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Green Gadgets | July 03, 2008 | by Amelia Timbers

Simple Car Modifications Save Gas

High gas prices have also fueled an array of questionable “inventions” designed to improve gas mileage. Rather than dumping an additive into your tank, carrying a talisman or doing a gas-dance before pumping, you might want to consider grabbing a welding gun and streamlining your vehicle the way the manufacturer didn’t. Mechanically-inclined hobbyists are finding that they can make ‘easy’ modifications to their vehicles that increase aerodynamics and therefore fuel efficiency.  Some ideas:

1. Block your grill so that it directs air around your car, rather than under. Air under the cars creates friction against all the exposed machinery. For hot days, an overflow radiator releases heat.

2. A truck bed cap that is slanted from the cab to the tailgate creates sleek lines that direct air past the car, reducing friction.

3. Cars that taper cut drag, which is exactly why the truck bed cap works. The more a car comes to a point at its tail, the less drag. Time to move the trunk..

4. Wheel-well covers! When air moves down the sides of the vehicle, it gets caught up in the wheels. This can be prevented with wheel-well covers, or wheel skirts, that can be painted to match.

5.  An undertray is a plate that covers the bottom of a car, both protecting it and smoothing it out to reduce friction.

Many of them have already been employed to get better mileage in the trucking industry. Info on these modifications is available at hypermiler haven ecomodder.com, and can otherwise be fashioned with standard equipment and some know-how. So ditch the superstitious rituals, make some mods, and get better mileage. 

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Comments By Readers

ok, first, an additive DOES work because it cleans your engine allowing it to run better with less friction/lost energy. 2. block your grill? ya, lets see how far you go before overheating! a/c wont work as well either. what do you think theyre there for? looks?
think about number 2, a bed cover slanted from the top of the cab down to the tailgate? has anyone EVER seen that? if you want mileage, a truck is the last thing to buy! besides, truck beds are designed to create a pocket of air to direct air OVER the bed like that cover thing your talkin about, but without the weight and complete lack of functionality. wheel well covers...like the ones they stopped putting on cars back in the 50's for a reason? they would actually have to stick out so far to not rub the tire of a modern car, it wouldnt do any good. a plate that would protect the entire underside of the car....how much would that weigh again? try around a few hundred pounds. any gain in drag efficiency would be overshadowed three times over by shear weight!

Ron on July 29, 2008 at 09:32 PM

I suggest "RON" actually take a look at the site and think a bit about his arguments and the reasoning given there before he makes the same out tired, recycled claims about how fuel economy never improves no matter what. Sounds like he's just making excuses to be idle and not reduce his own consumption. :)

I get 60mpg in a car from 1991 doing these things, so I can say they're quite real: http://ecomodder.com/forum/em-fuel-log.php?vehicleid=13

Benjamin Jones on November 16, 2008 at 10:31 AM

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