Extended wheel skirt...

[BamZipPow]

Had this crazy idea...since I have a T-100 truck. Instead of just trying to put on a wheel skirt...make it fer the entire lower side of the truck. It will probably make it look some some armor on the side...

It will have support on the bottom so it doesn't move horizontally and back into the rear tire. It will be pushed out a little on the bottom edge to clear the rear tire. There will be a wedge up front to keep air from gitting in between the body and the panel. It will probably only be installed fer long runs on the road instead of local drives. I want to use some material like the R-Matte I used fer the side skirts...

Here's the area it would cover...


Yer thoughts?

[luvit]

great idea. use plated steel. 3/8" thick.

[cfg83]

BamZipPow -

Me likey how you thinky. I think I have the same option, starting from the rear wheel well, if I choose to implement it :

Originally Posted by cfg83

...

Cutting out the middle is based on jthistle's idea of using a wheel flare as a "base" for a wheel skirt :

Fender flares to make front wheel skirt

However, I think the drain pan is a better "base" for mounting wheel skirts because you don't have to deal with the "curve" of the fender flare (hard to describe). You just have to mount the cover on a uniform "flat" surface. If I was more bold, I would make a cover for mine that looks something like this outline :



...

CarloSW2

[moonmonkey]

it might give you a sharp rear edge for clean seperation ? try it and see! aero is not always going to act like you think it will .do you have a belly pan? that helped me, also do you have any results from your skirts, and how wide are the skirts,are they one narrow peice or as wide as the tires? basjoos aero civic has both an inner and outer side skirts the width of his tires,i think. hard to argue with his results

[Christ]

Guys... why don't we taper those skirts up and under the rear bumper for increased flow into the wake with minimal arc in the direction change?

If you start right at the back edge of the wheel opening, and fold the skirt under the truck/car while tapering it in, you end up with a nice path for flow to... well, flow. as opposed to a square edge for flow to separate from. You also get the benefit of tapered bodywork adding more of the flow into the wake, creating less of a low-pressure zone.

Effectually, this would turn the rear body work into a boat-tail of sorts, especially when included with a rear belly pan.

[moonmonkey]

cfg what is the idea of coming out the back of the wheelwell with that extention? that it is strait and the air will stay attached better? as oppesed to just enclosing the well, or is it more the clean edge the plate will present to the air at the back (clean seperation edge?) sorry for bombariding with all the questions but im wanting to do some mods this week end (skirts,mirror delete,windsheild wiper deflector,more aggresive lower grill block,etc,etc i got excited about the results from my front and rear pans ,but cant do aba on them they take to long to install and remove.

[cfg83]

Christ -

I agree. If I did this, the rear attachment from the bumper would "pull" the coroplast (what I would use) in for the taper you describe, so long as it doesn't interfere with the rear wheel.

CarloSW2

[luvit]

watch departure angle.

[Rokeby]

It looks like an interesting idea with the potential for some smallish, but
always welcomed, FE increase. I think I've read that wheel skirts may be good
for ~0.01 Cd decrease. But what the heck, you're way ahead of the FE game
for a pick up already. "Nothing ventured, nothing won."

I'm wondering if there would be any aero advantage to having th lower edge
aft of the wheel raise up to the bumper and rolling the skirt under the
bodywork..

FWIW, great thread/write up on your mods at ToyotaNation.

[cfg83]

moonmonkey -

Originally Posted by moonmonkey

cfg what is the idea of coming out the back of the wheelwell with that extention? that it is strait and the air will stay attached better? as oppesed to just enclosing the well, or is it more the clean edge the plate will present to the air at the back (clean seperation edge?) sorry for bombariding with all the questions but im wanting to do some mods this week end (skirts,mirror delete,windsheild wiper deflector,more aggresive lower grill block,etc,etc i got excited about the results from my front and rear pans ,but cant do aba on them they take to long to install and remove.

I already have a very flat rear wheel skirt. I compromised on the aerodynamics because I like the "look" of the skirt in it's current state. My "angled kick" is pretty typical in concept cars with rear wheel skirts. For the part I could attach to it, I wouldn't make it go straight out, I would make it taper into the bumper, just like Christ said.

I think BamZipPow's idea, with tapering, is a better aero-design.

CarloSW2