Quote:
Originally Posted by 3-Wheeler
Hi Phil,
I responded to this portion of your post separately since it merits emphasis....
I have pondered doing more with the underside of the Honda Insight Tail Extension to get the active angle closer to 6 degrees or so all the way back to the lights.
One big concern I have is the health of the old country roads I travel on during commutes to work. Suffice it to say they are BUMPY.
If I had a portion of the tail that simply dropped down lower than the current *hard slope*, that moveable portion would make one heck of a racket back there with all the bumps in the road.
It seems that the dropped portion would need some sort of damping, maybe in the form of soft foam rubber, or something else to cushion that constant vibration from the rough road surface.
It would be nice if the soft foam were sealed to prevent picking up moisture from the snow (or rain) when driving down the road.
Beyond that I can see using a small diameter rubber wheel to raise the moveable portion when clearing driveway aprons and such.
Jim.
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Jim,sorry to hear about the ice hicky.I tore one of my wipers attempting to free it from the icy windshield.
I hear ya with respect to wash-boarded roads and such.
My thoughts have gravitated towards a simple lever/cable/pulley system to start out with,and probably only for paved highway and interstate use.
In a situation like yours,you may already have to moderate your speed due to the road conditions,and the diffuser/fairings/strakes might want to just remain stowed until you can really 'let 'em out.'
I like the idea of damping.I'd also like to do something so light,that something like the auto-focus ranging system of a camera could be co-opted to trigger a solenoid if it 'saw' an approaching hazard,lifting the belly instantaneously until danger passed.
Your idea about wheels has been swimming around in my head with respect to wheel fairings which lay just above ground level.The lead fairing would lift over an obstruction on its wheel and a linkage connecting it to the trailing fairing would raise it also so it wouldn't be creamed either.And these would have viscous cuing as in shock absorber or audio turntable arm so they couldn't lower before danger passed.
Wheels projecting from the underside of the diffuser etc. could be 'all terrain following,' in a low tech fashion.Simple,low-cost,easy maintenance,replacement.
As I read more and more posts from members in 'winter' climes,it seems like there will be many challenges for active devices where 4-seasons are involved.Snow and ice really is a challenge.No doubt some us will be getting into this and I'm sure issues will rear their beautiful little heads!