MORE HORSEPOWER, BETTER MILAGE, HIGHER TOP SPEED!! (well...sort of)

[geelong festy]

It's my new secret Festiva power weapon!! It makes horsepower, it saves gas and adds top speed.....and is a genuine ford part. What is it? answer! Aerodynamic undertray from a Ford WS/WT Fiesta Econectic. Ford claims it's aerodynamically proven and slices 2 litres per 100k (Ford claim),and.....(drum roll please) it cost less than $130 new retail!! It's plastic and ways under a couple of kilos, has a heat shield and bolts straight in (fits all models apparently so the parts guy said) with original fasteners. Purchased this week from Gorell Ford. You don't need to know where to look....you just have to start looking! (for cheap power that is!)

[Caydus]

huh? a piece of plastic can improve your fuel economy 28%?

forgive me if i sound a bit skeptical

[fasty73]

28 percent??? I do believe it will I improve all that you say, look into race cars and the front splitter does a he'll of alot!!! Good buy IMO.

[DJM83]

Doubt it. 2L/100 is alot.

[In Focus]

Use in conjunction with this, and you'll get down to 2L/100km.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tuning-Fo...item20b944c1e7

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by In Focus

Use in conjunction with this, and you'll get down to 2L/100km.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tuning-Fo...item20b944c1e7

[trento]

I'm sceptical... also you own a Fiesta... not a Festiva.

[geelong festy]

You can be as skeptical as you want-no problem with me mate! I checked on http://www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au/...chResults.aspx
and it quotes the econetic compared to the diesel Zetec and the difference is just under 1 litre per 100k, and of course the econetic also has low rolling resistance tyres and a few other tweeks. But, greenguide means jack-**** when it comes to performance. The more you flog it-the better the returns in both gas milage & horsepower figures with mods like this. I haven't hooked up the data-logger yet but I bet there is some significant gains to be had. Show me what else your gunna do yo YOUR car for under a hundred and thirty bucks that's gunna do the same? Also DOES NOT void Ford warranty but is a ***** to get to oil filter!!

Originally Posted by Caydus

huh? a piece of plastic can improve your fuel economy 28%?

forgive me if i sound a bit skeptical

Originally Posted by geelong festy

http://www.teamilluminata.com/shop/TeamDynamics/PR12silver.jpg[/IMG][/IMG
Have a set of Team Dynamics ProRace 1.2. I purchased these because they are considered the lightest (by some way) strongest and toughest rims specifically matched for the WS Fiesta (4x108) I could get. They are now the homologation rims for Australian Super V8's (?), British & German Touring cars and WRC cars. Worth every cent. Light weight forged alloy, 100% made in the UK!! (not China like most name brands now) No rack spacers needed. Purchased thru Tyre Power in North Geelong from Sydney. That agent no longer handles them since V8's started using them. Paid under $200 each but expect to pay nearly double that now!! Immediate improvement in suspension re-bound front & rear.


]

[geelong festy]

Originally Posted by trento

I'm sceptical... also you own a Fiesta... not a Festiva.

yes, i've got one of those too!

[geelong festy]

Tell you what sunshine, I'll give you a race!! Do you live in Melbourne?

Originally Posted by trento

I'm sceptical... also you own a Fiesta... not a Festiva.

[trento]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Turbo...#ht_1905wt_907

Good for at least an extra 50rwkw and will only cost me $10 posted, I could get 13 for 130 bucks thus have an extra 650rwkw!!!

<jokes>

But seriously, relax mate. If it works good for you and I will quite happily retract my scepticism if proven wrong (wouldn't be the first time.) personally I'd rather put the money towards a CAIS which if done correctly won't void my warranty

And i'd quite happily race you... nearest drag strip/track to me is Willowbank. Would be nice to have another fez to race with!!!

[In Focus]

Festy, keep us posted on this. How it's installed, if you haven't already, and what it does to your fuel figures. I'm interested because the Mrs has a WT.

[Polyal]

It certainly wont hurt, AU's got the same thing (well similar in theory).

2L/100..maybe not..maybe 0.2/L

[geelong festy]

It was done with tongue-in-cheek but forum members are quick to criticize, especially from those who have done bugger-all to their cars and tend to run-off at the mouth with their wacko maths and **** knowledge of facts & figures. I did say that it was Ford's claim, not mine, and a little research in the press does throw up widely varying figures. Anyway, Focus drivers have no idea anyway

Originally Posted by trento

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Turbo...#ht_1905wt_907

Good for at least an extra 50rwkw and will only cost me $10 posted, I could get 13 for 130 bucks thus have an extra 650rwkw!!!

