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Old 08-25-2013, 10:11 PM   #36 (permalink)
orange4boy
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Location: The Wet Coast, Kanuckistan.
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The Golden Egg - '93 Toyota Previa DX
90 day: 31.91 mpg (US)

Chewie - '03 Toyota Prius
90 day: 57 mpg (US)

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To my mind the main issue with streamlining is lift from crosswinds and how to kill it. (I an using lift in the sense of a force generated by an airfoil with a positive angle of attack not as in vertical lift.) I imagine front mounted spoilers in the same region where vortex generators are placed on wings They could be either passive or active. This would reduce side lift dramatically. As we all know, streamlining reduces the force transmitted by the wind to the vehicle except when lift is an issue.

As an example, I know that nascar vehicles have strakes on the roof, parallel to normal flow which act as spoilers to kill lift if the car goes sideways. I have also seen this in Hucho somewhere in relation to sidewinds on cars or trucks

An active system could use air pressure differences to activate spoilers on the lift side in gusts although moving parts are less attractive than passive spoliers.

This narrow focus on C of P could be why there is so much discussion around tails and why weight and center of pressure fixes did not work. Don't move the lift or the C of G, Kill the lift! If there is still lift generated at the front of the bike it does not matter much how long the tail is, it will still cause a large side force near the front of the bike.

My $.02
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Last edited by orange4boy; 08-25-2013 at 10:25 PM..
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