Designing/building front wheel skirts v.1.0 (Geo Metro)

[Funny]

I have to say Darin, that is one fine lookin' vehicle you got there.

So when's the boat tail going to be complete? It would slice through the night air like a UFO . I don't even think that cops would try to pull you over!

Imagine them trying to describe that back at the station... "well guys it was this kinda aerodynamic looking thing, then I spoke with the creature within, and he told me of better gas mileage..."

Good job, man. Videos please!

[Tango Charlie]

Dittos on all the congrats. It looks great!

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

The lower trailing edge however was starting to lift away a few cm from the car at that speed. Not surprising, really - it has the shape of a wing. Tighter rubber band on the trailing edge, coming right up...

That nice smooth taper aft of the wheel is producing some sideways lift, eh? (trying to speak your language, eh? )
Lift does produce drag. It would be an infinitesimal improvement, but I wonder if you could eliminate the production of lift without increasing drag? This got me thinking about lift produced elsewhere on cars, but maybe that should be discussed elsewhere...

Again, it looks really really good, MetroMPG! Now get cracking on the other side, mister!

[MetroMPG]

Ernie, welcome to the forum!

Boat tail... next summer, maybe. (Not a full one; I'm thinking of removable panels.)

Let's not talk about getting pulled over by the police... though it's probably getting more and more likely.

[aerohead]

Darin,I wish the elves had some active-suspension magic fairy dust I could send your way which would allow the Metro to drop half the wheel diameter when cruising on the highway.There seems to be a lot of ground clearance which could be lost.I'm certain it would show at the pump.Yep,the ideas come easy,it's the implementation that slows everything to a standstill.------- Looks great! Looks OEM! Many probably won't even notice.It's seamless!

[Cd]

I'll second what Aerohead said about the ride height.
Any guesses as to why that the car was designed to sit up so high ?

[Funny]

Have none of us heard of air ride suspensions? How do you think low riders can do the bounce?

mmmmm.....active suspension.....sounds like a project for those of us Ecomodders who are fabulously wealthy.....

Why do I hear crickets?

[MetroMPG]

I have no idea why they made the ride height so tall!

One thought I've had is it's compensation for the car's small size. There seems to be a correlation between ride height and people's perception of safety. You used to hear people say that all the time about SUV's: "I love sitting up high!"

Lowering is definitely on my to-do list, but this tinkering season is kaput, unfortunately. The fat lady has sung for 2008.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

Were you getting an average of 80+mpg before building the front skirts? What is your mileage now?!

[Edit: If your 90-day average goes up noticeably after you get the front skirts on, that'll be good enough for me!

Also, the taller small cars is how 6'-4" tall folks like myself fit in them! I can fit in the front and the backseat of my xA.]

[MetroMPG]

I don't really have an "average" MPG because I don't use the car much and when I do, it's rarely on the same route/conditions.

Also, I haven't driven the car since adding the (one) skirt.

I wouldn't count on trip/tank mileage as an indication of success/failure anyway. A-B-A is your friend! All else is madness!

[Cd]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I have no idea why they made the ride height so tall!

One thought I've had is it's compensation for the car's small size. There seems to be a correlation between ride height and people's perception of safety. You used to hear people say that all the time about SUV's: "I love sitting up high!"

I suspect that this is why that todays cars are on average what seems like 4.5 " - to over 6" taller than cars from just a decade ago.

Have you ever seen a new Fit / Scion / or even a Prius next to an older Civic or Metro ?

I'm going to create a seperate post about this ( trying to get guesses as to why that the cars are becoming so tall and narrow ) It makes them look cartoonish.
( I had read of designers creating things larger for Americans increasing hip sizes, but it strikes me as odd that cars are increasing more in height vs. width )

Back on topic folks : About the wheel skirts, is it possible to create a lip that seals the gap when the wheel is turned, or does the arch of the turn prohibit this ? It seems like this would be a good way to keep air from catching the assembly and tearing it off .... then again you could use heavy duty springs like BassJoos