Quote:
Originally Posted by UltArc
I couldn't speak to Hucho, but MY GOODNESS. Crosswinds are just terrible. It was weird on the first drive on the highway home (being used to my other vehicle), and with the boat tail on, it is incredible how a caterpillar sneezing two miles away pushes the car.
It could be worse for me because of an error in my build, but on a trip we took over the weekend, cruising 59-65, I didn't feel safe to take both hands off the wheel and show how hard/aggressively the wind pulls it.
(Gen 1)
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In Hucho's discussion of stability,he mentions that,"Only vehicles with long,tapering rear ends suffered..",mentioning Kamm's research at the FKFS.
Tail fins were the solution in the 1930s but only used on race and record cars.
Hucho goes on to mention that lift and pitching moment have little effect on directional stability,even in crosswinds.
Hucho says the danger is with gusts.And he says that highway design is a major part of the solution.
It is a center of pressure/center of gravity issue.
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I'd like to experience your Insight in a crosswind.
When I drove to Bonneville,I drove 70-mph through a near-dust-blizzard storm front with a 50-mph crosswind into Amarillo,Texas.All I did was apply a constant opposite torque on the wheel.