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Old 06-08-2009, 03:07 PM   #10 (permalink)
aerohead
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belly

Quote:
Originally Posted by vinny1989 View Post
I'm betting the belly pans didn't help much. - those vw campers had an almost smooth underbelly anyways, same as the beetles.

Would lowering it have helped at all?
My van was just the standard transporter and lacked all the Westfalia equipment,which I mimicked.The original underside was a deep,ladder-type frame with deep recesses.According to R.G.S.White's Method of Estimating Drag Coefficients,it had one of the worst undersides in the industry.After studying Aerodynamics of Road Vehicles by Skybor and Rylski,I was convinced that my VW was a premium candidate for the bellypan.--------- Lowering would have certainly helped,although would effect utility for the places I'm likely to go( I still have the van).Lowering any vehicle effectively increases its fineness ratio,reduces frontal area a smidge due to cloaking of the tires,and also lowers C.G.,all good things.
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