Removing winshield wipers. Big difference in cod? - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

carbonaltima · 05-14-2010, 01:19 PM

Will removing my windsheild wipers make a big difference in reducing aerodynamic drag?

Daox · 05-14-2010, 01:20 PM

Nope.

wyatt · 05-14-2010, 01:59 PM

I put in a wiper block, and it does reduce wind noise, but I run with sometimes and without others, and there is no noticeable difference in FE. The biggest difference is not having air coming in the vents [without the blower on] when driving (great in the winter, not so great when it's 90+deg out).

lunarhighway · 05-14-2010, 03:41 PM

i think wipers are the last thing you want to remove... on some cars the rear wipers might have an impact, but i think on most modern cars they don't interfere with the overall airflow.

Gasoline Fumes · 05-15-2010, 01:57 AM

What about cars where the hood and windshield are almost the same angle?

I get very little air coming through the vents without the fan running. I don't think there's much of a high pressure zone there. I took the passenger's side wiper off, but I have no idea if it makes any difference.

RobertSmalls · 05-15-2010, 11:09 AM

GasFumes, tuft testing would be really easy to do in the vicinity of your wipers, and you could compare flow across the driver's versus passenger's side.

lunarhighway · 05-15-2010, 11:59 AM

3-Wheeler · 05-15-2010, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

GasFumes, tuft testing would be really easy to do in the vicinity of your wipers, and you could compare flow across the driver's versus passenger's side.

I really like what Basjoos did on his AeroCivic.

If I were to make a replacement hood for the Insight, this would certainly be done as well.

Jim.

Gasoline Fumes · 05-17-2010, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

GasFumes, tuft testing would be really easy to do in the vicinity of your wipers, and you could compare flow across the driver's versus passenger's side.

The driver's side wiper parks pretty close to the center of the car. I tried tuft testing with no wipers, driver's wiper and both wipers. All tufts were tight against the glass, with a little more "wagging" on the driver's side. But I saw no difference with or without wipers.

This is with just the driver's wiper, but the tufts looked the same in each test.

hotrodfeguy · 05-17-2010, 09:57 AM

I like the pic but I think you need a pic for with and without. To see if there is any change.