handling and reduce the underbody turbulence. The cooling mods certainly make sense; most cars are overcooled. Direct-driven fans absorb a lot of power when they are least needed. If they are removed and the car overheats when stationary, it's always possible to turn on the heater and open the windows. (Do not do this if you have to participate in a funeral procession on a hot day.)
Yes, I would have liked that too. Lowering the car by 40mm reduced frontal area by 2% in my case, plus I removed the roof rails later on. So it's not a lot but it is something. No roof rails also reduced turbulence on top. This car doesn't have directly driven fans, just 2 electric fans which were never on. I did increase cooling at track days with my Smart Roadster through the interior heating as you say. No roof and turned the heating up. I took the front trunk box out for better flow through the radiator.
A 25% reduction in highway fuel consumption is impressive. Even more given the car looks so stock still.
Wish there was a way to make the disc wheels look more stock
@@Eduardo_Espinoza maybe getting them painted like a normal wheel?
@@Eduardo_EspinozaNot sure if would be as efficient, but some manufacturers guide air around the wheels (think it’s called an air curtain)
Brakes need cooling, priving brakes from airflow is a safety hazard.
It looks stupid. Simply not worth doing
I mean, with the lowering springs, moon discs, white walls and roof rail delete it got a simple yet unique vibe
It had a bit of Back to the Future Part III vibe for sure.
I mean, honestly though.
The car actually looks really good, like the concept sketches they do when creating designs.
Thanks!
I am very surprised with how large of an efficiency gain you had! Great work. Have you done this to your current daily driver?
Thanks, I have done similar modifications to later daily cars but not as extensively as on this one.
@@BSport320 whats the milers per gallon improvement? think flight says he got almost 18 percent improvement in subaru flat 4 wagon
@@kalmmonke5037 the math is quite simple, by the numbers he gives, it was roughly 20% on countryroads and 25% on the autobahn
@@BSport320 I drive a 3 liter ( 100 km ) diesel car and I would really like moon discs. How to mount them and do you sell ? I use 195/55x16 tires and in Denmark. Martin Siebert
1+ liter per 100km - just hilarious, even in my poor country with pricey gasoline - it's nothing, just 20l for 2k trip, costs about 100 euro extra 🤷♂
_(implying you are not poisoned by eco-populists)_
Your car looks like a futuristic concept car from the early 2000s, and I love it. It reminds me of my childhood days when I would spend hours staring at concept car photos.
About 20 years ago I did a similar experiment on my historic race car. I removed the wing mirrors and wipers, taped up the front panels and part of the front grille. It certainly helped reduce the lap time.
The idea of using foam between the panels sounds very good and better than using "helicopter tape" which left a mess to polish out.
too bad back then we dont have wi
ng cams like honda E lol
Martin, please keep doing what you’re doing. Love your videos!
Thanks! Glad you like it!
Even though I would not go this far on my cars it's nice to get some inspiration and see how much the modifications improve aerodynamics.
Loving this. I've got a Touran converted to electric where low drag is even more important. The exhaust duct and air intakes are already closed off because we barely generate any heat at all. But that is only 2 of your 15 measures completed. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sounds great!
Interesting! Could you describe the conversion?
The 1.9TDI PDE is always remarkable in its fuel economy. A relative of mine has a 131hp 6 speed 1.9 in a Sharan, which is the biggest actual "car" you could get, maybe the Caddy Maxi is longer yes. But above that was the busses / transporter vehicles you could say. Well back to the story, despite being a very high and a moderatly long car with a huge windscreen, it is driven without every thinking about it, with 6,5l/100km. If you drive constantly with a little effort then 5,X is no problem. I drove it once and got 4,3l/100km on a 80km trip, 20km country road, 5km city, 55km Autobahn. But I also only drove 90-105km/h, much less than you with 130. Still for such a big car, I am always surprised, and it is not even really slow, the 1.9TDI has a lot of torgue until 2500rpm. VW was a very early adopter of offering 6 speed gearboxes even in cheaper cars and smaller engines, not just in sports cars.
