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Old 09-04-2012, 02:49 PM   #11 (permalink)
meanjoe75fan
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: New Kensington PA
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Big Blue - '94 Ford F-150 shortbed
90 day: 15.71 mpg (US)

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I doubt that putting the block behind the grillwork would make a big aero difference, for the following:

The front grill on an auto is at--or very near to--the stagnation point on the nose. Thus, the flow velocity near the vehicle is zero, or very close to that.

What happens is that the air upstream of the car "senses" the blockage...and the vast majority of the air flows AROUND the obstruction. This is true of all sub-mach flow. (Sometime look at the "grease streaks" you see on aircraft rivets...the airflow on the fuselage just ahead of the wing has a pronounced upward flow component, as the air tries to fill the low-pressure are on the top of the wing.)

So, keep it under 720 MPH, and it makes little difference. Above that, you want knife-edge leading edges anyways.

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