windshield

[muffildy]

So i am looking into the windshield angle mod listed in the efficiency mods section, and i was wondering what windshield would be the best replacement for a mazda miata to maintain best visibility with the new windshield angle?

if i just kept it stock, i expect i would be seeing 20% less of the road.

[ChazInMT]

Modifying the windshield for what? You will see very little gain in efficiency by changing it, and it sounds like a galactic pain in the butt if you want it to look and work good. Your efforts would be better spent elsewhere on the car.

[mcrews]

unless your building a showcar/hotrod.....why would you start at the windshield?
I would look at a body kit to get a lower profile withuot scraficing the ride quality by lowering the suspension.

[muffildy]

its a total conversion project
im harvesting the mazda miata drivetrain/suspesion and building a sandrail style chassis, attaching a body to it. So the amount of work is astronomical and wouldnt be reduced by keeping the old windshield. But i want it to be more aerodynamic, so i need a windshield which is the approximate width of the stock miata but a little bit taller so that the angle can be changed with no ill effects on visibility.

[kach22i]

I think a lot of people are going to start posting images of that green teardrop template if you don't clarify that you are doing this so that it "looks" faster and more aerodynamic.

[muffildy]

it doesnt have to look anything
it needs to be more aerodynamic
the stock miata is something like .37 coef of drag
frontal area should be pretty much stock miata though since the width/height are being determined by a lot of the harvested parts, but the aerodynamics can hopefully be improved to be a .25 or so coef of drag.
So to do that i basically need to follow almost all of the aeromods listed on this website, which includes changing the angle the windshield meets the hood at to be less severe of a change. to do that i think i will need a taller windshield.

I was thinking of switching to the toyota prius windshield, which is slightly wider as well so the wheels would end up being slightly recessed which would be ok since then i can cover them with panels without there being a bump.
but im open to other options.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by muffildy

it doesnt have to look anything
it needs to be more aerodynamic
the stock miata is something like .37 coef of drag
frontal area should be pretty much stock miata though since the width/height are being determined by a lot of the harvested parts, but the aerodynamics can hopefully be improved to be a .25 or so coef of drag.
So to do that i basically need to follow almost all of the aeromods listed on this website, which includes changing the angle the windshield meets the hood at to be less severe of a change. to do that i think i will need a taller windshield.

I was thinking of switching to the toyota prius windshield, which is slightly wider as well so the wheels would end up being slightly recessed which would be ok since then i can cover them with panels without there being a bump.
but im open to other options.

If you were going to go to all the trouble to re-engineer your windshield you'd want to all the way to something like a GTP windshield,as Venom and McClaren,Mercedes C-111 III,etc. run.These are $ 3,000 windshield and would require massive modifications to the entire cowl area.
My neighbor ditched his Miata ,got a CRX and picked up 12 mpg without lifting a finger.

[Frank Lee]

People still think the hood/windshield junction is the problem

[brucepick]

Have a look here, for some basics on the ideal shape to strive for.

Aerodynamic Streamlining Template: Part-C

Yes you'll want to optimize your windshield - but I would think you would want to optimize the entire 3 dimensional shape of the vehicle.

[Ryland]

But isn't most of the drag from the rear of the vehicle and from the underside, the amount of drag from the shape of the front is such a small percentage it's hardly even worth worrying about if you are ignoring the rest.