Exactly, i have a 2003 Alhambra with a chip mod for 150hp but also low ratios at lower ranges for fuel efficiency. that means that it has a higer turbo lag but i managed to acheive a 5,0l/100km on a 5000+km trip through the balkans (mountains etc) from Poland to Poland through basically all the balcan countries. Lowest avg i had was 3,7l/km on a 200km segment somewhere in Slovenia or Croatia, i dont remember.
i cruised at about 90km/h without cruise control and managed to refuel iirc just 4 times during the whole trip.
Also i thisn it has had the egr blocked at the time.
Great stuff. I did a similar project a few years ago with a Polo 1.2 TDi. Got it basically for scrap money so hadn't anything to lose really. I stripped a lot of weight out as well. Was able to push over 100mpg out of it
Interesting. I've thought about doing something similar, but didn't think it'd be worth the effort. 20+% improvements definitely seems worth it, thanks for this.
The content level is pleasing and precise. Clear data and both including metric and imperial units. Bravo.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Very thorough explanation, and a good do-it-yourself project. I would like to have seen your fuel mileage after you repaired/serviced the engine, but before your aero mods. Cheers from Canada.
Yea, me too! Like I said, I sold this car years ago and didn't take this data at the time.
Now we can only estimate. He went from 5.5 to 4.1. Wheel alignment and engine service could have lowered the consumption to 5.2, maybe 5.0, but not less.
Perhaps also consider what the official manufacturer specs where for fuel economy at the time of the sale (2006). And yes, I know it’s done in ideal conditions etc. but it’s another data point to compare to.
@@goldenhandcuffsclaimed consumption is usually easy to beat with 130km/h on the highway. My parents did a trip with 4.8 l petrol going 120 on a 1998 family car. Specs where 5.5 or something.
I’ve seen videos doing this, but seeing someone more qualified is a lot more intriguing.
You have presented it very well like a case study project
The Passat Variant already had a good (for 2006) drag coefficient of I think 0.29 or 0.3 (there was a Bluemotion version that even lowered this by 10% or so). Your modifications go even further and you may have been in the 0.25 range, possibly even lower. My current car, an 150HP TDI Arteon Shooting Brake, which is at 0.26, uses around 5.5-5.8l/100km with a not insignificant city driving ratio. I can easily dip it below 5l /100km, depending on the route and traffic. I find that quite impressive, considering this car is physically larger, weighs 1700 kg, has fat tires (235/18s), all modern creature comforts, safety features and is loaded with tech.
DSG (a dry one) helps by 0.5L/100km easy and even more in the city.
My brick of a car (2006 Honda Element) gets about 10L/100km, or 23mpg. I'm pretty jealous of your aero lol
@@smileyguyz that's good for an element, i have a 2.5 inline 5 jetta wagon and i have difficulty to get under 10L/100km, i think my best was 9L/100km during a few 1200 km trips between my work and my parents home
Engineering at its best!
Absolut genial was du da gemacht hast! Ich wäre extrem interessiert an einem leichten, minimalistischen, schwach motorisierten Kombi der auf Effizienz getrimmt ist.
Ein Freund von mir hatte einen Renault Megane BJ 2015, 1.5dci mit 6 Gang HSG .
Wenn man den sparsam fuhr (Tempo 90-100 auf der Autobahn) merkt man dass das Kühlwasser nicht auf Temperatur kam. Wir vermuteten immer dass das Auto mit dem selben Kühlpaket wie der 1.9dci ausgestattet wurde.
Trotz lausiger aerodynamik konnte man den Megane problemlos mit 3.6l pro 100km fahren.
Im Alltag mit Tempo 120-130 lag der Verbrauch immernoch bei respektablen 4,3l pro 100km.
Would be nice if you had measured change in efficiency with each individual mod. Still pretty cool to see efficiency mods like this, and thanks for not making the video longer than necessary
So much stuff that a layman like me wouldn’t think of! And interesting to hear your process.
