Aeromod nissan leaf improved aerodynamics increased range

[IssacZachary]

The slots in wheels are there not just for styling but also to help cool the rotors and calipers. It might or might not matter if there were no slots on a Leaf - it would depend on the climate and how hard the brakes were used.

I was wondering that since, they hardly get used compared to most cars, but it doesn't mean that the leaf doesn't need any kind of cooling of brakes.

This is like blocking the front grill. Does the Leaf need cooling there or not? Well it all depends on how and where you drive. I was making a weekly drive all summer that involved a total 10,000ft climb and drop in one day, so no I don't feel like blocking my grill would be a good idea. However, on the whole trip I hardly every use my brakes. So maybe pizza panning the rims would work just fine.

[NeilBlanchard]

Aeromods stage 2!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5wn-x3fFiY

I tried those years ago, and they do not help, and seemed to harm efficiency somewhat.

[jjeff]

Aeromods stage 2!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5wn-x3fFiY

Was this you who did this mod? If so, where did you get your shark fin antenna and what model was it?
I searched Amazon and saw hundreds of different Shark Fin antenna's and was wondering what one to get.
My OEM rod antenna broke in a car wash and have been limping by with a 3" screw, but it doesn't look so hot. Basically all new cars now come with a shark antenna so I was thinking that might be the way to go.
I'm assuming XM works OK with these shark fin antennas, and how does FM work? It still works with my 3" screw but it's not as good at getting some FM channels as well as I remember the OEM rod antenna.

[VitaminJ]

Im a subscriber and saw that one when you uploaded it. So do you think the wheels on the leaf having openings like they do are best covered up? I thought maybe they are like that for a reason other than to simply make them with less weight. I was going to get some corrugated plastic and cut them into circles and put them over my wheels and see if I notice a difference. Probably have to hold them on with zip ties.

Thanks for watching! Yes, I definitely want to do a back-to-back test with the moon disc wheel covers. I am genuinely curious to see what, if any, gains are there. That test should be easy to do. I should also probably test with and without my reverse mud guards as the wheel dam concept has a similar goal to smooth wheels; less turbulence around the wheels.

The underbody is pretty dang smooth on the Leaf, but there may be room for improvement with a little bit of coroplast.

Rear wheel arch covers I have a plan to make but I need to finalize the design. I have a halfway thought out kammback design but I keep running into fitment issues (trying to make it somewhat easily removable).

Today I drove to work and was at a pretty high efficiency of 4.9mi/kwh even though I had the heater on the entire drive and it was in the low 40s this morning. Usually, I don't get that type of efficiency unless it's in the 50s to 60s and I'm not using the heater at all.

[VitaminJ]

This is like blocking the front grill. Does the Leaf need cooling there or not? Well it all depends on how and where you drive. I was making a weekly drive all summer that involved a total 10,000ft climb and drop in one day, so no I don't feel like blocking my grill would be a good idea. However, on the whole trip I hardly every use my brakes. So maybe pizza panning the rims would work just fine.

You are 100% right, it's just a matter of what's needed for the conditions you're driving in. I think we all drive with very little brake use in our Leafs, also, so maximum cooling is not a big requirement.

I tried those years ago, and they do not help, and seemed to harm efficiency somewhat.

Did you document your results at all? What type of vortex generator did you get? As I said in the video it's pretty much 100% theoretical and I have no good way to test except looking for extra dirt on my rear window. Placement in relation to the trailing edge of the car, size, pattern, etc all play a roll.

Was this you who did this mod? If so, where did you get your shark fin antenna and what model was it?
I searched Amazon and saw hundreds of different Shark Fin antenna's and was wondering what one to get.
My OEM rod antenna broke in a car wash and have been limping by with a 3" screw, but it doesn't look so hot. Basically all new cars now come with a shark antenna so I was thinking that might be the way to go.
I'm assuming XM works OK with these shark fin antennas, and how does FM work? It still works with my 3" screw but it's not as good at getting some FM channels as well as I remember the OEM rod antenna.

