Quote:
Originally Posted by aerohead
donee,I've been unable to get a factory side shot of the( 3rd-gen US,4th-gen Japan),so I don't have an image of the car in true-length.Without it I can't analyze the car.
Since the new Prius has a rear spoiler,that's kind of a tip off that the backlight is a little dirty.
It also violates W.A.Mair's boat-tail architecture for attached flow.
Its 'close',and I think Prius' designers comment about being 'close to ideal' suggests that it's not 'there yet.' A standing pack of Lucky Strikes on top of the spoiler might make up the difference.
My friend already complains that at standard slope,the new Prius backlight is virtually useless as for rear visibility.  |
That is a difference between the two cars aero-mod wise (both have flush hub caps, and I trialled the A-pillar turbulators with negative results on the Gen 3, and positive results on the Gen 2). My 3rd Gen has the stock rear spoiler. My 2nd Gen had a 3/8" high by 3/4 inch long "Volt bump" or so I call it, that was 24 inches long. I was going to do that, then noticed the 3rd Gen spoiler has a slightly longer upward protruding rear 1 1/2 inch. Based on that, I left it alone , thinking the Toyota engineers improved that issue already.
I do not have a camera with a long lens, to minimize paralax. So, I cannot get you a worthwhile side picture. On Prius Chat, there was a guy who took pictures of his 3rd Gen next to a 2nd Gen parked next to each. The 2nd Gen had a much squarer on-axis cross section. Which makes it more like other aero structures, than cars. The 3rd Gen is more like other cars, obviously wider than it is tall.