Sehr interessantes Video, ich bin grad in einer sehr ähnlichen lage und optimiere meinen T4 1.9 td auch auf Verbrauch. Die Aerodynamik habe ich noch nicht angepasst, bin aber durch Anpassung der ESP und durch eine sehr lange Übersetzung jerzt bei 5,2L bei 10% Stadtverkehr, 20% Landstraße und 70% Autobahn bei 100km/h. Durch einen größeren Pumpenkopf und Anpassung des Spritzbeginns habe ich den Mitteldruck erhöht und den MFB50 näher an OT gebracht.
Das Fahrwerk habe ich auf eine möglichst gerade Spur eingestellt und die reifen (195/65r15) mit 3,8 bar bei maximalem Druck.
Ich fahre täglich 180km Strecke zu meinem Ingenieurspraktikum wo ich in der Motorentwicklung Arbeite und am Wochenende 380km in die Heimat.
OK also motorseitig schon einiges gemacht. Aero ist bei einem Bus natürlich eine Herausforderung.
Excellent work! Very thoroughly and thoughtfully done! I know the exercise here is only aerodynamic improvements fit for your use case with a stock drivetrain but I would have been interested in additional modifications such as optimizing top transmission gear to sit at the most efficient RPM when at 80mph or other mechanical improvements and trade-offs.
First hot glue mention I obviously have to be: "oh well armchair this and that... Temporary at best... No good"
Later on: "and then I just sat the rack back on and all the holes in the roof opened as if divinity"
I actually stood and applauded. Bravo.
Great video!
If only the standard customer would have just a little technical understanding, manufacturers wouldn’t need to oversize most components. Cars would be cheaper, lighter and more aero.
Very true, but if a customer reports an overheating engine or brakes, it's bad for the manufacturer.
Yes, but most people are generally completely oblivious, so that's why.
For themselves and for other road users.
Plus, not all roads are flat like a pool table, like they are in Germany.
Plus, not all fuels are of the same rating around the world.
That's why the manufacturers must assume the worst.
Plus, after driving for the last 35 years, with 50k per year, I've never been in an accident, but I'm still glad the car has crumple zones and airbags...
So, in a way, your remark is unfounded.
The closest one could get towards the cars you mentioned, is an 80's medium or lower class car, which, in case of an accident, crumples up around the occupants.
And if the occupants didn't die instantly from the crash itself, he or she would die in the subsequent fire.
Oversizing is better than operating on the edge. This improves lifetime.
@@dennismarks6133 Oversizing is mostly a sign of an engineer that’s either afraid to make a decision or doesn’t know what he’s doing… or both. A field especially plagued by this is civil engineering.
@@AR_434 No. You need some buffer in case something unpredicted happens. If you don't do that, you failed as an engineer.
I changed tire size from 205 to 185 and the fuel economy improved a good amount, less rolling resistance, I also installed turbine wheels from an older Mercedes that look similar to your moon discs.
I’m glad you were able to close off so much without the heat becoming an issue for braking, and engine cooling.
If the average person applied you methods, the following conditions would be likely.
1. Excessive break pad wear.
2. Warped break discs.
3. Hydro locked engine. (Most drivers don’t think about big puddles)
4. Blown head gasket, or over heating engine damage.
Glad you warned that your mods were based on your driving needs. Unfortunately manufacturers have to try and design for those that pay no attention to conditions or maintenance.
Your success shows just how much performance is lent on the table.
Just out of curiosity, was your car one of the dreaded diesel gate cars?
I enjoy your videos, thanks.
That's the reason I don't recommend any of this to anyone.
I basically tried the things on my own car, I was not allowed to do to customer cars at my work in the technical development.
The typical British hydrolocking would actually be less of a problem because the typical wave when hitting the water wouldn't splash right into the airfilter. That path was blocked at my car.
Brake cooling on this car would still have been enough for 95% of customers and even in the Summer with air conditioning in traffic jam, the engine never reached more than 100deg water. So also that would be fine for most customers and the bluemotion models of VW confirm that.
The only reason to open the upper air intake is a so-called "pull-down" at 45deg ambient temperature. So a hot car being cooled down inside as quickly as possible. With a closed upper air intake that takes slightly longer.
