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Old 01-04-2008, 09:48 PM   #35 (permalink)
basjoos
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Location: Upstate SC
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Aerocivic - '92 Honda Civic CX
Last 3: 70.54 mpg (US)

AerocivicLB - '92 Honda Civic CX
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In my opinion, an airdam is just a band-aid to use if you have a aerodynamically dirty underside you want to divert air away from. In a max FE application, we're not overly concerned about generating added downforce, which is the other main purpose of an air dam. On my car, I have a totally smooth underside and the only "airdams" on my car are the two air diverters (wheel spoilers) that sit ahead of my front wheels to split the airflow around the wheels. This split airflow is maintained via the double side skirts to the rear wheels and then ideally (future project) should have a small boattail fin behind each rear wheel to reduce its eddy. If you look at the Loremo and the Daihatsu UFEIII, they have airflow splitters in front of each of their front wheels and the UFEIII has a small boattail behind each rear wheel. If you insist on going with an airdam, you can make it a variable height airdam that is deepest in front of each wheel and highest in the section between the wheels. Some airdam-equipped Audis and BMW's go this route.
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