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Old 02-18-2012, 05:24 PM   #11 (permalink)
aerohead
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big time View Post
By more inclined I mean that the windshield has lesser angle to the vertical than the hood.

Thus you have to either make the windshield more inclined and/or make the hood less inclined i.e. less horizontal?
Some of the research which has been published shows the drag reduction asymptotic around 60-degrees of inclination,with no further gains if any steeper.
Some Lamborghinis and Hondas have gone closer to 70-degrees,but you pick up internal reflections.
At very steep angles,you actually get refraction.
The air prefers a 'bulbous' front,although Hucho mentions that this requires very expensive curved (compound) glass.Used mainly in concept,record,or full-race cars.
It usually means 'fixed' side windows on the doors,as they can't roll up or down inside the door cavity.
Where I live it wouldn't matter.People dress for the opposite season year round,running heat or AC to compensate.
Selective coatings,as NASA uses on spacesuit face shields can help mitigate solar loads.Ford Motor Co. has already done this with Taurus/Sable if I remember correctly.
The nose of an AKULA or VICTOR Class USSR submarine will give you an idea of an 'ideal' nose/windshield architecture.

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