Aerodynamic design question.

[donee]

Hi binary...,

Back when gas was like $4.50 around here last year, the Beetles and Carman Ghias and the one in your picture, all came out of the wood work around here. And the gasoline smell out of these was somewhat strong compared to modern cars. To get good fuel economy you are probably going to need a reengineered fuel system. Jayman on Prius Chat said the Air Cooled VWs were calibrated to run rich to help keep the engine cool. I can relate to that as when my Tempo had a failing fuel pump, it would overheat. Running lean is running hot.

[evolutionmovement]

They also had vented fuel systems for evaporative emissions.

[srortega]

I like the Ghia too, but if i had my choice of old VW, I think the notchback is the way to go. It may not be the most aerodynamic either, but they sure look good when they are done right.

[Nevyn]

The Cd of an Old Beetle is .48 or .49. Scary! New ones are .38-.39 territory without the spoiler.

{/me remembers to cite sources }

The Mayfield Homepage - Coefficient of Drag for Selected Vehicles

Browser Warning

MAX-MPG TECHNOLOGY

[Frank Lee]

Mayfield is not all "real" figures; they are extrapolated and IIRC the purpose of it was for gaming.

[Christ]

If you want the car, get it.

You'll figure out ways to get it better later, but the car is better off in the hands of a modder who will keep it at least in OEM condition than it is in the hands of someone who will try to tune it up to make 300^x-e horsepower and go hot rodding down the street, killing some woman and her small child who just wanted to rescue his ball from the evil road.

Besides, there are aftermarket ways to reduce the emissions of the car, like sealing the fuel system, aftermarket mechanical fuel injection, PCV add-ons, etc. Probably should add a catalytic converter if you're really worried about them, but if you end up with the 32 HP Gen 1 motor, you're not going to want that cat on there, as you'll end up with more like 26 HP, if you're lucky.

In addition, it's air-cooled. If you want better efficiency, a few provisional ducts to vent air to the engine, and lean the mix out a bit with hotter plugs. They do run rich OEM, for cooling reasons. I never found it necessary, but I'm not even close to a Volks'pert.

[Cd]

Originally Posted by Christ

If you want the car, get it.

.

I was think that same thing exactly !
Personally, I think that car is beautiful.
The fact that the fastback rear glass is too " steep " to be ideal seems meaningless when you see how cars such as the Lexus LS-430 achieved drag figures equal to the 1st generation Insight. ( .25 )
The Lexus LS-430 had a very steep angle to the back glass, yet the airflow reattached itself on the trunklid.

[SwamiSalami]

The fastback is a great car.

[binarycortex]

Originally Posted by srortega

I like the Ghia too, but if i had my choice of old VW, I think the notchback is the way to go. It may not be the most aerodynamic either, but they sure look good when they are done right.

This is quite true. I have always favored the notchback. Maybe we are related.

[binarycortex]

Originally Posted by donee

Hi binary...,

Back when gas was like $4.50 around here last year, the Beetles and Carman Ghias and the one in your picture, all came out of the wood work around here. And the gasoline smell out of these was somewhat strong compared to modern cars. To get good fuel economy you are probably going to need a reengineered fuel system. Jayman on Prius Chat said the Air Cooled VWs were calibrated to run rich to help keep the engine cool. I can relate to that as when my Tempo had a failing fuel pump, it would overheat. Running lean is running hot.

Honestly, those were just not running right, and not properly tuned. A good running 1600 actually has very low emissions. My '71 Super Beetle had a 1600 in it. When I took it for emissions the paper said the maximum for hydrocarbons was 450 ppm, I had 45 ppm. So those people just needed a tune up.