B13 '91 Nissan Sentra aero mods.

[Cd]

Can you please show an image of your wheels turned ?

[blownb310]

Originally Posted by Cd

Can you please show an image of your wheels turned ?

I'm sorry Cd, I haven't taken any. But essentially if I would have, they would look like this:



After fabricating them and rushing them onto the car [at 4:00 am the morning of the event] there was no time to test them. So on my way to the event later that morning, I heard something flapping going straight down the highway at 55 mph. I leaned out my window and saw that air pressure had pulled open the leading edge of [I assume both of them] and overpowered the forward bungy cords. Mine do not have a frame [like Darin made on his Firefly as seen below].

.....so on the side of the road, I simply applied a strip of duct tape to seal the front edges.

For the rest of the day I simply did not turn sharply enough to have forced the tape to let go. They rub a bit in tighter corners but evidently there is enough flex in them that they absorb the push without deformation. So then I stopped worrying about it as I was not having any issues, even after negotiating three sharp hairpin turns coming down Mt. Greylock during the Tri-State event. Lug-Nut [Jonathan] suggested that I could have installed the front fairings inside of the side panel's wheel openings, instead of on the outside like I did. That would have lessened the amount of clearance so I'm not sure it would have worked for me.

Remember that all of this is temporary and will come back off in a couple of weeks.

I've purchased a '97 Metro and will start [more permanent] efforts over again with it the spring.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by blownb310

Thanks everyone. No I haven't. I was hoping to hear some negative things about my Kamm tail design to encourage me to rush a boat tail together before the 16th when I make one final attempt this year for a new personal best mpg.


I know that the sharp crease on each of the [top to side] panels of the tail are not ideal, but is there anything fundamentally wrong with how the tail ends, or how abruptly each lower side panel ends near the rear bumper?

Mike

Mike,if you could manage a long-distance telephoto shot of the car from the side we could look at the roof profile and diffuser angle.
That would help with noodling you a boat tail.
Thanks for the 1-hour of sleep sacrifice.You're among a rarified group with the willingness to tough it out.Kudos!

[JRMichler]

Originally Posted by blownb310

I know that the sharp crease on each of the [top to side] panels of the tail are not ideal, but is there anything fundamentally wrong with how the tail ends, or how abruptly each lower side panel ends near the rear bumper?

Mike

Rectangular cross sections are not always bad. Google Wittman Tailwind for a good example.

[d0sitmatr]

I have to say that looks very well done with such a short time for installation. Kudo's.
Id drive that every day.
I may incorporate a lot of that design for my 94 protege if it doesnt sell soon


for the front wheel skirts, I had an idea about pushing them out a little, basically making them almost 1/2 egg shaped, to give you more clearance for turning. while it wouldnt be the best overall aero shape, I still think its functionality would be better than open wheels.

[skyking]

Originally Posted by KamperBob

Nice! Considering everything you did and 70+ mpg I doubt you left much loss on the table. I can visualize rear end eddies tucking under what overhang you have so I'm skeptical how much more a full boat tail could help. Cool beans!

The baseball analogy: He swung for the fences and hit a home run on the first pitch!
Great work man.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by blownb310

Thanks everyone. No I haven't. I was hoping to hear some negative things about my Kamm tail design to encourage me to rush a boat tail together before the 16th when I make one final attempt this year for a new personal best mpg.


I know that the sharp crease on each of the [top to side] panels of the tail are not ideal, but is there anything fundamentally wrong with how the tail ends, or how abruptly each lower side panel ends near the rear bumper?

Mike

Pretty sure there are tools to cut Coroplast flutes so you can bend around a radius, rather than simple folds into sharp creases.

Also, the side panels could be longer, and start at the leading edges of the rear side windows, tucked in behind the pillar. You'd lose visibility through the rear side windows, but maybe save a bit of turbulence and drag.

Fairings in front and behind each of the tires?

[blownb310]

Originally Posted by aerohead

Mike,if you could manage a long-distance telephoto shot of the car from the side we could look at the roof profile and diffuser angle.
That would help with noodling you a boat tail.
Thanks for the 1-hour of sleep sacrifice. You're among a rarified group with the willingness to tough it out.Kudos!

Thanks very much aerohead. I will take a side profile picture after work tomorrow and post it in this thread.

Also, thanks very much to d0sitmatr, Otto, and skyking for your comments!

[blownb310]

Originally Posted by aerohead

Mike, if you could manage a long-distance telephoto shot of the car from the side we could look at the roof profile and diffuser angle.
That would help with noodling you a boat tail.

Thank you and I'm sorry for the delay. Here is a side picture of my Sentra. I would really love it if someone could use photoshop to overlay the profile of the ideal shape template to check the diffuser angle.



Mike

[Reloadwin]

Looks great could you please take pictures of the inside bottom of you front grille. How do you keep it sturdy from the wind hitting it?