When a member of IHPVA, I'd spend days with Georgi, designer of the VARNA series of bikes Sam Whittingham used to hold the speed records with.
Georgi said that the 1/4-inch gap around the wheel openings was responsible for half of VARNA's drag ( around Cd 0.11 for the bike according to the European teams' CFD analysis ).
Honda's DREAM-2 solar racer had fully- enclosed front steering wheels with cable-operated, 'lazy-Susan' turntables, which rotated exactly like an outboard motor.
If this technology could be mimicked, it seems that it would pay big dividends.
I'm going to 'simulate' it on SPIRIT during the next wind tunnel testing just to isolate their contribution ( or not ).
It might be possible to test a 'mockup' of a fully-sealed wheelhouse bottom, during a 'straight-line-only' test, requiring zero steering ( cardboard and duct-tape ).
Depending on the results, you could gage whether or not to invest the resources to fabricate something more robust.
You'd be the second man on Earth to have them.
