Inspiring Site: Ecomodder.com

(image via cnet.com)

Take an average car, customize it so that it is far more aerodynamically efficient, and congratulations, you've just ecomodded!

Ecomodding, (or aeromodding) just got it's own site: Ecomodder.com.

Ecomodder.com is a site dedicated to both the D.I.Y. spirit and high fuel efficiency. Both very patriotic things these days.

Check out the above car, which is a run of the mill Honda Civic. The owner ecomodded it and it went from 35 mpg to over 70 mpg! Whoah! Slaps some panels here and there and double your cars efficiency? Why aren't car makers doing that?

Looks like it's a job for good ol' American know how. Private citizen style.





Fascinating threads and topics, ranging from the ageless "clutch or no clutch?" dillema to the fact that Honda motors spin the opposite direction to others, and how to engineer around that.

And check out some of these early aerodynamic designs, some from as early as the 30's!


1939 Lincoln Zephyr


1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt


1947 Tatra T87

60 percent of the fuel used during driving is just for pushing the car through the air. Reduce the drag and you increase both the speed and fuel efficiency. It's a very old idea. Luckily, the good ideas have a tendency to float back to the surface of the public consciousness, like rich, delicious cream. Hooray for Meritocracy!