<jokes>

But seriously, relax mate. If it works good for you and I will quite happily retract my scepticism if proven wrong (wouldn't be the first time.) personally I'd rather put the money towards a CAIS which if done correctly won't void my warranty

And i'd quite happily race you... nearest drag strip/track to me is Willowbank. Would be nice to have another fez to race with!!!

[Fi.ES.TA]

Id be interested in the figures once you get it on
especially if the saving on fuel equates to 130 bucks a year
then it is definatley worth fitting keep us posted ;)

[JC]

If this helps at all, a mate of mine took the plastic undertray off his territory while doing some work in that area, and didn't replac eit. his temp gauge then sat on half. I advised him to put the undertray back on, and his temp dropped down to the "O" on Normal range. ie, it reduced his temps all round, and in theory should contribute to fuel saving as the fuel maps at lower engine temp (though not when cold cold) use less fuel than when the engine is running hotter.

I reckon you might be onto something, but take the 2l improvement with a grain of salt - maybe a 1/4 of that, and it will only take you a year's worth of fuel saving to pay for it, then you're in front (note that most mods you never recoup the "saving" from)!

[Caydus]

bleh, should have known

[Fiesta_Man69]

If it is this good and that cheap, then Ford would have fitted them from factory: plain and simple.

But well done, obviously this is a gee up, even tho it isn't April 1.

[greenfoam]

You guys are fast to give up!, the little crappy tiny plastic under the nose of VN/P Commodores certainly buggers your fuel economy when you remove it and makes it run hotter, the more extensive version in the VR/S (which also fits on the VN/VP) cuts an even smoother line through the air. Even on these big 4-5 litre cars it makes a difference. There's a guy I know that built a full car under tray for his statesman and along with other aero mods he shaved 2 litres per km out of that. He would often return 7l/100 in a 5l statesman converted to T5 manual + aero mods.

If you can get one of these factory made for a fiesta I'm on it

[DJM83]

Posts like this

Anyway, Focus drivers have no idea anyway :

Yeah righto

Tell you what sunshine, I'll give you a race!! Do you live in Melbourne?

Challenging someone to a race, how old are you?

Grow up.

[crf529]

Originally Posted by geelong festy

Tell you what sunshine, I'll give you a race!! Do you live in Melbourne?

Originally Posted by DJM83

Challenging someone to a race, how old are you?

Grow up.

Ill have you know the most accurate and mature way to demonstrate your superior intelligence, diction and motoring nous is to challenge those who have a differing opinion to yours, with an illegal street race. It's as simple as uttering the words "Ill race ya bro!!!", yet you will be respected and feared for it. Anyone declining your offer isn't taking the moral high ground, not lowering themselves to your level, but is instead submitting to your superiority to avert any further embarrassment.

On topic. Aero has a massive effect on fuel consumption, especially when in reference to the under tray and diffusers. I'd love to see a photo of it and how much it would subsequently smooth the airflow (obviously it's not going to be saving 30% on fuel consumption, but it won't hurt).

[greenfoam]

I'm going to lay under one and check it out. It seems from what I can read on the net they seem to have both front and rear trays/deflectors at least and maybe some other aero plastics under the car. I wouldn't expect the fuel sayings to be too much but I wouldn't put .1 or .2 or maybe even .3 per hundred out of the realms of possible

[paulo7]

Greenfoam,
I'm interested in the undertrays, can you post the address for the rears?
I've been doing a little investigating myself, and apparently it is possible to fit the Ford spec one to a WS. I've rung Ford twice to try and find out about any subsequent heating or cooling issues but haven't got a clear answer. Eventually was told to talk to a spare parts person and request that they find out from engineering, which I will do in a few days.
Will keep you all posted...

[Fiesta_Man69]

Small cars these days are all about economy... Not speed or power but economy. Therefore if any undertray/aero kit made even a .1 or.2 l per 100k difference for just $130 (retail to consumer-a lot less for ford from factory) it would be on the car from day one to help claim bragging rights over the opposition. This aero is just as much a gimmick as spoilers on road cars (particulary rear spoilers on front wheel drives lol) on the road they are a gimmick: rice at it's best. U may as well hook up some neons and c if that makes a difference to economy....