This car was pre Diesel Gate
Thats the awesome part of being an engineer and know what u r doing
And the best part is you don't have to be an engineer at all. Just using common sense is fully sufficient for these modifications.
this is the sort of modification im into. something cheap and practical that won't drastically change the car from its stock specs.
Great instruction video 👏🏻 I’m glad RUclips brought me here:D I’ve been considering similar modifications on my daily drive Škoda Felicia 1.9D for a while. First mod after new tyres was upper vent cover, and now I’m planning to cover more underneath parts
That's really impressive! I'm definitely going to fit the engine undertray that was missing on my car when I got it!
First time I have watched a "video" with only pics. I dont even have a Volkswagen but this got me hooked. A
Awesome! I didn't expect it to be that much more efficient. I also think it looks really sleek and cool without the roof rails and with the moon disks!
Glad you like it!
Good job, man! Additionally, you can further improve the drag coefficient with more aerodynamic outer mirrors, changing the door handles for flush ones and lowering the windshield wipers into the bonnet. Thanks for your valuable contribution.
This was way more interesting than I expected
Years ago I did a fair amount of sealing around the radiator combo of a Volvo C30 for the same reasons you give here. Removed everything before selling the car too. I did some tufting on the rear hatch but decided that any modifications there would be too eye catching. I had experimented with tufting before on a glider's wing, to help with turbulator strip placement :)
Very intersting! Roughly 20% better, impressive 🏅
Das ganze hat mich inspiriert auch etwas an meinem Fahrzeug zu verändern (Golf 7 GTD Variant), auch wenn es das exakte Gegenteil ist. Mein Problem waren sehr hohe Öltemperaturen bei Vollgasfahrten. Ich habe also alle Dämmungen entfernt und den Unterboden gewechselt um mehr Luft in den Motorraum strömen zu lassen zudem habe ich auch das Öl zu einem dickerem gewechselt um den Motor bei diesen Fahrten zu unterstützen. Seit dem bleibe ich wenigstens unter 130 Grad Öl. Den Rest muss der Ölwechsel alle 7000 Km richten. Der Verbrauch ist natürlich gestiegen.
Die Woche über bin ich eigentlich nur innerorts unterwegs, hier merkt man also wenig von den Änderungen. Am Wochenende habe ich oft ca 180+ Km offene Autobahn. Hier schaffe ich es nur selten den Fuß von Gas zu lassen und bewege mich meist über 230 km/h Tacho.
Impressive results. It is interesting that you didn't sell the car, in the modded state for more. I would consider your use case to be quite beneficial to many.
Great video. Done this stuff to my Lexus 10 years ago. People this does work.
I like the sleek look
Very interesting, thank you.
Very interesting.
“I’m a quick driver”. Best way to reduce fuel consumption with *no work at all* is slow down 😂. Changing driving style is the the single most effective way of reducing fuel consumption.
I have a W220 S320 Mercedes. During recent fuel shortages because of strikes in France I reduced my average consumption by 15% (down from 8.6l/100km to 7.3) just by driving at 70 instead of 85 in an 80 limit and 100 instead of 115 in a 110 limit and accelerating more gently and planning ahead better. At the time everyone was driving more slowly and more carefully for the same reason. It didn’t even impact journey times significantly. I very regularly use my car for the same 105-km journey. Typical journey times roughly went from 1h12m to 1h20m. As you say use case is also important.
It’s a great argument for taking driving away from drivers and putting it in the hands of AI; robots would do the job far better…
It's coll that when I look at my 2015 Polo TDI, and compare it to my 2002 Golf Variant TDI, I see lots of elements that are similar to this video. No wonder the thing is so frugal if I drive slowly.
Tolles Video! Wäre unheimlich spannend zu wissen wie viel einzelne Veränderungen ausmachen. Die Felgen und die Tieferlegung alleine dürften schon grosse Veränderungen mit sich bringen.
