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Old 07-09-2012, 02:00 PM   #25 (permalink)
basjoos
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Upstate SC
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Aerocivic - '92 Honda Civic CX
Last 3: 70.54 mpg (US)

AerocivicLB - '92 Honda Civic CX
Team Honda
90 day: 55.14 mpg (US)

Camryglide - '20 Toyota Camry hybrid LE
90 day: 62.77 mpg (US)
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In designing the nose for the aerocivic, the main thing I was trying to do was to lower the stagnation point in front of the car as low as possible to reduce the amount of air going under the car, to get rid of the flat front bumper section of the car that collected dead bugs and dirt, and to shape the nose as a continuation of the curve coming off the front of the hood. The car is wider than it is tall, so most of the air is diverted over the car rather than around the sides. There is some taper on the sides, but 80% of the taper is on the upper surface of the nose. I placed the radiator inlets below the stagnation point so when cooling air was needed, it would skim off some of the air that would otherwise go under the car. The radiator air is exhausted mostly into the front wheel wells.

Looking at the existing 06 Toyota Matrix's nose, I would block off the upper grill and build a rounded nose with integrated adjustable grill block around the lower grill area, extending the nose about a foot beyond the existing bumper with a low stagnation point, and continuing that curve that starts at the front of the hood over the upper grill area. Combine this with smooth underpanelling, air diverters on front of the wheels, side skirts, and wheel boattails to keep the airflow under the car going smoothly and straight.
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