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I'm looking ahead to "Speedstiva." I'll want to minimize her Cd as much as possible, considering the limitations of a N/A B6 at around 110 hp.
Here are some ideas:
-Flush mount turn signal rectangles in front bumper. This should be a high pressure area and smoothing out the air flow over the blunt front end should be an improvement.
-Lower car slightly (maybe one inch) and construct efficient air dam. Keeping as much air as possible from going underneath the car should provide a lowered Cd, as long as the increased frontal area does not "taketh away" from the benefits. That's the main reason for lowering it a bit--so the dam's frontal area stays smaller. I may investigate installing front brake air ducts as well. 8) Yep, keep 'em "cool."
-Front license plate: I want to remove that steel bracket and either directly bolt the plate to the front bumper or mount it lower on the air dam where it can lie flatter, conforming closer to the car.
-Modified grille. I'll probably work with an early model grille. Could I get away with covering up about half of it on one side? Or might it be better to cover up the top slot? I'll be using my stock single core radiator. Again, this should be a high pressure area and I would think smoothing it out will provide a definite gain, as long as I don't overheat!!
-Going along with the above, how about an adjustable opening in the grille for slower speeds, idling and such? I could possibly rig up a lightweight system with a tandem bicycle cable to control the opening.
-Going one better than the above, how about an air pressure operated "flapper" opening that would automatically close at higher speeds? If the grille area is actually a high pressure area, a light spring tension may provide enough power to open the hole at speeds say, under 25 to 35 mph or so, and close when the pressure builds. Does this sound like it might work?
-There should be another high pressure area at the base of the windshield. I may try smaller wipers or even custom adjust the wiper arms to minimize wiper size while still maximizing the swept area of the windshield. Or is this area not that important?
For example, I could change from the stock 18" blades to a left side 16" blade coupled with a lengthened right side arm with a 14" blade--which will still sweep the upper part of the right windshield but not the less important bottom area...
-Rear quarter windows: besides going to fixed polycarbonate windows here, I would also slightly oversize them to better fit into the window aperture. Go look at your rear quarters and you will see the glass does not quite fit into the depression offered. I doubt this would help too much, but if I went to the lighter windows, I may as well fit them better.
-Rear spoiler: I still wonder how much this thing works. It may provide some down force at higher speeds (70 plus) and it may reduce drag by abruptly cutting off the boundary layer at the top rear. Then again, it may not. Thoughts?
One more thing, if it matters: I'll probably be using the FMS fiberglass hood too.
Karl
Here are some ideas:
-Flush mount turn signal rectangles in front bumper. This should be a high pressure area and smoothing out the air flow over the blunt front end should be an improvement.
-Lower car slightly (maybe one inch) and construct efficient air dam. Keeping as much air as possible from going underneath the car should provide a lowered Cd, as long as the increased frontal area does not "taketh away" from the benefits. That's the main reason for lowering it a bit--so the dam's frontal area stays smaller. I may investigate installing front brake air ducts as well. 8) Yep, keep 'em "cool."
-Front license plate: I want to remove that steel bracket and either directly bolt the plate to the front bumper or mount it lower on the air dam where it can lie flatter, conforming closer to the car.
-Modified grille. I'll probably work with an early model grille. Could I get away with covering up about half of it on one side? Or might it be better to cover up the top slot? I'll be using my stock single core radiator. Again, this should be a high pressure area and I would think smoothing it out will provide a definite gain, as long as I don't overheat!!
-Going along with the above, how about an adjustable opening in the grille for slower speeds, idling and such? I could possibly rig up a lightweight system with a tandem bicycle cable to control the opening.
-Going one better than the above, how about an air pressure operated "flapper" opening that would automatically close at higher speeds? If the grille area is actually a high pressure area, a light spring tension may provide enough power to open the hole at speeds say, under 25 to 35 mph or so, and close when the pressure builds. Does this sound like it might work?
-There should be another high pressure area at the base of the windshield. I may try smaller wipers or even custom adjust the wiper arms to minimize wiper size while still maximizing the swept area of the windshield. Or is this area not that important?
For example, I could change from the stock 18" blades to a left side 16" blade coupled with a lengthened right side arm with a 14" blade--which will still sweep the upper part of the right windshield but not the less important bottom area...
-Rear quarter windows: besides going to fixed polycarbonate windows here, I would also slightly oversize them to better fit into the window aperture. Go look at your rear quarters and you will see the glass does not quite fit into the depression offered. I doubt this would help too much, but if I went to the lighter windows, I may as well fit them better.
-Rear spoiler: I still wonder how much this thing works. It may provide some down force at higher speeds (70 plus) and it may reduce drag by abruptly cutting off the boundary layer at the top rear. Then again, it may not. Thoughts?
One more thing, if it matters: I'll probably be using the FMS fiberglass hood too.
Karl
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