New, interesting, and weird ideas

[RandomFact314]

I know this is random, but lately I have been thinking about do hypermiling (really aero mods) on a very small scale...

At first I was thinking about testing a rc car, then modding it to be more aero with boat tails and belly pans exc to see how much further it went with a full charge.... Then I got to thinking...

What about golf carts? These things just are not very aero... I bet the batteries in those things would last longer if the body was not so un-aero... Boat tails on a golf cart anyone? This seems rediculous but if you have a golf cart your paying to charge those batteries too ya know

I know this stuff sounds rediculous but IDK it would just be interesting to see results of aero modding a golf cart to see how much further it goes on 1 charge

[rbrowning]

Unless you golf at a different type of course than I have the speed of the carts is pretty slow. At low speeds rolling resistance (weight, drag etc) make the most difference and aero mods become more important as speed goes up. For most passenger cars that cross over is around 45-50 mph and most carts won't go that fast.

One of the big problems with a reduced scale model test for fluid drag is surface finish. If you make a 1/10 scale model the surface finish and imperfections need to be nearly perfect or they get greatly exaggerated. NASA can afford to spend the big $ to make a perfect model because of the cost and complexity of testing a full sized item. Most of us can't.

[cfg83]

RandomFact314 -

I agree with rbrowning. I think you *always* benefit from aero, but the bang-for-the-buck will be very small in comparison to city/highway car speeds.

How about an aeromodded scooter?

CarloSW2