Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
0.12<0.16<0.20. So you can get to 50% of the full boat tail effect without adding length?
I need a body kit for my Superbeetle that bulges out the door and rear quarter panels to full fender width. It would hide the external hinges and the drip rail down the front of the door. 0.40—>0.32?
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Yes.
Kamm's lowest drag K-3,built on the Mercedes-Benz 170 chassis was rated at Cd 0.23.Twice the drag minimum.
You can see that the tufts are pretty clean until the rear radius,now 'fixed' with Fachsenfeld's 'tearing edges'.
He and Koenig-Fachsenfeld advocated building 'personnen kraft wagen ' (personal automobile) bodies which were chopped off where the wake equaled 50% of frontal area.It was just a matter of practicality with respect to parking garages,spaces,and urban traffic.
Koenig-Fachsenfeld made provision for lower drag for highway-only travel by incorporating an extensible tail.
The Beetle is considered a pseudostreamlined car.At Cd 0.495 it was quite good in a day when Cd 0.62 was not uncommon.
By 1975,the Beetle was down to Cd 0.44
Kit.I wish I'd bought a copy of Hot VW Magazine when I was at Edwards AFB.The Rabbit was coming out and the Beetle vanishing.A contributor to HVWM did a beautiful rendering of an aero tricked-out Bug,with all the mods you're talking about.It was ART!
Cd 0.32 would be reasonable considering the Airflow mule.