Quote:
Originally Posted by Shepherd777
....But think of a steering tire in the rain. The vast majority of the splash and spray is going rearward, not forward....
|
I would agree that the water spray from the tire "appears" to be going backwards.
Now the question is:
1) Is the majority of the spray really going "backwards" off the tire from centrifugal force?
2) Is the spray really going forward on top of the tire in the wheel well, hitting objects inside the inner fender, dropping toward the road surface, and the wind catching it and "pushing" it backwards? (this is my choice).
One way to find out would be to utilize a tire testing circular drum and test water spray on that, and measure water droplet propagation with a stroboscope. However, the rotating drum itself has air moving across the top of that, and compounding the research.....
I doubt anyone has that apparatus available, so onward with speculation on what is really happening.
If it was my truck, and I'm looking for aero gains, I would certainly make a specialized duct from the radiator back to the exhaust opening, and keep it separate from the tire well area if possible.
Jim.