Yes that's me I got the sharkfin off Amazon. I think I'm actually just going to remove it and leave the OEM antenna base all by itself with nothing screwed in. I pretty much only use Bluetooth audio anyway and the sharkfin is a) the wrong design for aero and b) larger frontal area than needed. I would offer to sell you my rubber ducky antenna but I am keeping all original parts for my Leaf so I can put to 100% stock to sell in the future.

[jjeff]

.

Was this you who did this mod? If so, where did you get your shark fin antenna and what model was it?
I searched Amazon and saw hundreds of different Shark Fin antenna's and was wondering what one to get.
My OEM rod antenna broke in a car wash and have been limping by with a 3" screw, but it doesn't look so hot. Basically all new cars now come with a shark antenna so I was thinking that might be the way to go.
I'm assuming XM works OK with these shark fin antennas, and how does FM work? It still works with my 3" screw but it's not as good at getting some FM channels as well as I remember the OEM rod antenna.

Yes that's me I got the sharkfin off Amazon. I think I'm actually just going to remove it and leave the OEM antenna base all by itself with nothing screwed in. I pretty much only use Bluetooth audio anyway and the sharkfin is a) the wrong design for aero and b) larger frontal area than needed. I would offer to sell you my rubber ducky antenna but I am keeping all original parts for my Leaf so I can put to 100% stock to sell in the future.

What model/brand fin did you get? I seem them priced on Amazon anywhere from $7-$100+ but was thinking of a couple <$30. You may still get strong FM stations even without a screw, I did but basically no AM, I seem to remember I got XM too, when I had that service.
If your really not interested in your fin and you can get it off without breaking anything, I might be interested in it, I'd probably not be interested in another rod antenna, for both aero reasons and I'd rather not having something sticking that far up to get broke again.

https://www.amazon.com/Antenna-POSSBAY- ... ement&th=1
This is one I was looking at, probably red(to match my car) only because the black is so much more, I mean $10+ more for black
I was also thinking of this one as it specifically mentions Leaf, although I'd think the other one might also work for a Leaf.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0121KENXG/_e ... L13W&psc=1

[VitaminJ]

Honestly I don't remember and don't want to bother looking it up, I bought it awhile ago. It wasn't the cheapest nor the most expensive.


It snowed last night and after the drive to work I took some pictures of the residual snow patterns left on the hatch. They are definitely generating vortices!

The left three are causing a vortex the opposite direction from the right two also which is interesting! I have no idea what this really means regarding drag or range but leave your comments if you have a theory.

[NeilBlanchard]

I tried those years ago, and they do not help, and seemed to harm efficiency somewhat.

Did you document your results at all? What type of vortex generator did you get? As I said in the video it's pretty much 100% theoretical and I have no good way to test except looking for extra dirt on my rear window. Placement in relation to the trailing edge of the car, size, pattern, etc all play a roll.

I was recording every fill up (it was a Scion xA) and my mileage dropped slightly (it dropped by about 3MPG), and I could feel that the car was no coasting as well. I had those exact ones, and I still have several. I took them off, and things got better.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.p ... #post53342
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.p ... #post54307

They won't let you have a clean rear window. That would take a full boattail.

[VitaminJ]

Thanks for the info. Did you place them in a similar fashion to how mine are? Distance from rear edge, horizontal spacing, etc? It's only been a couple days but today I had a lot better efficiency than I expected at 4.3mi/kwh even though it was low 20s, snow/wet roads, lots of heater and defroster use, etc. Usually I am 3.8 - 3.9. I will keep monitoring and trying to keep my driving consistent. One difference is the Scion xA has a more square blunt hatch compared to the Leaf.

Also, I said earlier that my rear window should become dirtier, the reason is because there should be a larger dead pocket of air now than before which would allow dust to settle on the windshield vs. being carried away. A kammback will move that dead pocket even further away so then the dust doesn't even come close to the window.

[NeilBlanchard]

I had them similarly spaced, and I had them down the sides of the car, as well.