Danke! Ja beim nächsten Umbau messe ich nach jedem Schritt😁
This is very cool! Thanks for sharing, I’m impressed with the gains!
Amazing efficiency results!
Stark durchdacht
und das Optimum an Effizienz rausgeholt
Tolles Video 👍🏻
Danke!
This is real hypermiling 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I have never seen those moondiscs, they are effective and look cool.
Love the video - great job man.
Thank you for the time and effort.
It would be amazing if you could make tests like - fuel consumption with moon disks, fuel consumption with foam, fuel consumption with lower springs, fuel consumption with new tires, fuel consumption with plates under the car... etc
We would have a hint with what we should begin with :)
I have a Honda Fit/Jazz from 2003 and I would love to make some improvements...
that very cool way make car how you need it mi respect
There’s a guy in like Oregon or Washington in the USA who claims to have gotten an old F250 over 25mpg (would have been like 15mpg or worse normally) with similar ideas. Covered all the undercarriage with plates, built a custom lid for his bed that was aero, put in a button starter so he would never idle, removed the a/c and a whole bunch of other parts to drop weight. The truck was functional but not really as a truck anymore. It’s funny because he could have just started with a car that got better mileage, like in this case.
I always wanted to do this
So cool to see someone actually do it
Awesome work
And the car came out looking AMAZING as well
Great ideas thank you
Glad you like them!
Impressive project. Also cool thing you mentioned that you removed the mods before selling to avoid fire hazard for the next owner.
Very interesting project. I used to own a BMW E46 320d and it was also really economical and I hypermiled it a lot. I was able to bring the fuel consumption down to 4.7l on my commute to work (country/highway roads with max 100km/h). At normal Autobahn speeds on my trip to France (120-160km/h) I managed 1000km with 5,3l/100km
I'd wonder how much could be achieved with those kinds of modifications on this model.
You can get similar gains in fuel efficiency by other means (depending on the car). for example, I used to hae a 1072 Triumph Dolomite 1850 with a 4 speed manyal gearbox. In these cars the exhaust is particularly restrictive, so I replaced it with a rally spec exhaust and downpipe. Nothing else was done and average fuel economy improved from 30 mpg to 36mpg (UK gallons) and there was a modest improvement in performance.
The other case ws on a 244 Volvo (B21A engine and 4 speen manual gearbox. I knew the car would need a new clutch soon, so with the help of the 240 specialist in the Volvo enthusiasts club, I also replaced the gearbox with an Overdrive one (0.67 overdrive) at rhe same time as the new clutch. Again nothing else was changed. this time fuel ecinomy improved from an average of 28mpg to 34mpg. Granted these would probably have cost more than in this VW's case (A custom rally exhaust and downpipe is NOT cheap, neither is an overdrive gearbosx an a new clutch) but the results were just as wotrh rthe expense as I kept these two cars for another 5 years or so.
Excellent engineering effort
Ein Ingolstädter Audianer, Reife Leistung!
Grüße aus Neckarsulm
Danke! Grüße zurück!
And yet again it is proven, that by applying simple modifications, a significant improvement in efficiency can be realized. It is more than time, that all automobile manufacturers start designing cars that are efficient, instead of fashion statements.
I absolutely love this video! It would be really cool to see a build series of you modifying a car for a similar purpose!
Thanks a lot! Maybe in the future again.
Good info, Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Great job. It would be interesting to measure the impact of every modification and known which one make the greatest effect. Did you do some modifications in your current car? Looking forward to it
amazing, how much I learned about aerodynamics
Glad I could help!
Easy and informative!
Great job, as usual!
Glad you liked it!
Awesome videos and great enginerring. I have a VW Polo with the 1.6 TDI. Like the last one ever sold. These engines are so awesome. Had the Passat with 1.9 TDI as well. Just awesome quality. I can use some of your ideas.
Thanks for sharing!
You sir are a LEGEND.
Love your project! You can also add a lower front lip, so less air go under the car. Removing weight from car helps too like lightweight car battery, fiberglass hood no spare tire and lightweight seats.
