Aerocivic - how to drop your Cd from 0.31 to 0.17

[basjoos]

The entire right side of the boat tail is still original. I just had to replace the glazing, interior plastic, several taillights, the left and top side skins, and several aluminum bars and angles in the interior structure that were too damaged to re-bend back to their original shapes.

[TestDrive]

Originally Posted by Christ

I'm not sure, and I'm too lazy to look back... but is the new boat tail smoother than the old one?

It looks better somehow than the old one did.

FWIW Here is a Slideshow of basjoos' Aerocivic photobucket album.

Hint: Click reverse order (bottom middle - just above film strip) as soon as the page loads.

[Tercelerat0r]

Again I must say, GREAT JOB basjoos. After looking over your pictures and from my limited knowledge of how fluids flow. Would giving your Civic more of a blunt nose(similar to a submarine) possibly net you more mpg and better airflow? If I had photoshop I would draw a cross-section of what I'm thinking.

[dichotomous]

Originally Posted by Tercelerat0r

Again I must say, GREAT JOB basjoos. After looking over your pictures and from my limited knowledge of how fluids flow. Would giving your Civic more of a blunt nose(similar to a submarine) possibly net you more mpg and better airflow? If I had photoshop I would draw a cross-section of what I'm thinking.

I doubt it since it would be putting more air under the car where the path is dirtier. plus, keeping the airflow over the car instead of under is better to keep the car grounded. otherwise he would be building a wing and at 70mph could start to have some lift and that becomes dangerous.

[basjoos]

The car had a blunt nose when it still had it's stock bumper and that stock bumper was a great collector of smashed bugs. I got a noticable drop in aero drag and a 2/3 reduction in the size of the A pillar vortex when I added the rounded nosepiece to the front. And the bugs and birds (and deer) get lifted up and go right over the top of the car rather than getting plastered on the blunt nose. Its still amazing when I see a bird cross low in front of me through what used to be the kill zone (feathers in the grill) and it gets picked up and carried over the car by the airflow. My car still has a blunt nose, its just much smaller than it was before. The tip of the nosepiece is a 6" diameter half circle. The nosepiece also gave me a place to mount my adjustable radiator inlet.

Thanks to the smooth underpaneling and inner side skirts, the airflow path under my car is fairly clean. But I don't want to redirect any additional air under the car so it doesn't get compressed as it passes under the car.

[KJSatz]

Deer eh? Wouldn't be too good if it deflected off the nosepiece right into the windshield....

I really hate driving when there are deer or dogs around.

[basjoos]

The nosepiece acted like a scoop to redirect and propel the deer straight up, it never touched the windshield. The last I saw of it, it was upside down going straight up.

[Tercelerat0r]

Ok, got it. If your car rode higher off the ground that could help you out, but since it doesn't that would be counter productive

[Christ]

LOL @ Deer

I don't mind driving when they're around, but it's like driving in town on "let your kid walk in the street day"... you just have to be VERY careful and patient.

The idea is to not scare the deer... let them make a rational decision, and they'll always run AWAY from your car. I grew up in the wooded area of north PA.. so deer are my friends... literally, I have one out back as a pet. (It's my wife's step-dad's... but it's here.)

[basjoos]

Here's a pic of the LED light show from the back of my car. Its not the best photo since the digital camera is a cheap one and doesn't take very good night shots.