drag

[graham7773]

I am looking at buying an E series Falcon. My only concern is that it is fitted with an original Ford external sun visor. My concern is, how does the visor affect fuel economy? It looks like it would act as a small air brake. My guess is that it would increase fuel use but by how much? I like the look of it but fuel prices are getting stupid...

[xisled]

I would say if you are concerned about this buy a 4 cylinder.

[GasoLane]

I think that proper control of your right foot would contribute more to fuel economy than a sun visor.

If it worries you too much pull it off and get the top of the windscreen tinted.

[graham7773]

xisled, I HAVE a four cylinder to wit, 1993 Ford Telstar but thanks for your suggestion. A constructive comment would have been more helpful. I simply asked how much would the visor increase the fuel consumption. If you do not know, why post at all? GasOlane, your post was just as helpfull.. The car I want is running on lpg so will be more econimical than my Telstar anyway.
I am trying to find out if the visor will affect the wallet much as I am a 69 year old on a fixed income........

[sgt_doofey]

I wouldn't worry too much about the visor graham7773. I currently own an EL on LPG and it is much cheaper to run than a 4cyl petrol car.
As a comparison, I filled up last week and a guy pulled up behind me in what was a very newish looking Corolla. It cost me $39 to fill up and that got me about 400kms.
I glanced over at the pump where the Corolla was as I was walking back to the car and he had a cost of $69 to fill up. He probably got a few more kilometres out of a tank than me, but that still is a $30 price difference for what is supposed to be a big, thirsty 6 cyl car and an economical, new, 4cyl car.
Changing to a 6cyl on LPG will be saving you money on fuel costs compared to a 4cyl petrol engine, so I wouldn't even worry about the extra fuel usage that the visor may, or may not, give you.

[poppa smurf]

they do contribute VERY slightly but in the scheme of things not a lot.......very hard to gauge if not impossible

some do make a little noise

[graham7773]

sgt doofey and poppa smurf, thanks for the answers. Just what I was looking for. And to add a little more interest for myself, it is a Tickford modded car

[Vincenzo]

Does the visor have a solid body or is it one made of mesh. Theoretically a mesh one should allow air flow through.

Cheers from a fellow oldie on a fixed income.

[poppa smurf]

what sort of mod's......these MAY effect the economy far more than the visor!

I have had a couple of visors on different vehicles and have only good things to say about them

must admit I dont see them around much any more

[blackf6]

Most windshield visors also have a small gap at the top which the wind that comes over the windscreen can exit as if not the visor would get ripped off the car.

[Molloy]

You should be ok mate it wont hurt fuel

[graham7773]

poppa smurf, one of the reasons I am interested in this car are the Tickford mods. What I know of so far are the Tickford bonnet vents, Tickford installed the lpg system and there are other Tickford mods I am still finding out about.

vincenzo, it is the original Ford visor and is solid, not mesh. teak81 It does have a gap at the top/rear/back.
Thanks all, while not critical, these are the sort of posts which keep me looking on Ford Forums for info that can be a bit hard to find elsewhere

[poppa smurf]

stay with us mate......keep us up to date.....sounds like a good one

[Psi-Pop]

It wont make a difference, If its the double wing style that was factory optioned they are pretty good for aero. On the other side of 200kmh it does start to move around quite alot.

If it was a solid one with no gap for the air to pass through you would have issues.

[XP6]

It would have to be tested in a wind tunnel to get a true answer, its quite possible that the visor could give a barely noticeable effect due to eddy currents... it may even improve air flow over the car(I doubt it tho).
You could do a back to back test if you could keep the same environment conditions.

[2011G6E]

As the experts say, keeping your tyres inflated properly and keeping the engine tuned with a nice clean air cleaner element and driving with a lighter right foot will gain you better economy gains than any HiClone, hydrogen gas generator, magical magnets for your fuel lines, or other hokey and expensive wallet-emptying rubbish you can buy from the internet...

[Hayden1]

Am I right to guess that if Ford put them on from factory then there should be nothing wrong as they should have tested it, and also, considering how many cars have them, there should be nothing wrong with them at all.

[graham7773]

2011G6E, I'm with you, The only way I try for better fuel economy is to keep 40psi in the tyres along with regular oil and filter changes. Plus cruise control where I can. I sometimes consider changing the spark plugs as well. All the manufactures of the "economy" gadgets should be forced to prove that the things really work and be charged with fraud if they don't!
Hayden, your location "The Shire NSW" seems a bit ambiguous, I googled it and came up with dozens of different places, top of the list being Sutherland NSW.
but I agree with you that car manufacturers should be testing things before they bolt them on their cars.

[madwag]

could you take a few pics? Would be interesting to see this beast you have described for us.

[XRGhia]

Are the vents somewhat like this? If so, they're factory.



If you are worried about modified cars using more fuel, as a comparison on the highway (105km/h average), my modified EF manual wagon uses avge 8L/100kms on Petrol, and about 10L/100km's around town.

My tip, any car with the engine, and driveline that's well looked after (spark plugs every 15,000km's, oils (diff and engine) every 10,000km's, and air filter every 5,000km's will get good fuel economy.