It may not help a lot at steady state cruising, but in the city perhaps
@@RennieAsh that is true but if you cruising on hills then still you get the benefit of less weight. I myself saw a 15% + increase of consumption from cruising on hills even though downhill riding is like 0 consumption going uphill even few degrees it kills the overall consumption.
My 2 door yaris has full underbody panels and the handling and mpg improvement is very noticeable since stock these things have no panels and are essentially parachutes underneath
does it have some type of diffuser? if you just cover the underbody with panels theres a risk of the car raising from the ground at high speeds
@@PaulTC777 Calm down there, this is a street car not a CLK GT R that is 4 feet tall. No I don't have a diffuser, I just wanted to smooth things out which it did because now I can cruise at 90mph with no hand on the wheel and it goes dead straight. No side winds pushing is also nice, stock you were just getting thrown around with the wind but that was mainly fixed with the lowered suspension. Most newer cars have most of the underbody covered and don't have diffusers, you don't see them flying off. If you're doing speeds to flips a car like that, you are way better off having the panels.
you made the design better.
The seals around the bonnet edges, I think, would increase drag. Those gaps allow air to leave the engine bay and that would reduce drag by reducing the force required to make air enter the engine bay through the front radiator vents. In some extreme cases, if you seal the engine bay too well, the engine bay pressure rises so much that it is greater than the pressure at the front of the car and you get reverse air flow. The seals at the rear of the bonnet (near windscreen) should be retained though. The bonnet-windsreen interface is usually a high pressure region so isolating the engine bay from that higher pressure is a good practice.
i dont know if you've ever gotten your hands in one of these. it's a diesel (hint: mileage this low is impossible with the gas variants)
so it's fully sealed hood wise, to keep the hood from rattling and to keep the engine noise down.
that's something the gas variants of the passat (b5) dont have (they only have the windshield and water ingress seal on the front).
that seal is also present on something as cheap and simple as my old kangoo. goes around the engine bay all the way down to the radiator...
so sealing in the fender gaps would help aero.
@@comethiburs2326 "so it's fully sealed hood" Have you watched the video? The video showed that the hood was not fully sealed - that's why "B Sport" added seals to the hood. Also, have a look at the parts diagram for the passat engine bay - you won't find a seal on the side of the bonnet. Have a think about it - air is rammed into the engine bay through the grill then radiator - where does it go after that? This video may help to explain the issue: ruclips.net/video/NgGRwLANkj4/видео.htmlsi=RWGtMiAfvIB_x6KY
Disagree. Sealing the engine bay makes pressure inside the engine bay rise so that less air enters it, i.e. less air flow through the engine bay. This leads to lower drag.
Engine bay pressure could rise to above atmospheric pressure to reach atmospheric pressure + dynamic pressure of air moving towards the car, but never higher. This ensures that reverse airflow would not occur.
Sure, sealing it might help drag if you didn’t have need for air in the engine bay. But you do need air in there, don’t you? Your coolant radiator, air conditioner, trans cooler need air, we’ll, they don’t need air, they need air flow.
@@zeitgeist785 Yes, but you don't need as much air in there as you get stock. Increasing flow resistance through the engine bay by partially sealing the outlets yields lower overall drag, as there is less air flowing through the engine bay.
Compare it to a battery connected to a resistor. Raising the resistors resistance does not increase consumption of electrical energy, even though its resistance is higher and power is resistance multiplied by the square of the current. In fact, the current drops such that the total power consumption is reduced. You'll see this as electrical power is also equal to the square of the voltage divided by the electrical resistance.
In this example, the electrical resistance is analogous to the flow resistance, the electrical current is analogous to the airflow and the power is analogous to the energy lost per unit time to drag.
Nice video. I have the same 1.9tdi passat. Learned a few new things about it :D Thanks!
This is awesome! I showed my dad, he drives a 2010 Passat wagon with petrol engine and DSG. He says he gets about 33mpg US at most. Similar climate in SE WI it sounds like, but his driving is a lot more urban than yours.
Still, some cool ideas and the car looks good too!
Sehr schön gemacht!
