Aero license plate cover

[bennelson]

Hey, has anybody ever seen one of these before?

Highway Glider - Home Page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0fZiOEFrfg

It's an aerodynamic cover to go over your license plate.

I don't know how big of a difference they make or not, but at least they make people think about aerodynamics.

They are pretty cheap, and you can get custom messages put on them. (Ecomodder.com, anyone?)

I got one of these given to me by the Milwaukee Hybrid group. I did notice that it doesn't fit on the back of the Metro or Sunfire, because of how the plate is recessed on the bumper. Maybe I will put it on the front of Kristin's Sunfire.

My first impression is that it would make a MINIMAL difference. Might look pretty cool on a Prius though.

Anyways, I will play with it when I get a chance and report back here.

[MetroMPG]

Minimal. Definitely won't be detectable at the gas pump.

It could even make things WORSE if the plate location isn't smack in the middle of the stagnation point. In that case you'd have flow coming at that thing from above or below, not head on, making a bit of a mess.

But you're right: it'll get people thinking! Thinking... "if he hits a pedestrian with that thing, will it shatter or chop his leg off at the shin?" :P

[SVOboy]

Yeah, I wonder if it does anything at all. Would make parallel parking a pain in the arse though.

[McTimson]

Their guarantee page is very interesting - Highway Glider - Guarantee Statement

I thought about the legality of it at first, because I'm pretty sure that it's illegal (at least here in New York) to have any plastic cover over the license plate, but they say that they'll pay your ticket if you get one.

And also:

Gurantee #4 Reward for $1,000.00 : We are offering an unconditional $1,000 Reward to anybody who can scientifically or physically prove that the fuel savings derived from Highway Glider is less than 2.5% of overall fuel consumption on a midsize passenger car at highway speeds of 75 mph or above.

Now that sounds like a challenge....

[Sean T.]

I think the clear covers that bulge out slightly would be the ideal solution. They are close to the beginning of a teardrop shape, and the smoothness is better than the uneven stamped letters on the plate.

[bennelson]

You're right, that #4 DOES sound like a challenge.

Might be interesting to get a couple Ecomodders to test this thing out.

I think we would need a Scangauge, smooth road, and a windless day.

[MetroMPG]

Gurantee #4 Reward for $1,000.00 : We are offering an unconditional $1,000 Reward to anybody who can scientifically or physically prove that the fuel savings derived from Highway Glider is less than 2.5% of overall fuel consumption on a midsize passenger car at highway speeds of 75 mph or above.

McTimson - great find!

That would be relatively easy to do, too. Somehow, I doubt you'd ever see the money if you showed a less than 2.5% difference.

PS - welcome to the site.

[RH77]

It's good to get people thinking about aero, but I can see parallel parking or tight parking garages rendering it shattered into a million pieces.

Plus, I agree -- the effect may be minimal.

[azraelswrd]

My spider-sense is telling me that isn't legal, especially in California.

[SVOboy]

On top of #4, EcoModder will send a shirt to whoever can prove (to their standards) that it doesn't hit 2.5%.

Sure, a shirt isn't much on top of $1000, but I don't own a sedan and I really wanna see some hardcore ecomodder debunking.