A work in progress.

[320touring]

Originally Posted by euromodder

I had a 306 DT - same crap.

Next car can't be PSA , PSA-engined , PSA-built nor can it be blue

Companies that have ties with PSA (like Toyota, BMW through MINI) will be frowned upon ...

Skoda Felicia 1.9sdi estate.

You've ruled out ford/Mazda etc with the 'no PSA' rule..

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by 320touring

You've ruled out ford/Mazda etc with the 'no PSA' rule..

Their diesels anyway.
The petrol engines aren't PSA made or developed, while the ecoboost range is a Ford development AFAIK

Skoda Felicia 1.9sdi estate.

No more diesels for me.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by euromodder

I've ordered some dimple tape just for fun.

The turbulator tape is in.
In photographs it appeared to have thermo-formed dimples in clear tape.
In reality, they're fairly rough holes punched through the tape.
I'll need dry weather to install it though.


The hot air issue seems to be sorted.
Repeatedly turning the temperature knob from minimum to maximum seems to have done the trick.


I've done a short tank without any DPF regenerations, just to see what the effect would be, and was rewarded with a record 4.09 L/100km or 57,75 mpg !

Half of that tank was driven in the pouring rain though.
The dry half showed 0.2L/100km less on the OBC, so I would have beaten 4L/100km (59 mpg) if it had been dry !
D@mn.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by euromodder

The turbulator tape is in.

And now it's on

I don't expect any great gains from it, but we'll see what gives.
Tape and dimples / punched holes are only 1.5mm thick - probably way too thin.

The rear bumper toes in a fair bit, but the lower part is rounded rather than ending in a sharp ridge to allow for air separation - as Volvo did on the taillights.
The idea here is to draw more air into the wake by keeping the air on the bumper a bit longer.

Rear hatch, again, rounded off from roof to rear window.
The idea again is to bend the air into following the body lines.
The upper taillights are rounded, getting ever more squarish as it goes down.
The side window rubber is probably already stirring up the air there.


Mirror. Two strips of turbulator tape on top, one below.


Windshield / A-pillars. One strip across the top of the windshield, clearing the wipers, and a strip on either side on the A-pillar.
Looking forward to changes in air flow while driving in the rain - the rain would always spill over onto the side window.

[maczo]

Are you planning any serious testing? The strips look kind of pale next to the shark-fin roof-top VG, don't they?

Also, I'm confused as to what is more beneficial - trying to bend the flow to "fill the wake" (rear bumper) or having it separate cleanly (rear lights).

Oh, and hi everyone! (first post)

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by maczo

Are you planning any serious testing?

No.
If there's any benefit, it'll be small .
It'll definitely get lost in the daily variations.

The + :
The car is definitely quieter !
This series (C30/S40/V50) has been troubled by questionable A-pillar aerodynamics, and as a result lots of wind noise.
It seems to be replaced by a slight whizzing sound .

The - :
The strip on the underside of the passenger mirror is already gone.
The strip on the windshield has come loose over 4-5 inches.
Maybe I should have prepped the surface better

The strips look kind of pale next to the shark-fin roof-top VG, don't they?

Yeah

The dimples are really tiny .

Also, I'm confused as to what is more beneficial - trying to bend the flow to "fill the wake" (rear bumper) or having it separate cleanly (rear lights).

I share your confusion

Round or round-ish rear ends are to be avoided at all cost - they increase drag, see Coanda, and on a trailer can lead to handling issues in sidewinds.
But the curves are already there, so I'll try to make it work to my advantage.

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by maczo

Also, I'm confused as to what is more beneficial - trying to bend the flow to "fill the wake" (rear bumper) or having it separate cleanly (rear lights).

Check out where I get dust deposits on the rounded rear lights of my Peugeot. The pictures show where the airflow starts to detach, gradually slowing down enough for the dust to stick. If the rear had a sharp edge, then there wouldn't be any deposits.

Ah, i witaj na EcoModderze

[lowglider]

Hey euromodder, can I ask you where you got the tape from?
One time I bought something similar and it didn`t work at all for wind noise and that`s just what I would like to reduce on the highway.
Noise pollution is still pollution and it`s much more enjoyable to drive a quiet car.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by lowglider

Hey euromodder, can I ask you where you got the tape from?

An online store for glider aircraft products.

One time I bought something similar and it didn`t work at all for wind noise and that`s just what I would like to reduce on the highway.

They seem to help a bit - though that's subjective.


The tape is already peeling.
OK, I didn't somehow prep the surface of the car - no instructions came with the turbulator tape - but still ... that's quick to come undone.


Do they work ?
Definitely - though it won't show up in the fuel consumption.

During rains squalls, I used to have a big patch of water on the upper half of the side windows, running aft for about 1/3rd the length of the window. So something must have kept the water there.

With the turbulator tape running along the A-pillar , I now have a number of thin parallel streaks of water, almost top to bottom, angling down towards the rear, and extending over half the length of the side window .


So however small, these dimples are doing something, and that in itself is already amazing to me.

[Piwoslaw]

Almost like tuft testing...