A little while ago I came across this inspired little planet saving gem. I didn’t get to meet the owners (not sure if I would want to). But I would like to ask them if all their aerodynamic modification did indeed amount to greater fuel efficiency.
And of course such an inspired creation can’t go without the tell-tale bumper stickers!
One has to wonder if that rear hatch valance creates more drag than it is meant to smooth out. I can only assume that they must have moved up from Eugene! (ED: It’s all part of a nefarious plot)
They did it all wrong.
They need light colored Duck Tape to reduce drag and increase mileage. See, lighter colors reflect more light than dark colors therefore reducing drag by retaining less heat.
Yeah, that’s the ticket!
I would be curious to know if it all works. I agree that the back hatch cowl looks counterintuitive. The choice of lightweight forged wheels from a Honda Civic VX is nice. I think hatred is a learned behavior. I learned to hate because of people like the owner of this billboard. Learning is important. If more people could do it, there wouldn’t be a market for the bumper stickers found on this car.
Point of correction – those are Mazda Protege/MX-3 wheels
You do realize that the one on the right front still has its H for Honda center cap, don’t you?
http://suspendedhatch.thecarthing.com/gassavers/vx_rims3.jpg
Hmmm…50 square feet of recycled plastic and some duct tape plus some SWAG (scientific wild-assed guessing) by the owner vs millions of dollars/yen/whatever the hell money is in Korea of wind tunnel research and hundreds/tens of highly educated automotive engineers. I do love the Om symbol by the license. I would like to meet the owners, they seem like my kind of people.
It’s an ecomodder. There’s quite an active community of folks not so different from many of us, who take their car into their own hands. Everything from duct tape to fiberglass to chopping and channeling. Some of them get pretty good results. Some of them look pretty outrageous. The American garage inventor lives on! http://ecomodder.com/
This Aspire’s crude Kammback is a time-honored way to reduce drag. There’s a reason why Prius and the like have that shape. Wikipedia says, “Kamm found that by cutting off / flattening the streamlined end of the tear at an intermediate point, and bringing that edge down towards the ground, he could gain most of the benefit of the teardrop shape without incurring such a large material, structural, and size problem. The airflow, once given the suggestion of the beginning of a turbulence-eliminating streamlined teardrop tail, tended to flow in an approximation of that manner regardless of the fact that the entire tail wasn’t there. This is called the Kamm effect.”
I’ve wondered about the vacuum in the vacant areas of cars that have been modified to have a Kamm back like the ones pictured. A real Kamm would be sealed from the edge of the roof back down to the bumper. Much like the Prius.
To me it looks like a “flying butress” type of cowl over the rear, not what you want for MPG.
That’s a very interesting question. Only testing would tell for sure, but it’s hard to get solid data on small changes in mpg.
No, I don’t think so highly of such ideas. Most people have NO idea of airflow and how air-buffeting works.
Example: VW Beetles…the “intermediate” years where they started to have the air-box grille opening just under the windshield. Now one popular gimcrack was, a SCOOP to go over that thing…use some Ram Air Induction to force more air in, right?
Until you look at how air flowed over the car. The whole space between the center of the hood, and the top of the windshield, was one big buffeting pocket of air pressure. It was being compressed, by the combined forces of air off the hood, and air bouncing against the windshield. That grille just allowed that pressurized pocket to vent off, into the car…fresh air.
And that “scoop” just got in the way.
Example 2: Deer whistles. Quite apart from whether they work in the best of circumstances (from what I’ve read AND SEEN, they do not) they almost CERTAINLY don’t work where they’re put in most cases. Right in front of the turn signals or front trim? Air is one giant pocket, not moving through the whistles, but bouncing around. Watch how raindrops bounce off, as you start a wet car moving, or bring it to a stop. There IS no airflow there.
Now, on to this example. Enough has been said about that sham-Kammback. Closing off the vents under the grille, is just going to lead to more buffeting and lift from vacuum, under the car.
On a car traveling 60 mph or so, YOU DO WANT DRAG there. If you don’t…I remember my old man’s Wagoneer. At about that speed it would start to levitate off the springs…the body lean left and right in turn, the steering become light and imprecise. It was the damn car trying to LIFT OFF.
That’s the purpose of spoilers; and what this self-styled genius has done is make what might be an okay situation, very bad.
No….when I see someone of that ilk, with so many bumper stickers guaranteed to p1ss of SOMEBODY, even if not me…I think I’ve found someone who thinks he’s smarter than he is. At the very least, he doesn’t have much of a sense of discretion; or an understanding that maybe someone else somewhere knows a little more than he does.
Whether politics or airflow.
I’m quite sure stopping air from getting under the car is both helpful aerodynamically and for the handling. The reason the Wagoneer was dangerous at speed is because it’s floating on a huuuge pillow of air. So, provided this car gets much time above 55mph, (where aerodynamics actually matter) he probably notices a difference.
Overheating brakes are a totally different matter…..
The smartest man in the word knows that he is not
Did some work in a technology class with balsawood models and a class built wind tunnel. (made from old junk furnace) The front of the car does not resemble it at all but the rear resembles a model put out by MB which was hailed as the most aerodynamic in the world. We copied that model and it had a laminar flow without the lift that is prevalent in the back.
I think Birddog is right. There will probably be some turbulance or lift at the rear with the open space. I think I will put my money on both maybe because of the lip that is not there.
There is normally more mileage to be obtained underneath the car than doing something like this. Doubt if this guy thought of it and possibly with a fwd car it’s not really so much. Anyway, if he hadn’t trashed his car so badly the quasi kammback would be a lot less ridiculed here.
Before you can be old and wise you have to have been young and stupid once. I think I know where this guy is.
Most cars (for the last 30 years or so) are bottom breathers, meaning they take in their engine cooling air from below the midpoint of the bumper. I can’t tell with this monitor, but it looks like they have at least one slot in the air dam to keep the motor from overheating.
To address Zykotec’s concern, it would be very easy to make a couple of discreet holes in the dam and funnel air to the brakes. At least the chosen wheels are largely open, they should stay pretty cool all on their own.
I like the home made kammback, but I wonder if it would be helpful to to have a little “Gurney flap” at the end of it to gain a little downforce. I don’t think it would need to be too large to make a difference.
I would also wonder if an underbody tray would be helpful. From what I have read, there’s apparently a large amount of drag caused by the exhaust system and other components under the car. This is why mileage and speed specials use underbody trays. Maybe they could fab their own air extractor over the rear bumper, too…
There appear to be fins or vanes underneath, visible from behind and on the driver’s side.
Okay, just to chime in. I use to think these ecomodders were insane, then I hit the point of a 63 mile one way trip to work with gas being sky high. If you know nothing of aerodynamics, then you will not understand. The people who do this do a great deal of research, and many are, like myself, somehow involved with aircraft (you know, those thing that are aerodynamic and fly), so not your shade tree mechanic. ecomodder.com, check it out and see the extensive testing done before you run your mouth about how stupid these people are. I took my car that got 28 mpg at best and am now getting 43 mpg on the same drive. Play nice and give respect where it is due.