My prototype wheel skirt

[vtec-e]

Here's a prototype skirt on my car. What do the experts think? I realise that part of the upper half of the wheel is exposed, thereby lessening the effectiveness of the skirt. But i figured it may allow me to permanently fix it to the car and also not have it bulging out wide enough which may increase frontal area. I know, it's a tiny increase but what the heck!
It's made from foam board and i heated the front and rear bits so as they curve with the bodywork. I also flared out the front a little to direct air around the tire. It took the heat of my gas cooker well, once i experimented with some scraps...
It also cut well with a stanley knife. The edges were rounded with a file.
Oh, the duct tape is merely for the picture. I have to make some brackets and a reinforcing rib to go along the straight edge. This may be curved for extra clearance and rigidity.

[Daox]

It looks good!

Unfortunately, foam board won't hold up to the elements well over time.

[elhigh]

I can't help but wonder if covering more of the wheel wouldn't be a better plan. It would hide more of a moving surface from the airflow. You'd have to sculpt it more, and maybe require more of a pronounced flex on the trailing edge, enough to cause flow separation. That would be Bad, but I'm just spitballing here.

[vtec-e]

Originally Posted by Daox

It looks good!

Unfortunately, foam board won't hold up to the elements well over time.

That may be an issue alright. I was planning on painting it so that may cut down some of the uv damage, not that we get much of that round these parts!

Elhigh, yeah it's definitely not ideal but it does help me keep the skirt as flat as possible and also will hopefully allow me to remove the rear wheel without having to remove the skirt.
Hey, if it doesn't deliver the goods i can always make another pair.
Because i'm a sucker for ecomodding!
I'll make the other one later and duct tape them on for testing. I figure i should see if they work before taking lots of precious time making brackets.

ollie

[MetroMPG]

Mercedes has put "partial" rear wheel skirts like yours (minus your "doglegs") on all of its recent crop of efficient concept cars, from the Boxfish "Bionic" car to the Bluezero, to the F700.

All of which suggests if you can't do a full skirt, a partial one is still worth it.

Note that if you do a Google image search on the Mercs, their skirts may not immediately jump out because they often use clear plastic material. This pic shows one in smoked plastic:

[MetroMPG]

PS - you should add this thread to the Project Library.

[MetroMPG]

Oops, I was wrong: the Merc F700 has "doglegs" on its clear plastic rear skirts in this pic:



Click image to zoom to a much larger view.

[lunarhighway]

reminds me a bit of the greenpeace ecomodded renault twingo


so it'll be an improvement over stock i think

[Piwoslaw]

Wow! That's probably the closest fit you can get and still be able to remove the wheel. What's the clearance when that quarter of the car is raised? I especially like the flares to direct airflow. Could you post a pic from a different POV, like a view from the rear?

Re: clear wheel skirts - There was a discussion somewhere about clear hubcaps and the problem would be the same - Mud. Clear is good for sterile showrooms, not puddles in potholes.

[cfg83]

vtec-e -

I like it. Can you take a picture of the whole side of the car? I think the slant is a positive aesthetic for your Yaris, but I can't tell from the close-up. If you get the snap-in racing disks later, I think it will need to come out more because the cover bows out a bit.

CarloSW2