Aeromod nissan leaf improved aerodynamics increased range

[NeilBlanchard]

Thanks - great job on the Kamm back; very clean work.

 

[EdwinC]

I just got a '15 Leaf, and I was curious how you attached the Kamm back. Is it curved on the top? (wondering how thick the material is)

 

[Brenthasty]

1/8th polycarbonate corner seamed with a plastic welder. Attached by a tuseina of #8 screws.

If I did it again, I would attach only to hatch, bend the corners, and attach with good 3m soublestick.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/em-fuel-log.php?vehicleid=9542

My average of over 150mpgE includes 200 mile 70-80 mph weekly road trips, and real world not litefooting it driving. I can push to 200mpgE if I litefoot...

This log is when I pull a loaded 1 ton trailer:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/em-fuel-log.php?vehicleid=8836

The details in the right side bar of each log entry defines the duty.

 

[Durandal]

The blog says 400w of 12v solar panel roof, but the pictures don't have any solar panels on the car. Do you have solar panels that are actually on the car?

 

[Brenthasty]

I will be adding more pics n stuff soon

 

[blimpy]

without a wind tunnel or computer modeling at least.. there is no proof that any of this.. ( except the high tire pressure)
is doing what is claimed.

the mud flap thing is questionable. with no proof.
the grill thing probably ill advised
and the license plate probably could just be removed entirely.

"I took an asprin and women couldn't get enough of me"

YMMV :lol:

 

[NeilBlanchard]

without a wind tunnel or computer modeling at least.. there is no proof that any of this.. ( except the high tire pressure)
is doing what is claimed.

the mud flap thing is questionable. with no proof.
the grill thing probably ill advised
and the license plate probably could just be removed entirely.

"I took an asprin and women couldn't get enough of me"

YMMV :lol:

Over at Ecomodder.com, we have a LOT of proof that aero mods work, and the proof is in the range driven on a charge. I personally have driven a car for about 7 years with a lot of aero mods (including about 5 years with side video mirrors) and I averaged about 50%+ above EPA. The aero mods are a big part of that - at least half of it.

 

[jlv]

we have a LOT of proof that aero mods work, and the proof is in the range driven on a charge.

That sounds like evidence, not proof.

 

[blimpy]

"I took 2 aspirin and women find me irresistible."

this is called anectodatal evidence.

Science works with serious controls of variables in place..

So I will ask again.. has anybody done any computer modeling, or wind tunnel testing ?

High tire pressure is famous milage improving trick.

I believe you when you say you pruned off mirrors ..

but there is the" I put in a lot of effort painting it pink so it MUST go faster" effect.

 

[powersurge]

I really have no interest in chopping off parts of my car or adding tape to holes, or doing any mods on my car... That is for 18 year olds with lots of time and money to throw away....

Even if you could increase range, A "significant improvement" would be, what, 5-10%? With the low cost of charging the Leaf, that would not be worth it. Also, you can kill those savings with a bit higher a/c or heat use...

.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

I averaged more than 50% over EPA on my aero modded car. A lot of people are doing this. Aerodynamic drag is a big part of load on the drivetrain - for typical cars, it is >50% at ~30MPH.

Smooth wheel covers and wheel deflectors and a Kamm back can reduce drag significantly, and installing video mirrors reduces both the Cd and the frontal area.

 

[Durandal]

I really have no interest in chopping off parts of my car or adding tape to holes, or doing any mods on my car... That is for 18 year olds with lots of time and money to throw away....

Even if you could increase range, A "significant improvement" would be, what, 5-10%? With the low cost of charging the Leaf, that would not be worth it. Also, you can kill those savings with a bit higher a/c or heat use...

.

I think the main advantage would be to allow greater range if that is a necessity, or to allow greater speed of travel for the same distance. There are times where I don't have the time to take my normal slow meandering route, and I simply MUST take the freeway. It makes for a huge hit on my range. Now mind you, I've not performed any of the items that have been recommended, but some of the tricks mentioned are well known, and well documented. I guess the best way is for someone to make a model Leaf and throw it in a wind tunnel?

I personally would consider the side mirror camera replacement if there was something available that was bolt-on for me.

 

[Brenthasty]

"the main advantage would be to allow greater range if that is a necessity, or to allow greater speed of travel for the same distance."

bingo
on regular 60 mile runs i have averaged 4 m/kwh at 70 mph!

for those who need "PROOF" they can do thier own study.
the rest of us can take collaborative action and reap the rewards.
the rest can continue driving thier arm chairs dreaming of all the math they could do to "PROOVE" themselves...

"nature is an open source economy"

 

[VitaminJ]

Started my aeromodding today. Like the OP I got a set of mud guards and flipped them. One note, I have a '13 and couldn't find '13+ mud guards, so I bought '11/'12 guards thinking they'd be the same. Well they are nearly the same but there are some changes to the body and they don't quite bolt on like the OP mentioned they did. However they are still very easy to install. I used a heatgun to form the fronts closer to the body because they stuck out pretty bad, and I had to drill a few holes in the fender liner to mount them. On the rears I had to slot the guard to fit over the pinchweld and drill into the pinchweld in the fender for a mounting screw.

All in all looks pretty cool and should definitely help on the highway. Tomorrow I will make a front grill block. Next on the list: lowering springs. I think that's all the low hanging fruit available unless someone has more ideas for aeromods (except wheel covers, they work the best but are too ugly lol).

So far my baseline commuting to and from work is 3.8mi/kwh with the heater and 4.4mi/kwh without. I've kept track for 10 days of commuting now. Just driving with traffic flow and my normal commute speeds.

 

[VitaminJ]

Wow the grill block makes a huge difference! Nothing concrete yet but the car feels way better. At 45-50mph it now feels like it just glides along with hardly any effort. I wasn't going to worry about efficiency today, and I was driving 80mph on the freeway uphill and overtaking people a little faster than I should but I still averaged 4.8mi/kwh this morning. I will continue to monitor; I reset my efficiency meter before I leave the house and before I leave work, every day. I drove a small amount with just the guards and no grill block and it didn't feel nearly this good, that was also Saturday night and I didn't really keep track of anything.

A grill block should be on every Leaf owner's to-do list.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

That's a nice looking grill block! What did you make it out of?

 

[VitaminJ]

Coroplast, corrugated plastic.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Perfect. I may go buy some tonight.

 

[EdwinC]

That looks simple enough. I wonder how much difference that'd make on my mostly-highway commute.

 

[LeftieBiker]

That looks simple enough. I wonder how much difference that'd make on my mostly-highway commute.

Grille blocks seem to help the most with the older liquid-based heaters. I block my 2013, but it doesn't make a dramatic difference, especially at moderate temps.