Quote:
Originally Posted by backyard engineer
California, I'm thinking wyatt's got a good point with the plexi or lexan you would'nt have to limit your height consideration for visibility. maybe you could take your design a little further towards the kamm. maybe by leaving a sizeable gap between your mod and the back glass it would allow you to open the trunk maybe not fully but does it really need to open fully? If my car had a trunk I'd check it out for you. But I'm confident you'll figure it out with all the time and effort you've been giving it.
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Thanks Pendragon, wyatt, backyardengineer... I like the lexan/plexi idea and think I'll try it on the side and underside supports for certain (greater visibility through the curved sides especially).
I'm persuaded that the Kamm is better for aero and FE (I might yet try it next). But I still see a secure attachment problem (long term) and there is still the access to trunk issue. Both should be resolvable. This car is my daily driver. I need the trunk. I can get to it from inside because I removed the rear seat, but sometimes with my daughter in the morning, racing to get her to school or something, that becomes a significant joy-killer. The lid is designed to be secured with what I'm calling "tension brackets" (for the window portion) and straps with magnets (trunklid portion). Stealthy and completely reversible in under a minute without a trace.
1% FE from the raised lid would be 2mpg at my base 50mpg freeway norm [EDIT: this is an incorrect calculation since 1% equals 0.5mpg on a 50mpg car]. An extra 24 miles per tank is almost 2 bucks at current prices. That would feel pretty good. The craft has to be in getting it just right for what it is, so I intend to do the cutting with care and use something like lexan for the sides to produce visibility. Imagine a black fiberglass, curved lid, held 3" above the trunk by clear supports. That could look fairly cool, really.
So taking what you guys have said and re-applying the template to the actual level of my lid model, I made the attached overlay quickly.
Anyone ever use a table saw to cut coroplast? I just got a table saw for father's day. (YAY!)