Raith

Ok, so I am leaving on Sunday to go on a 3500 mile road trip. I will be driving my mostly stock 2002 Electron Blue Vette. It has zero engine mods, is lowered slightly on the stock bolts, and is on c5 z06 shocks and c5 z51 sway bars.

I have a theory that I can get a little bit better fuel economy if I Tape off the areas on the front bumper where the Fog lights are since there is no real air flow through to the engine bay.

I am going to cut some cardboard (or old plastic political signs) to the right shape, and then use some painters tape (and possibly a layer of gorilla tape over the painters tape to ensure it doesn't come apart) to effectively seal off those areas.

Does anyone think this will help my quest for awesome highway fuel mileage?

glbeauchamp

Taking a page out of the Dodge Charger 500 playbook, Dodge engineers found that by moving the grill flush with the front of the car, the reduction in drag resulted in higher top speed, but we're talking 180+ mph.. Covering the openings in front would seem to serve the same purpose to a degree . Every little bit helps and I would imagine that you may see a mileage improvement, but I'm guessing it will be insignificant. But it probably wouldn't hurt.

leadfoot4

Not trying to be a "smart-azz", but I would be more concerned about the condition of the tires, belts, and hoses...

bigcypress

nothing measurable with what you have to measure with . .peace....edit : i mean you need more sophisticated equipment .

Vetteman Jack

JR-01

I just got back from 1200 mile road trip. The differences in price and grades of gas made the most difference in fuel cost. Found some cheap 93 octane ethanol free gas near Milwaukee that gave me the best gas mileage. I wouldn't waste my time trying to improve aero to get a minimal benefit.

Grandpa1

How much do you think you can save on the cost of fuel by doing this? My wife sometimes will say I found gas for 2 cents cheaper on the other side of town. I try to tell her she's only going to save 40 cents on the fill up.
I would simply try to find cheaper gas on the trip. If you go into towns it is almost always cheaper than it is on the freeway.
Just my thoughts.
Have a safe trip!

Clairvoyantwolf

About saving money by using cheaper fuel. I find that if I use anything other than a Top Tier brand gas station my fuel gauge goes wonky requiring a bottle of techron to completely fix the issue. Consequently, I go out of my way to only use Top Tier wherever possible. Something to consider.

Moto One

Just finished a 5 day round trip from Calif to WI, 165k 01 Z06, best milage was in SD @89mph avg 15mph tailwind, 31mpg. And that was for only one tank of fuel. Overall avg for the trip was 27 mpg. OP you are not going to see any real results, just go and have a good time.

JR-01

I also use top tier fuel only. Shell if I can get it. Prices do vary. There is a website/app called gas buddy that gives current gas prices of all gas stations. Trying to save a few cents by changing aero on the car seems a little far fetched to me. When I need gas I check gps to see what brand gas stations are ahead, stop at a preferred brand and fill up.

www.gasbuddy.com

Raith

I am already on top of that. Tires are fairly new, all fluids changed, ac is charged, and i have basic tools and spare parts.

Raith

Already have my route mapped through gas buddy. i just enjoy odd little experiments to see what i can pull off. short of going in and tuning the afr and timing, i know i will probably not see any real difference, but for me its the process.

also on my last trip up there a couple years ago, i mapped out only ethanol free gas stations to see if i could measure a difference in mileage. that failed because 90% of the ethanol free stations only had 87 as ethanol free

JR-01

Have fun on your trip. I averaged 26.7 mpg for the entire trip (about 1200 miles) according to the DIC. Beat that.

TrackAire

Aero drag does not seem to follow reason.......

killian96ss

Not worth the time. You likely see no measurable difference and it's possible your mpg will get worse due to extra wind resistance.

Steve

o2bnkc

I'd run 87 ethanol free gas all day long out here. Nothing wrong with that, but I'm at 5,500 ft.

leadfoot4

I've been using "ethanol free, 91 octane" gas in all of our cars, in my home area, for the last 3-4 years. However, it's available only in the "off brand", convenience stores. The only "top-tier" fuels available, where I live are Sunoco and Mobil, and with the exception of 1 Mobil outlet, they do not sell the ethanol free gas. When I've travelled back to my hometown in NJ, to visit the relatives, I've never been able to find ethanol free gas.

grantv

Look at a car in a wind tunnel. I'd think there's no chance of any improvement in gas mileage. The front end would if anything just pack with air and the air flow around regardless.
And if the blocking could improve anything, it'd only be at high speeds. One less smash on the go pedal in the entire trip would make more difference. All just my opinion.
Doesn't help that the car will look odd.

FrankLP

Tsumi

I seem to recall drag being reduced with a solid front end. The reasoning is that air gets pushed around the bumper rather than getting caught up in the foglight area and generating turbulent air, which is what causes drag. That's why one of the recommended eco-mods is blocking off the grill. By damming the air rather than letting it get inside and turbulent, aerodynamic efficiency is improved. Of course, cooling has to be properly considered.