Factory aero tweaks ( please contribute images )

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Cd

An excellent way to have a good look at what car manufacturers are doing aero wise to their cars these days is to visit a car dealership.

I just snapped shots of cars I encountered during the time I was struggling with the "aero trunk lid" ideas... here they are.

[Cd]

I have a neighbor that drives a VW

I believe it is this car ( passat ? ) :



I tried to get a good shot of the underside of the car, but i also didn't want to risk getting shot at so I set my phone on video and acted like I had dropped something on the ground while holding the phone down low.

What surprised me was that the entire underbelly is covered and has dimples in the paneling, much like the Audi i mentioned earlier.

Unfortunately, I'm on a Mac and i cant bring in the video. I will post some actual photos as the opportunity presents itself.

[lunarhighway]

The new cruze hatchback that was recently released over here also seems to have some "side spoilers" on the rear windshield in some foto's. i'm not sure if they're standard but they look interesting, especially since the angle of the rear is much less vertical than previous examples

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Cd

I have a neighbor that drives a VW
I believe it is this car ( passat ? ) :

That's a VW Passat CC.

[Cd]

Originally Posted by lunarhighway

The new cruze hatchback that was recently released over here also seems to have some "side spoilers" on the rear windshield in some foto's. i'm not sure if they're standard but they look interesting, especially since the angle of the rear is much less vertical than previous examples

Sharp eyes !
I just wish they would get more bold with it and extend it out more.

I hope we get the hatch over here in the US. It looks so much better.

[Cd]

Originally Posted by euromodder

That's a VW Passat CC.

So i found the CC mentioned above. I was clueless as to what the car was and had to look it up since the car has no name badges other than the VW
logo.



A truly beautiful car !
I managed to sneak a couple of rushed pictures of the underside of the car.
I must say the underside is almost as impressive as the top side.

I have seen a lot of beautifully designed undersides on German cars such as Porsche, Audi, and VW, but it seems nearly everyone else is pretty much content on just having a cover under the engine to the front wheel wells.

Note the dimples on the underside of the CC - not only on the front, but along the side panels as well. We all know that dimples do not work on anything besides golf balls, but why would VW and Audi go through all the trouble of creating the dimples if they did not have a function ? After all, no one will ever even see them, except for the mechanics.

If they are for rigidity, why choose a dimpled shape versus the more common ridges ( especially apparent in post # 6 showing the ridges on the Fit and CRZ )

Also of note is how well that VW has tucked the underside into the bumper - nice and flush.

[Cd]

I found a Lexus LS430 in the parking lot and tried to discretely take some pictures of the underside. The LS430 has ( with optional air suspension ) the exact same Cd - point twenty five - as that of the new Prius and the first generation Insight, yet looks like a brick to the untrained eye.



Sorry for the crappy pictures. Like I said, I tried to be discreet about it and not get shot at. Note the ridges versus dimpling - did Lexus drop the dimpling gimmick on the LS430 , because I certainly do not see the dimples.

The generation previous was the LS400 and had a Cd of .27 . The car was even more brick like in appearance and I was always baffled by how the car could get such low drag. I did a lot of reading on the car and read several times that one of the main things that made the car so streamlined was the underbelly.
Lexus even made a commercial that bragged about this fact that the car even had a dimpled underside to produce less drag. I never managed to catch the commercial, and even called Lexus about it. The commercial is titled " Dimples " and shows a LS400 which is turned upside down in a ( computer generated no doubt ) wind tunnel.
I found a similar commercial here, but 'no cigar'.

[Cd]

BTW, That commercial is such a joke, the smoke is so fake.

Haha just look at the 'FrankLee' pressure bubble at the base of the windshield ...and that angle on the back ... great stuff.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Cd

why would VW and Audi go through all the trouble of creating the dimples if they did not have a function ?
If they are for rigidity, why choose a dimpled shape versus the more common ridges

I have a few educated guesses.

It helps rigidity, it's probably easier and lighter to make out of a flat sheet - sharp angles also concentrate stress when thermoforming plastics.

A circle keeps the same aspect from every angle.
Flow underneath the car isn't lengthwise, and the angle will vary with speed.
Ridges will interfere with the actual flow pattern.

Also of note is how well that VW has tucked the underside into the bumper - nice and flush.

Looks like they added small VGs on the rear bumper - ccrear1.jpg