Aero kits such as undertray make sense on big hp time attack cars that spend their life at the track..... And even tho Ive taken my fiesta to the creek and Wakefield I'm not even going to pretend that it's that quick and aero would be useless - indeed i'm sure if u mentioned the idea to the evo chaps they would wet themselves....

If u have a ws and r that desperate to save fuel, try removing the spare? Just be prepared to walk home.

Biggest fuel saver is your right foot tho

[paulo7]

Thanks Fiesta Man69,
I hear what you're saying, and I know from an ex-Ford guy that extensive testing is done etc etc but.... I'm just curious and would like to find out if it could/would make a difference. Kinda like mythbusting. The main interest is economy as I do a lot of freeway driving.

[Fiesta_Man69]

Paulo7:

If you genuinely want to save fuel:

slightly overinflate your tyres, check your alignment, change gear as soon as possible, don't use a/c (useless on Fiestas anyhow - see other threads) unless above 100kmh, remove all unneceassary weight from the car, and run the car on 98. This is better than any gimmick.

I get between 5.8 - 6.2L, for a manual, driven against peak hr traffic flow mind you, 90 mins each day in Sydney.

While extensive testing is done and undertrays do make a difference in motorsport, on road cars we are talking about performance cars or supercars before you see any gains.... and as nice as the Fiesta is, it ain't no Ferrari. In the same way the Zetec body kit in no way aids aerodynamics (in fact hanging extra plastic off the car would make it marginally worse.... especially the larger rear spoiler - that ensures the rear wheels get traction lol) this aerotray will make no difference either.

I can save you $130 and guarantee the tray won't make any difference. In fact if you don't have a K&N filter get one of those for $80; your car makes a bit more power (a couple of kWs) therefore in theory should use marginally less fuel. Then spend $50 on an alignment and balance. Not glamorous, sure, but at least you won't be flushing $ down the toilet.

Either that or buy a Brock polariser.... I hear they're great too..... lol

[burnz]

getting a V8 down from say 10/100 to 8/100 with areo would be easy..
but getting an eco car from 5/100 to 3/100 would be a tall order..

according to holden teck, eco tires and fill length undertray's equate to 0.6/100 improvement..

[Polyal]

IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

a) Its part of the eco-whatever package, which I think has a higher RRP. So its a cost that goes into that program. Work in manufacturing and see what happens, if they can save 50 cents on a part they will, if they can delete a part and no one notices...they will. Combined with all the other features on the ECo it adds up.

b) Its absence on other small cars (although Ive never paid attention) is due to cost mainly. As I said, Ford jumped on board with the AU (maybe at AU1 but AU2 IIRC and has been using it since)

Burnz's assumption is correct...getting these cars down to anywhere near 3L/100 is a great achievement if you ask me, combustion engines will only ever reach a certain efficiency.

Yes it might only make 0.2L/100 difference, lets just say it does, so @ $1.40/L 0.2 = $0.28. So 28 cents per 100 kms you do.

Lets say you do 500 kms per week. Thats $1.12 per week. $58.24 per year.

At $130 it takes two and a bit years to recover costs. Its not a quick pay back but if your keeping the car for a while then why not.

At the end of the day it will not hurt your fuel consumption.

[Fiesta_Man69]

If its part of the eco package that is found on econetic models then to see genuine savings you would need the other aero mods that are found exclusively on the econetic and then run those craptacular eco tyres.

So you would need to spend a lot more than $130 to gain 0.2 L saving and then have a lot less grip from your tyres (try them - they are truly scary, esp. in the wet...)

I think cornering ability, braking distance and general safety (never mind saving truckloads of cash) outweighs any fuel saving you might possibly gain.

If this package by itself does indeed lower consumption by 0.2L then surely Ford would have put it on all models to lower the official figure from 6.1 to 5.9? (due to the same psychological reason you seem things on sale for ($9.95 not $10) Especially when you consider the amount of $$ Ford spends on advertising, this is nothing.

Like I said before, alignment, tyre pressure, 98 RON (plus a K&N filter if you want extra) is a much better investment (I get down to 5.8L urban). If you want rice, order Chinese, not a superfluous bodykit.

[Fiesta_Man69]

Just an afterthought - as anyone in Sydney, esp. south western Sydney would know, our shocking roads, driveways, speed bumps, carpark driveways/ramps/bumps would make very short work of any aero undertray. And I'm talking from unfortunate experience.