I've seen this being done to other cars too and now I kinda wanna get a car to do this with. Tbh the moondisks with the whitewalls look pretty good on the Passat of this generation as well lol
I'm watching with apt interest. I recently bought an Atlas Cross Sport VR6 4motion and have been very disappoint with the fuel econony. Almost 10,000 miles worth of driving and most fuel fills don't even last 300 mi. VW's claim was 18 mpg city and 24 highway. Idrive all highway but about 30-40% of those miles are in LA so really mixed. I think I've had one tank that averaged over 20 mpg but just barely. I've only seen my dash display show over 21 like 3 or 4 times. It usually averages out to about 17.5-18.5.
I love this. Inspires me to follow your thinking path.
Very cool! nice to see such a video, gives plenty to think off ;)
Glad you liked it!
Holy cow!!! 80 mph fuel consumption is in the Prius's area. Impressive to say the least. Imagine a dedicated body panels and chasis designed for reducing aerodynamic drags - for example, complete under body panels; front and rear wheel well covers; sides mirrors replaced with pinhole cameras.
I love this video so far, but you've said you added more toe in than OEM specified for "better handling"?
I do agree adding a little bit in the rear might positively effect the grip on that axle, I'm pretty sure that more toe in on the front will not make it handle better
It will make it a tad more stable in a straight line, less nervous, as having a slight bit of toe out would make the steer in response more, well, responsive, too responsive for most people
But I was always under the impression that having almost neutral toe on the front is the best for sporty driving, just enought toe in to not feel nervous, but not too much to make it react sluggish to the steering input
Another thing you could do if you are good with any bondo or other body work materials is cover the unused vents to create a smooth surface this would further reduce drag you could even install a small diffuser that will increase some down force but should also create less drag if you want to goto the extreme remove the door handles and once again smooth it out with something else just maybe have a latch underneath to get in next you could have vents coming from above or on the side next to wheel well to reduce the air tumble caused from the tire and extract it out the side further reducing drag and adding some cooling another thing you could do is add a vent somewhere along the hood to reduce the pressure and heat under the hood
thats really cool. well done
I expected some Vortex Generators before watching.
We tried a VG geometry similar to Airtab's VG's in our universities Shell Eco-marathon/Efficiency Challenge car and it was promising in CFD. But had to pause the project because we didn't have any time left for Wind Tunnel/flow-vis/cotton thread testing before the competition.
Vortex generators make sense to re-energize weak flow to follow a certain shape, but I didn't have such a problem at this car's shape.
Ich glaube 2017/2018 habe ich das Auto mal auf der A9 gesehen.
Finde Tuning mit Köpfchen ganz toll :)
Man hätte noch den 5. Gang verlängern können, aber deine Verbesserung im Spritverbrauch ist auch so sehr sehr beachtlich!
Ich habe das Auto schon 2016 zurückgebaut und verkauft. War aber bis dahin viel auf der A9 unterwegs.
Der Antriebsstrang sollte Serie bleiben um den Aufwand gering zu halten.
Kann natürlich auch schon früher gewesen sein, so genau kann ich mich da nicht erinnern, aber bei dem Video kam die Erinnerung wieder hoch, dass mir mal ein Passat mit Moon Caps aufgefallem ist. Habe mir gerade zu der Zeit auch Gedanken gemacht, wie ich den Verbrauch durch Aero Mods senken kann.
Leider fehlt mir da das Wissen, um da so in die Tiefe gehen zu können, wie du das gemacht hast.
5. Gang verlängern ist ja bei den VW Getrieben durch den Deckel seitlich am Getriebe schnell gemacht, durch den geringeren Luftwiderstand hätte der Motor auch die Kraftreserven gehabt, verstehe jedoch auch, wenn du das möglichst original lassen möchtest, damit auch alle elektronischen Systeme am Fahrzeug weiter funktionieren, ohne flashen zu müssen.
Ansonsten wäre ja ein Spoiler noch cool gewesen.
