How do I find... Cd and Frontal Area?

[Bow]

I am having trouble find the follow numbers for my 1998 Nissan Frontier XE

Coefficient of Drag (factory)
Frontal Area (factory - sq. ft.)

Does anyone know where I can locate them?

[Old Tele man]

...when in doubt, haul the tape-measure out!

...area (A) is simple: measure width, height and ground clearance! that'll get you the frontal area (don't forget to subtract the ground clearance from the height!)

...Cd is gonna be a "search & find" situation, I'm afraid.

[Bow]

Thank you sir!

Is that Roof height, or Hood height?

[Old Tele man]

...roof, because you're calculating the cars' "total frontal area."

[Frank Lee]

That ain't how it's been done.

Take published w x h x .8 for a commonly accepted frontal area estimate.

[MetroMPG]

Finding Cd is going to be tough. Little interest in that stat in the vehicle's target market.

As for A: a somewhat more involved method using a digital camera with a strong optical zoom:

Different ways to measure/calculate frontal area (A)

[Bow]

Nice Link, Thanks

I found this on that Blueprint site in your thread:


So it looks like:
H: 1615 mm / 25.4 = 63.58 In = 5.298 ft
W: 1690 mm / 25.4 = 66.54 In = 5.545 ft

63.58 x 66.54 x 0.8 = 3384.49 sq in

or

5.298 x 5.545 x 0.8 = 23.50 sqft

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by Bow

5.298 x 5.545 x 0.8 = 4.436 sqft

You might want to try that again.

[Piwoslaw]

I f you can't find numbers for the drag coefficient, then try coastdown testing. It's not really that hard once you find a good stretch of road and know what to pay attention to.

[Bow]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

You might want to try that again.

23.50 sqft...

Tired brain/fat fingers...