Yes I'm familiar with Airtabs and vortex generators. It seems to me, the jury is still out on that. (anecdotally maybe 1% F.E. improvment) Why, do you run them?

BTW nice bumper-sticker retort: "battle of wits with unarmed yada yada..."
...This guy must be smart

 

Oh OK that makes good sense! I added small little 4 inch peep mirrors that are like no drag at all. I noticed a huge reduction in wind noise so I figured they were helping mpgs some.

 

Thanks for the compliment , and yes, I have been told I was smart and wise many times before also highly educated :D

 

Nice! I wonder what the xA is rated at, that web site does not detail the xA like it does the tC or xB

 

ok, in all my posts, i have mentioned masonite twice not like i own stock in a lumber company or anything all kidding aside though, any time i hear about someone wanting to use "painters tape and styrofoam" on the outside of their car for any reason other then making a float for a parade i just have to think rice... lets be real.. while it was a decent idea, and i too would like to see numbers. if you are going to do something, do it mostly right, and make it look as factory as possible, thats just m.h.o. if you want to get better mpg on long trips, here is what you do if you don't want your car to look like you just got off the night shift at the walmart.. (no offence, but slap an APC sticker on that box and i'll be sending pics to laughatrice.com....) fold in mirrors, clean your air filter and MAF, remove passenger seat, remove back seat - upper and lower, remove storage trays and if you have AAA, remove spare tire.. watch your MPG jump on long trips, and watch the front of the vehicle still look stock and clean.
Alternitively, i would like to see more new ways to get air into the airbox / CAI / SR intake areas w/o removeing the foglight grills or adding a hole to the bumper.

 

though, typhoonoprchid - understand i am not knocking your idea at all, i think it's dope that you actually are thinking along those lines, i am just knocking the astetics of your idea.. i think if mpg gains could be made that way, there is a cleaner more OEM way to make it look is all. if you ever get a change to do a test on your idea, we would all be rooting for you and would be glad to know the results!

 

Wow, not only resurrected from the semi-dead, but the guy also gets beat to hell just for suggesting something different and experimental! Hmmmm....

Anybody ever notice how "tough" people get on their computer???

 

Yeah, it's kinda the same way people get "brave" when drinking. Sad really!

 

I hope your idea comes up with some good numbers but this is another one of those TOYOTA designing and engineering team vs. Dude on a website with some foam blocks.

But hey, that's how Edelbrock made his millions I suppose.

 

edelbrock wasn't building a business on foam blocks and masonite tho

 

Edelbrock..doesnt supply body parts either

 

I was trying to say that just assuming that the engineering team of a particular automobile company has done everything correctly doesn't mean that you can't do it better yourself, whether it be body parts, engine parts, or the like.

I should know better than to utilize analogies on the internet...

 

i get the feelin some peeps just like to shut others down as much as possible to justify there own existance

 

Too bad we can't get ahold of any of Toyotas wind testing info. from the bB. Maybe see the different things they did to make the bB/xB as slippery as it is.

 

I think this might be a kind of stealth bomber thing going on here. Smooth and round does not an aerodynamic vehicle make.

I am thinking that one of Toyota's main marketability tactics is fuel economy and, while coming into an American market, they trying to get the most amount of power out of their engine whilst applying that tactic. Why would they just push Aerodynamics to the side?

I imagine that Toyota did everything they could to keep that shape while making it as aerodynamic as possible. This same logic is reason why I always am a little leery when I see a intake thread. If Toyota is banking on us to be attracted to MPG, why would they make a intake that was restrictive and bad for MPG?

Of course this is all speculation...

edited for grammar

 

But... It makes perfect sense!

 

Think inside the box. Literally. Perhaps those mirrors could be replaced with a pair of small-lens, wide-angle cameras that have an aerodynamic profile not much worse than the xB's own side markers, feeding a small pair of mini-LCD monitors on the inside door panels?

Of course, it'd have to be winter-proof, but a wave begins with a ripple, sort to speak.

 

Check out, tiny lcds picked up their card at Cedia.