Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldsmobile
Lots of interesting ideas. I should mention, that some of the more radical ideas of re-shaping the body will probably backfire, as changing things completely will probably ad more weight.
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Done properly, even additional weight is more than offset by the efficiency gains of drag reduction - unless of course you spend all your time below 20 mph.
- Even adding a small partial Kammback, (Mighty Mira's car), while it adds a small amount of weight, will help.
The aerodynamic problem facing the Escort wagon (and any similarly shaped van or 2 box style car) is that the maximum projected (frontal) area happens very near the back of the car. If no body mods are planned, an Escort sedan would have been a better choice.
The wagon can be made better than the sedan. But you're right - it will have to be a
radical change.
The problem as I see it isn't going to be added weight. A chopped/teardropped roof would actually remove weight, since there'd be both less glass and metal in the car.
The biggest problem is the sheer difficulty of a mod of that magnitude.
(Photoshop image coming, XFi...)