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Originally Posted by Cd
Julian, how did you attach the device to the A pillar ?
I was planning on creating somerhing similar, but it would have inner supports that would guide the airflow ( in a way, combining your two designs into one.
( In other words, the supports that would hold the vane in place would hopefully guide the air. It would be an air curtain.)
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I used a steel rod through the opening in the middle of the aerofoil, threaded at each end and with a dome nut on it. I made end plates from ABS plastic with folded flanges. The flanges were stuck to A pillar with tape for testing, and would have been attached via double-sided tape had I kept them in place. By loosening the nuts, I could change the angle of the vane. So basically the same approach I took on my Edgarwit front air curtains.
Not a very clear pic (lots of cropping) but you should get the general idea:
Just to reiterate, in my testing using simple curved vanes (not aerofoils) didn't work.
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Since I brought up air curtains, I also wanted to ask why they are only found on the front wheels of vehicles.
This may not be such a concern for cars, but I notice air curtains are absent on Chevys' Silverado pickup, which has them on the front only.
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I haven't tried them at the back myself (no need with the Insight's rear wheel opening spats) but I would guess this. Manufacturer-style air curtains make use of the high pressure available at the front of the car. There's no such high pressure available in front of the rear wheels. Therefore, they need to be more 'guides' than front-style air curtains. I would imagine that for these guides to work, they need to be using hardware (scoop, etc) that (1) is working in attached flow, and (2) is wider than the boundary layer.
I would think for amateurs it would be easier just to cover the back wheel opening with a spat.