Habe letztens ein Video dazu gesehen, dass ein Design, ähnlich dem Cosworth Escort den Anpressdruck erhöht und den ,,Drag" reduziert.
very nice job man,i always hate thoes gaps between panels, the only thing you got left is change the gearbox and put a 6 speed with custom gears, so engine runs at lower rpm, but we all know thats a lot more easy to say it than to do it hahhaha
Nice video. It helps!
Really nice! So, now I'm curious to see what you've done with your current car 😊
Like the high-downforce package on my VW Bora during university?😅
This is very cool! I think if you took the roof rails off and did the full moon wheel covers, you’d save an easy 5-10 % on fuel consumption. 90% of us don’t use our roof racks anyway. I gained 10% taking my lumber rack off of my work van, alone.
I coupl probably extract more efficiency from my 63 Corvair Monza, i dont have brake ducts or front intakes to deal with and mist of the vehicle is flat on the bottom. Could definitely use the wheel covers and maybe a adjustment to the front lower area.
Excellent
It is more important that the average cars , that accounts for millions of real world km, uses 1L less than to design an absolute record prototype car. So , your experiment has much value in the real world. Well done 👍
nice video, quite instructive... i think that I might have, maybe, installed a fan topush some air through the exhaust system 'tunnel', maybe hooked to the switch for the radiator fan, so that it would provide a small airflow in that exhaust tunnel, whenever the car's radiator needed air, normally when stopped, so that you wouldn't overheat rustproofing paint/wax, sound absorption, or interior mat materials...but, hey, just an idea, cheap, efficient, easy, and just that extra bit of margin for safety...
Very impressive! Did you also do calculations on each improvement to see what hade the most impact on fuel consumption?
I used to engine brake a lot but I think, Jason from engineering explained said it was a bad idea :/.
So I check in my rear view of there is a car behind, so I can let the car coast to a slow safe stop :).
This was very interesting. Would be nice to know which of the mods made the greatest/lowest drag reduction contribution, but I guess it'd take too much time to figure it out separately one by one. Really cool video! 👍👍👍
Thanks!
I did it one by one back in the day but unfortunately don't have the car anymore to measure it now.
It is probably like 0.5L/100km lowering it, 0.3L/100km sealing the underside and the rest from sealing up the front and removing the roof rails.
@@rkan2 That would be your educated guess? I do not have the "feel" for stuff like this. It'd be really interesting to know full on real numbers - I'm weird like that, what can you do.
@@griffn14the lowering certainly had the biggest impact, I would say next is sealing the wheels from the outside which is about as good as sealing the underside. I am not sure about sealing the front air intakes from the inside, a flush sealing from the outside would have been better but probably harder to apply.
So, lowering and sealing the wheels and underside. Seems about the most logical. 👍 Cheers!
Have you considered an upgraded exhaust system and ecu tune? Less exhaust restrictions lets the engine work more easily and reduces pumping losses. (A sport system can be quiet as well). Also a rear spoiler/diffuser can reduce drag/turbulence as can smaller mirrors. Awesome content and experiment!
He would've had to fight TÜV restrictions on some of those mods probably
Great explanation
Glad it was helpful!
The results of the individual steps would have been interesting. Aerodynamics changes can be surprising, especially if you don't have data on the pressure distribution over the vehicle , Lowering the car doesn't change its frontal area, (apart from the small portion of wheel concealed), but it would likely improve the handling and reduce the underbody turbulence.
The cooling mods certainly make sense; most cars are overcooled. Direct-driven fans absorb a lot of power when they are least needed. If they are removed and the car overheats when stationary, it's always possible to turn on the heater and open the windows. (Do not do this if you have to participate in a funeral procession on a hot day.)
Yes, I would have liked that too.
Lowering the car by 40mm reduced frontal area by 2% in my case, plus I removed the roof rails later on. So it's not a lot but it is something. No roof rails also reduced turbulence on top.
This car doesn't have directly driven fans, just 2 electric fans which were never on.
I did increase cooling at track days with my Smart Roadster through the interior heating as you say. No roof and turned the heating up. I took the front trunk box out for better flow through the radiator.